Mare in heat?

[MyMia]

In my admittedly very limited experience, I've never seen this before so I'm hoping someone else has!

I've been busy lately and haven't given the horses the care they deserve. Yesterday, I had some free time (for once!!!) and went to give them a good brushing. I noticed some wet-then-dried hair around Mia's back end, so I wondered if she were in heat. Then when I was brushing under her belly, I noticed her teats were slightly enlarged. I felt around them--cool, didn't bother her--and then squeezed one gently. Still didn't bother her. I "milked" one, and a very thin, whitish liquid came out. She didn't react, but I was sure surprised! Is this a symptom of being in heat that I've never heard of, or could it be something else? She's not different when she's in heat--in the 2+ years I've had her, I've only been sure she was in heat twice, so I can't rely on her behavior to tell me.

Any info would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Mercury]

Hmmm... you sure there are no stallions around? Maybe one got loose with her and nobody bothered to tell you? (Happened to a friend...)

[Dakota Sunrise]

Hmm... it seems like Beauty is in heat all the time, and it's easy for me to tell when she is (she gets extra lovey with Dakota :rolleyes:). But I've never noticed her teats being any bigger, although I suppose that is possible. Can horses retain water and get "puffy" like some women do at "that time of the month"?:innocent:
I've never tried to 'milk' Beauty so I have no idea if the white liquid is normal or not. Hopefully some one who is more mare-savvy will read this thread and respond. Sorry I'm no help.

[luv2show]

PM sugarsgirl. Her old horse had this. :)

[missdixie]

Yeah I've never heard of that with a mare in heat....

[PaintedHearts]

Angel did this a couple months ago. She was looking prego and I noticed her teats where looking big/full. I wasn't sure what to think. I reached down to see and with a little push, she shot milk out. I was like...What!? So I was thinking she's going to have a baby....soon! Figured she would start waxing within the next few days. I called the vet and they told me that some mares are just like that...make milk. I figured time would tell if she was going to have a baby or not. But the next month she came into heat. It seemed like a pretty good heat too. Tail cranked, winking and discharge. Now....her teats are small again and no milk. Kind of weird if you ask me. LOL My riding buddies and I started calling her "The Milking Mare". LOL :hysterical:

[PaintedHearts]

PM sugarsgirl. Her old horse had this. :)


Hey Luv2...send sugarsgirl this way...I would love to hear what she has to say on the subject.

[MyMia]

Hmmm... you sure there are no stallions around? Maybe one got loose with her and nobody bothered to tell you? (Happened to a friend...)


Trust me, I'd thought of that! I can't see how it would have happened, though. My two are at home with me (no boarders) and I don't know of any stallions around. Certainly none have come a'callin'.

Last night when I went to feed, I checked Mia and she still had the enlarged teats. They're not huge--maybe ping pong ball sized--but I "milked" both of them. I got a little on my hand, so she was trying hard to sniff it. I let her, she snorted a few times, then tried to lick it. Does she think my hand is her baby? False pregnancy? I'm clueless (ok, I'm clueless most of the time!!). She's no different with Charlie or me. I'll have to try to figure out pm-ing sugarsgirl to ask.

Thanks for all the responses!

[sugarsgirl]

Paintedhearts- here I am ! :)

Sugar did have that, although it wasn't so much milk, it was a like a watered down milk, like it was almost clear. We asked the vet about it and he took a look at her teets and said not to squeeze them anymore. The only reason I was squeezing them was to clean her teets, so I wasn't intentionaly squeezing them. He said that if I stopped sqeezing them that her body would most likely not produce anymore of the "milk" that it was producing because there would be no need for it anymore since it wasn't coming out. So I just tried not to squeeze them anymore, and then a couple months later I tried sqeezing them a little just to check, and there wasn't anymore.
For anyone who has had this happen, I would check with your vet just to be sure.

[MyMia]

I thought I'd give you all an FYI--I talked to my vet about this and she said it's probably nothing (in rare instances mares produce milk when they're not pregnant); as long as it's not hot and painful, don't worry about it and don't keep milking her.

The biggest possible concern was that she said it could be a symptom of Cushing's. There are no other symptoms so it's probably not that, but she'll test for it next time she comes out just to be on the safe side.

So, that concludes our lesson for the day....

[sugarsgirl]

Well I'm glad shes okay, I know, its scary when things aren't normal with your horse!