FA+
Shop
537
Views
Views
24
Favorites
Favorites
Category
Photography / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Horse
Size 391 x 650
File Size 225.9 kB
Report this content
More from Umah
Some of you may remember Little Sister, or "Sally" as she's been getting called by my Mom.
When she first came I thought she was just fat, as she'd been getting free fed straight alf alfa where she was before. She's been on a grass/hay mix since she came here, and we've put her on a healthier, not free fed diet, but she hasn't lost any weight. My Mom is determined that she is pregnant, but I'm s...till inclined to think she's just fat...but I really don't know, to be honest, lol.
I'm hoping some of you horse people might be able to help me out! This is a picture from today.
Oh, and YES, she needs her hooves trimmed desperately but we've been working on her letting us handle her legs and feet--she's kinda..um..moody about her legs being handled. She's getting better, so I think we'll be able to get the farrier out before it snows hopefully.
When she first came I thought she was just fat, as she'd been getting free fed straight alf alfa where she was before. She's been on a grass/hay mix since she came here, and we've put her on a healthier, not free fed diet, but she hasn't lost any weight. My Mom is determined that she is pregnant, but I'm s...till inclined to think she's just fat...but I really don't know, to be honest, lol.
I'm hoping some of you horse people might be able to help me out! This is a picture from today.
Oh, and YES, she needs her hooves trimmed desperately but we've been working on her letting us handle her legs and feet--she's kinda..um..moody about her legs being handled. She's getting better, so I think we'll be able to get the farrier out before it snows hopefully.
Category Photography / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Horse
Size 391 x 650px
File Size 225.9 kB
She needs work on loading in the trailer. We've only had her for a couple of months, but we are working on desensitizing her. My vet did tell me that a human pregnancy test will work on her, so I'm going to get one tomorrow.
The thing is she hasn't really changed at all, gotten any bigger or smaller since we've had her.
The thing is she hasn't really changed at all, gotten any bigger or smaller since we've had her.
We've had her for around two months.
Here's a link to a side shot of her:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/646...../#cid:46743179
Here's a link to a side shot of her:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/646...../#cid:46743179
I've been around horses for over 20 years and, during that time, I've seen a lot of stock-type horses (QHs, Paints, etc.) who develop this pot-bellied appearance called "hay-belly" when they're being overfed and underworked. There's a gelding currently living with my horse who has this exact same appearance because he's a whale on legs. She could be the type of horse we like to call an "easy keeper," meaning that she can subsist on pasture/hay and very little grain, if any at all.
My own mare is an Appaloosa who is an extremely easy keeper and has to wear a grazing muzzle in the spring, summer, and early fall. Even with 6 days of work including jumping twice a week and foxhunting on weekends, she still stayed a bit porky. http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho....._2279562_n.jpg She maintained that body condition on grass and only one handful of grain per day.
Little Sister ought to be seen by a vet for a palpation to see if she's pregnant. Your vet will insert his arm into her anus and feel around on her fallopian tubes and uterine muscles to see if there are any signs of pregnancy. If she is not pregnant, you'll likely want to try an aggressive deworming program and reducing the amount of hay and grain she takes in to help her thin down. I know she hasn't had much by way of formal training yet, but working her in a round pen or on the longe may also help in getting her fitter. However, DO NOT work her on a circle until you've had her feet addressed so that you can avoid unnecessary strain on her legs. Her knees and hocks won't fully seal for another two to three years and the angles of her hooves will just add stress to her joints and ligaments at this time.
I've got my fingers crossed that her pregnancy test comes up negative. She herself is only a baby and needs to learn a great deal more about the world before becoming a mother. The best broodmares are those who at least have solid ground manners that they can pass on to their foals by example. As I'm sure you know already, foals learn to mimic the behaviors of their mothers or mother-figures, so if mama is hard to catch, bites, kicks, or otherwise acts a fool, her foal will typically learn the same behaviors and require correction early on. I'm actually a little less-than-thrilled that you chose such a young horse to be a babysitter for your two orphans, since Little Sister doesn't really have much to offer them by way of model behavior. The best mama-substitutes are the old souls who have been there, done that. Many an older gelding or retired broodmare has gone on to make an excellent babysitter for weaned or orphaned foals. (I totally understand if she's all you could find or afford at the time, though. Something is better than nothing!)
I wish you the very, very best with your horses! They're all beautiful and will bring you so much joy!
My own mare is an Appaloosa who is an extremely easy keeper and has to wear a grazing muzzle in the spring, summer, and early fall. Even with 6 days of work including jumping twice a week and foxhunting on weekends, she still stayed a bit porky. http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho....._2279562_n.jpg She maintained that body condition on grass and only one handful of grain per day.
Little Sister ought to be seen by a vet for a palpation to see if she's pregnant. Your vet will insert his arm into her anus and feel around on her fallopian tubes and uterine muscles to see if there are any signs of pregnancy. If she is not pregnant, you'll likely want to try an aggressive deworming program and reducing the amount of hay and grain she takes in to help her thin down. I know she hasn't had much by way of formal training yet, but working her in a round pen or on the longe may also help in getting her fitter. However, DO NOT work her on a circle until you've had her feet addressed so that you can avoid unnecessary strain on her legs. Her knees and hocks won't fully seal for another two to three years and the angles of her hooves will just add stress to her joints and ligaments at this time.
I've got my fingers crossed that her pregnancy test comes up negative. She herself is only a baby and needs to learn a great deal more about the world before becoming a mother. The best broodmares are those who at least have solid ground manners that they can pass on to their foals by example. As I'm sure you know already, foals learn to mimic the behaviors of their mothers or mother-figures, so if mama is hard to catch, bites, kicks, or otherwise acts a fool, her foal will typically learn the same behaviors and require correction early on. I'm actually a little less-than-thrilled that you chose such a young horse to be a babysitter for your two orphans, since Little Sister doesn't really have much to offer them by way of model behavior. The best mama-substitutes are the old souls who have been there, done that. Many an older gelding or retired broodmare has gone on to make an excellent babysitter for weaned or orphaned foals. (I totally understand if she's all you could find or afford at the time, though. Something is better than nothing!)
I wish you the very, very best with your horses! They're all beautiful and will bring you so much joy!
Most responsible horse breeders in the US and other westernized nations wait until their mares are 5 or older before asking them to carry foals. While it's not always true of all horse owners in all industries, many breeding professionals and responsible small-time breeders will have their mares trained and, if possible, shown before breeding to ensure that their babies are more marketable in the future. Baby-making factories aren't nearly as profitable or desirable now that the US is experiencing a major surplus of "unwanted", unmarketable horses after all US slaughter plants closed down and the economy started going down the toilet.
I agree with 
she very well may just have a hay belly, my moms old gelding looked like that all the time. Though you never know she may be preg, every one said my mini mare just looked fat only a few weeks before she gave birth to her filly (I knew she was 100%). I would have a vet check her. I seen in the other post you said about a human preg check, I to have been told they work but I have never tryed it myself.
she very well may just have a hay belly, my moms old gelding looked like that all the time. Though you never know she may be preg, every one said my mini mare just looked fat only a few weeks before she gave birth to her filly (I knew she was 100%). I would have a vet check her. I seen in the other post you said about a human preg check, I to have been told they work but I have never tryed it myself. 
Comments