Bagging up at 8 months of pregnancy?

Question

My mare is about 8 months pregnant (unless the vets got it very wrong) but this morning she has started bagging up. Is it normal for them to develop their udders this early or do I need to start getting ready sooner?
Apart from aspiration pneumonia at about 20 days (spending a week in the vets on IV antibiotics etc), somehow she kept the foal and has had an uneventful pregnancy since then. She's on recommended amounts of a stud balancer and hayalge

another_tomorrow · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Development of any udder ranges greatly between mares as some can carry until due date and still have no significant udder just like some mares can have massive udders in the run up to foaling. Some sites quote that 'bagging up'  normally occurs close to parturition (birth) it can begin 6 weeks in advance-- the question is how quickly is your mare developing the bag? as the udder would see its greatest growth in the final week/s closing in on birth.

8 months would see her at roughly 245 days of pregnancy- foals tend to be viable though classified as premature at 305 days also depending if any other complications arise. However 320 days to 340 days tends to be the best range for a healthy foal as the younger premature foals tend to be  naturally weaker and smaller. 6 weeks prior to 305 would see your mare at 263 days pregnant if she were to follow certain website quotes on early bagging up. Thus she may definitely be developing a bag early- but again how quickly is it developing as slight growth may be natural for her- I advise you to call your vet out if you are unsure as they can check her over health wise, help suggest how to monitor her and even test her hormone levels in her blood to get a better picture.

Udder changes that show closer signs of birth tend to be: waxing up, a visibly large milk vein/s (http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh181/jlw012061/Pearl010-1.jpg) and also dripping or running milk (one mare i know though, ran milk for a week before birth and foaled down on 305 days exactly and the mare had poor colostrum however the foal was tubed colostrum and although a small, weak foal to begin with, the yearling is now strong and has no implications from the premature birth).

If this is the mares first foal or you have no previous foaling history from previous owners (therefore you don't know if this is how she naturally goes with each foal) I do still advise you get your vet to look of the mare.

Good luck with her

Anonymous · Answer

All depends on how much change there has been. Are you used to seeing a bagged up mare?

I take it that you don't have a correct date of service. I would have her checked over. The vet will be able to see how near to foaling she is. It could be that the foal was further on than your vet thought.

If she is very bagged up and 8 months into her pregnancy, I wouldn't leave her to see what happens.

Add. If she had taken on a early cover, she wouldn't have come into season again for re cover. Was she re scanned so you know it was only one foal? 
Your link didn't show.

Add. She doesn't look full, but I haven't seen her normally. Put mares udder in google and look at some of them there.
If she starts to run milk I would get the vet. But at this stage there isn't a lot that can be done.

Lilian · Answer

I would think that is a little early for her to be bagging up.  But I do not think a mare is close till there is a lot more milk in the udder and the teats do start to spread.  Usually when a mare is very close the bottom of the udder is flat between the teats.   Also if you take your four fingers and tap around the tail head and down along side the tail down her thighs.   If is feels real sloppy and loose she is very close.   When you get the foal be sure to put some disinfectant on the foals naval cord so it will not get Navel Ill.

? · Answer

She is not bagged up much according to this picture and will probably go down until just before the foal is born, some times a mare will start bagging up months before having her foal but usually goes back down the change of hormones causes it sometimes.

tillery · Answer

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Bagging up at 8 months of pregnancy?

5 Answers