You can comfortably continue to ride your mare until she is about 8 months into her pregnancy and even compete safely, however after about 6 months you may just want to reduce her workload and slow things down a bit. Watch her closely and adjust her exercise accordingly.
A mare that experiences a straightforward birth should be ready to go back under saddle six to eight weeks after foaling. However, if your mare had a complicated birth, it might take far longer.
Many owners believe riding a pregnant mare will harm her or even cause her to abort. Fear not, though, our sources say. If she's generally healthy to start with and her pregnancy isn't considered high-risk (for example, a mare with a history of pregnancy loss or abortion), saddle her up and enjoy a ride!
Allowing the foal to run alongside the mare while you ride is perfectly fine, so long as you're in a safe, enclosed area. Within the first two months of the foal's life, it will be extremely attached to Mom, and will be frantic – sometimes to the point of risking injury – if she is taken out of sight.
High on the list of activities doctors recommend avoiding while pregnant is horseback riding (along with downhill skiing, ice hockey and cycling.) “In general I tell people if they're excellent horseback riders and are just walking around on the horse, they can continue up to 12 weeks,” says OBGYN Kay Daniels.
By the time you reach the third trimester, most pregnant moms opt to stop riding, and most obstetricians would recommend the same. At this point, due to the issues just discussed, there is an increased risk of falling, and with a more exposed and growing baby, more risk of injury to him or her (or them!) as well.
You can continue light trail riding until the start of the last month of pregnancy. You may need to find a saddle that matches her new shape. We recommend you turn out mares for at least six hours per day if you aren't riding them.
A healthy pregnant horse can be ridden during much of her pregnancy. However, there are periods when riding should be avoided, don't ride a mare for at least 30 days following conception or during the final two to three months before her due date. Otherwise, it is ok to ride your pregnant horse.
It's generally recommended to wait at least six weeks after foaling before starting to ride again. This allows the mare to fully recover and the foal to establish a routine. However, it's important to listen to your veterinarian and take into consideration the factors listed above before starting to ride again.
Also, over exertion in hot weather or high humidity could result in dehydration or heat exhaustion. Either of these conditions will put both the mare and foal at risk. It seems to be a widely accepted rule that riding a broodmare for her first 6-8 months of pregnancy is okay and can even be beneficial.
While this may result in many sleep-deprived nights for stable staff, night-time foaling has important physiological relevance. It makes sense that a prey animal out on the open plains would seek the safety of darkness hiding their vulnerability during the birthing process to avoid the attention of predators.
In one study, 65.5% of mares foaled at night between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. The visual signs of a mare's readiness to foal are: Udder distension begins 2-6 weeks prior to foaling.
Most breeders will start breeding a mare as young as five. Any mare who will be a broodmare should have her first foal between 5 and 10, during her optimum fertility years. Mares who have had foals their whole lives can continue to have foals into their early 20s.
But these methods are neither reliable nor accurate. The lack or presence of a heat (estrus) cycle is not a sure indicator of pregnancy either. Some mares will appear to have a heat cycle despite being in foal, because of increased estrogen levels.
When a mare is approaching her foaling date it is best to disturb her as little as possible, especially during the night. Most mares will foal between the hours of 10pm and 2am, but parturition (aka birthing) can occur at any time of day.
Pregnancy in the horse is typically accepted as varying from 335-342 days however, on the odd occasion, can range from as little as 315 to over 400 days.
If there's a lot of rain and mud, we worry about potential infections in the umbilicus if the foal is outside, lying in the mud. Moisture can also create skin problems due to being wet all the time,” he says. You don't want the foal to be chilled outdoors in a downpour.
A mare's affiliation with others in her group certainly changes after foaling, with her own foal, as well as her older foals if they are still in the group, generally becoming her closest frequent companions. Mares in a natural breeding group don't usually change their dominance status by virtue of having a foal.
A pregnant mare should not be turned out with a stallion or even geldings. Geldings, while they no longer have the sex drive of a stallion, can still get an erection. Should a gelding mount and then penetrate the cervix of your mare, the pregnancy will likely be aborted.
Foaling with no bag or wax:
While one may wax up weeks in advance, its also not uncommon for maiden mares to foal with no wax and a very small/no bag. No wax means there's one less sign to look out for – so don't always count on seeing wax leading into your maiden mare foaling.
“Many people also use acepromazine, which is more of a calming agent (tranquilizer) than a sedative.” While none of these are labeled for use in pregnant mares, she says they typically don't cause serious side effects. Still, ask yourself why you are giving sedation and if it's necessary.
In order to protect their own health and that of their unborn child, women who are, or who may be, pregnant should be advised to avoid close contact with livestock animals.
Avoid riding a horse when the combined temperature and relative humidity is over 150. If you must ride a horse in hot and humid weather, or you live in an area where hot and humid weather is common, it's key to: Adjust your schedule (ride early in the morning or late at night).
Daily and Veterinary Care
Pregnant mares should be allowed ample turnout or light exercise throughout their pregnancy. Light riding can continue into the second trimester but should cease after that. As mares enter the last trimester, the act of simply grazing will give a mare enough exercise in a day.
Despite early breeding (between two and five years) having yielded some good results anecdotally, most horse owners, breeders and equine veterinarians hold that the best age to breed a mare is in the 5 to 10 years of age range, with the caveat that the mare should have her first foal well before the age of 10 if she is ...