# Vet says mare is almost ribby but belly getting bigger



## mysecret (Apr 22, 2013)

So I had the vet out tonight...she had initially said my mare I not in foal. She dropped a bunch of weight after she failed but has gained weight recently. She has been pretty lethargic but I thought I might be the summer weather. Vet was out tonight and said she is pretty thin...almost too thin...and not to drop her weight anymore. But th mare is getting bigger....She would only be 3-4 months along if she is pregnant. I'm just so confused why the vet would say she is almost too thin but yet her belly is bigger.....


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## Mochachino (Aug 14, 2012)

So she is not in foal?? If not horses can be ribby with a hay belly, or when was the last time you wormed her?


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## mysecret (Apr 22, 2013)

She is worked every 6-8 week's. This vet has missed pregnancies in other horses before. Am wondering if I should recheck for pregnancy?


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## mysecret (Apr 22, 2013)

*wormed


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## MyLittlePonies (Mar 15, 2011)

Get a second opinion from another vet.
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## Merlot (Sep 12, 2012)

Photo?


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Unlikely that a horse will show pregnancy at 3-4 months. 6-7 months is typically the minimum for showing.

Poor quality hay or a belly of worms is the most likely cause. Too little protein will cause the pot-belly appearance. Or if you are deworming for the wrong type of worms.

take a fecal into a different vet.
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## mysecret (Apr 22, 2013)

So interesting I'm being accused of feeding poor hay. You don't know me, how well I care for my horses or my knowledge! This was a rescue horse that was bred on the go along heat 6 times. I have had horses for 20 years....I know how to feed and worm. Just was asking if I should get a second opinion. Clearly I need to figure this out on my own. Thanks


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

mysecret said:


> So interesting I'm being accused of feeding poor hay. You don't know me, how well I care for my horses or my knowledge! This was a rescue horse that was bred on the go along heat 6 times. I have had horses for 20 years....I know how to feed and worm. Just was asking if I should get a second opinion. Clearly I need to figure this out on my own. Thanks


 Little paranoid are we? So you ask about what you describe as a hay belly, show no photos and then take offence as to the obvious causes of what we are to guess by your description?
Lots of people that think they take great care of horse do not have a clue and you may very well be one of them. Your vets statements confused you and you didn't ask more questions?


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Whoa, excuse you. Take a step off your high horse and calm down.

you asked for possibilities. I gave them to you. A ribby horse with a pot belly. those are the first TWO OBVIOUS things that come to mind. 

I was not rude at all in my original post. Stated facts. Sorry if you dont like the suggestions I put on the table, but oh well.

Find another vet, and get a second opinion. 

Like said before, this is not caused from pregnancy, if she is pregnant, the fetus is wayyyy too small right now to make a mare show. There is an underlying cause to the pot-pelly. Its not the possible foal.
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## rbarlo32 (Aug 9, 2010)

I agree get a second opinion or a blood test or an ultrasound. If you are worming every 6-8 weeks maybe get a worm count done as the worms could become resistant to the wormer.
On a slightly different note my mare was showing from 3 1/2 months in and she was a maiden mare.
This was her at 4 1/2 months she wasn't btw.








But this is the size of foal she had and the stallion was only an inch bigger then here.


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Mini's/sheltlands or small ponies can show sooner. the average horse won't. My mare was 6-1/2 months.

and your mare had a whale instead of a foal. She doesn't count. ;-) 

anemia could also be on the list. So having a CBC would be beneficial. The lethargy can be related that...?
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## mysecret (Apr 22, 2013)

Wow....I'm clearly done with this conversation. For the record this is a 34" mini mare who was bred to a 34" stud. Obviously I have asked the vet a hundred questions....She wouldn't run blood work because she feels there are no issues. I do not appreciate the attitudes. Will definitely not come on here to see what others say in the future.


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## rbarlo32 (Aug 9, 2010)

I said blood test as it can tell you if she is in foal or not, my mare was 37.5" in foal to a 38.5" stallion. I had a filly blood tested to see if she was in foal at the point your mare is at it was be a very accurate way in telling you weather or not she was in foal.

And I am sorry but I am starting to smell troll here as you are being very very rude.


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Something about this thread seems all too familiar... Hmmm...
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## MyLittlePonies (Mar 15, 2011)

You asked a question on a public forum. You won't always like what everyone has to say. Why do you take it so harsh when someone mentions to get her tested for worms? I think you need to settle down and read what others have said. You're not being bashed at all. They're simply giving you suggestions.
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## kassierae (Jan 1, 2010)

I fail to understand why people ask for suggestions and advice and then when they're given GOOD ones they get defensive. Hello, you asked for suggestions! 

In saying that, minis can be more prone to a pot belly. If ours eat Timothy hay they get hay bellies, but when fed finer grass hay with a higher protein content the belly goes away. And also, my mini mare came from a rescue type situation an she was ribby with a big belly. I thought she was bred for several months and deworming schedules, but it just took a few different wormers to get it under control.
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## FrostedLilly (Nov 4, 2012)

I reread this thread twice and don't see where the offensive content was. My first guess would be worms or hay as mentioned above because those are the most common for anyone. I am curious though, I saw deworming every 6-8 weeks. I deworm my horses every spring and fall. Am I doing it too infrequently? It's below freezing 8ish months of the year.
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## GamingGrrl (Jan 16, 2013)

The two things I quickly learned in my vet job shadowing were....1. People get offended when you say their pets might or do have fleas and 2. People get offended when you say their pet might or does have worms.

I'll never understand it.
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## Shoebox (Apr 18, 2012)

OP is getting pretty **** defensive over nothing. YOU were the one who asked why she was getting a bigger belly with still showing ribs. we gave you the common options. I fail to see any kind of attitude, everyone was very informative until you started getting snippy. If you're going to be that rude go elsewhere and ask... But you're going to get the same responses. (which, I might add, I fail to see as rude... It's not like we're accusing you of mistreating your horse. We're pointing out common causes of a potbelly.)

I'll never understand some people.


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## WSArabians (Apr 14, 2008)

Is it wrong that I find these threads entertaining? :lol:


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## kassierae (Jan 1, 2010)

Absolutely not, because I do as well 
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