Has putting a mare in foal

Cop-Pop

Cop-Pop

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ever sorted out hormone problems? I've been told by 3 vets now the only way to fix my mare's imbalance is to put her in foal. I don't want to put her in foal and I can't afford to put her in foal so it isn't going to happen but I was wondering if I ever do come to the end of my tether if it would fix the problem?
 
I've asked the last two about it and they said no. I've not long moved so will be getting a new vet in January for vacs so will ask what the new ones think :)
 
If you have no intention of breeding from the mare you could have her ovaries (and therefore her hormones ) removed. Is a fairly common procedure now and is done by keyhole under standing sedation.
 
cm2581 said:
If you have no intention of breeding from the mare you could have her ovaries (and therefore her hormones ) removed. Is a fairly common procedure now and is done by keyhole under standing sedation.
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I didn't know that was possible :) If I'm honest I would like to breed from her but I don't want to in case her temperament isn't caused by hormones plus I don't know her full breeding (and I'm broke too). Will ask new vet when I choose one about the procedure :)
 
It's definitely hormonal as she's in and out of season at the drop of a hat. In winter as soon as we get a couple of warmish days she starts squirting and is really grouchy for a couple of days then settles down, her first season of the year I can't work her at all because she gets dangerous then she has loads of mini seasons until another big season mid summer when she's a little better but still very hard to deal with then mini seasons until the cold weather starts again. Atm it's just something I deal with as I'm not passing the issue on to someone else. I was just wondering if hormonal issues have ever been sorted by breeding :)
 
Many years ago I had a little welsh x that was very hormonal, she would be in season constantly and then started to become aggressive towards other mares.She injured a pony that somehow got put in her stable with her by the child who owned the pony. This was put down to it being in her stable and she was given the benefit of the doubt. She then attacked our arab mare and bit her lip off. The vet was called to stitch the lip back on literaly and he advised that we try puting our welshie in foal to see if it would balance her hormone problems. We did this and she had a lovely filly foal and yes it did settle her down completely. She always remained a bit of a grumpy horse towards other horses but never attacked again. That filly is now 19years old and still with us but lost the little mare about 10 years ago.
 
I'm not a breeder but a couple of years ago we bought a mare who was really nice and easy to do, always coming to you for cuddles etc then she dropped a surprise foal! Now she's a right moody mare, ears back when you walk past the stable, kicks, bites....so I would say maybe the pregnancy hormones would stop her being moody, but then when she's not pregnant anymore she could very well revert to her old self PLUS she could of course pass this temperament on to foal. I wouldn't do it tbh unless for some reason she merited being a broodie and you wanted a foal. Seems like theres better, more reliable options out there. Just my tuppence worth :)
 
Not experienced this, when I put my mare in foal I had real problems trying to get her to come in season this particular year . Got there is the end no helpful advice really, have you consulted your vet?
 
Cop-Pop said:
I was just wondering if hormonal issues have ever been sorted by breeding :)
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Well, put it this way - I have a lot of broodmares. Some are sweet as pie when in foal - and not so sweet if they have a year off. Pregnancy usually makes mares 'nicer' - but I don't think it lasts! She definitely sounmds like she needs a trial dose of Regumate - and if that works, get a marble put in (speak to a repro vet - 'normal' vets are clueless about such things! Marble doesn't work in EVERY case as some mares will chuck them out, but if the mare hangs onto it, it's cheaper and less faff than Regumate!
 
JanetGeorge said:
Pregnancy usually makes mares 'nicer'
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I wish someone would tell my girl this - she's become way more grumpy than normal since becoming pregnant :rolleyes::rolleyes:
She has always been a little grumpy towards other horses when there's food around but she's really grumpy at the moment - it's really funny honestly (she's never nasty with it, it's all faces)
 
mynutmeg said:
I wish someone would tell my girl this - she's become way more grumpy than normal since becoming pregnant :rolleyes::rolleyes:
She has always been a little grumpy towards other horses when there's food around but she's really grumpy at the moment - it's really funny honestly (she's never nasty with it, it's all faces)
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She's probably carrying a colt! :D
 
Please can the marble procedure be explained to me.

I bought a mare in the summer, never ridden a mare in 40 years of horse keeping, but this new mare was an exceptional stamp of heavyweight so I broke my decades old rule of 'no mares' and bought her.

I am finding her inconsistent in her behaviour, in season a lot, or so it seems to me ! She is only 6 and very uneducated, she also came from a home that let her walk all over them.

Her general manners are much improved, her schooling is coming along well and she is generally getting to be a nicer horse to have around, but she has some very grumpy moments and has taken several pieces out of me recently, partly my fault because I treat her like my trusty geldings, by expecting her to be the same everyday and being too lax with her. Having no previous experience with ridden mares I have no idea what constitutes a mareish mare or whether she has a good, bad or just indifferent temperament.

She is in season yet again today and I am getting a bit wary of her. Admittedly lack of enough exercise is not helping, I am not feeding her and she is on DH stroppy mare and top spec calmer.

Ovaries out are not an option as the moment as I am undecided if I am keeping her or not, plus her type is not easily sourced anymore (she is a 16 stone plus mare with 11 inches of bone) with plenty of quality about her.
 
Basically the vet puts a sterile marble in the mare's uterus and it fools her body into thinking she's pregnant and so levels out the hormones giving a more even temperment as they don't have the up and downs of hormones and they generally don't come into season. It's not 100% effective and the marble doesn't always stay put but when it works it's very effective, simple and doesn't require daily dosing or anything like that.
 
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