Mare 'cycling' (in season) all year round - Oestress??

[arwenplusone]

No - this post is not about my mare getting a bicycle and heading off into the sunset...

Just wondered if anyone has had any success with Oestress/moody mare etc?

My madam is 5 and still in season. Wehn she's not in season (about 6 weeks of the year) she's very stroppy indeed and can be erratic. She's a 'mare-ish' mare!

Don't get me wrong - I love mares but she has had some behavioural problems lately andI wonder if they are to do with hormones.

Is it worth getting vet to scan ovaries - do some tests. I know regumate is expensive but might be worth it?

 

[maddielove]

I had my mares ovaries scanned this week, there is some abnormalities. She has one tangerine size, one butterbean size, She is showing physical signs of being in season but not behavioral aspects.
We're also getting her blood tested to see her hormone levels (i think) might be worth a discussion with the vet?
Her main problem with all of this is a sore back(leading to lameness when ridden)
There is a horse at my yard who is fed regumate-works wonders apparently, she uses the stuff for pigs, does the same thing and lasts for ages (apparently)
Good luck-not very productive input, sorry!

 

[JanetGeorge]

A lot of mares cycle all year round - more so if they're stabled over winter but I've had mares living out in season in January. Mares that don't cycle all year round will have a transitional season in Novermber-ish and again in March - those transitional seasons can be more pronounced in terms of behaviour than the mare's regular season.

In ANY case of mares with excessive behavioural problems or sore backs/hind leg lameness associated with cycling it's worth getting the ovaries scanned (by an EXPERIENCED Repro vet - most vets don't do enough of it to be any good at it!!) and getting some bloods taken for a hormone assay. Chances are there won't be anything abnormal - but it's always worth checking as the symptoms from something like a GTC tumour will only get worse until it's dealt with.

 

[Troggy]

Toff is in season pretty much constantly. She had her ovaries scanned a few years ago and it found that she had lodas more folicles on each ovary than is the norm so the pain was intensified when she is in season. We also had blood tests but her hormone levels were normal. After trying various things including Regumate we have found (on vets advice), giving her half a sachet of bute when she is at her worst seems to help. Also D&H Stroppy Mare does seem to have helped although I am still sceptical about herbs! lol!
My main problem is she is making her back legs and tail stink!! I keep having to wash them and now it's winter, it's not really practical

 

[amage]

I would get the ovaries scanned but it must be by a vet who is good on the reproductive side of stuff. Regumate is good but bear in mind it is a prohibited substance for competing...

 

[emma_lg]

I would get your mare looked at by vet which may involve a scan...no vet I've used would just give out Regumate anyway without an internal and possibly a scan if there is a problem. Regumate can just mask problems and not be a cure.
My mare just had a difficult transitional season and her ovary was not releasing as it should so she just needed an injection which done the job. Luckily at my vet practice there is a vet who is a specialist in breeding/stud work.

 

[JanetGeorge]

[ QUOTE ]
Regumate can just mask problems and not be a cure.
My mare just had a difficult transitional season and her ovary was not releasing as it should so she just needed an injection which done the job. Luckily at my vet practice there is a vet who is a specialist in breeding/stud work.

[/ QUOTE ]

The ONLY thing Regumate does is stop a mare coming into season (there are other uses in breeding, such as delaying the foaling heat, or supporting a pregnancy in a mare who does not produce enough endogenous progesterone but they're not relevent here). IF a mare's behavioural problems when in season are 'normal' for her, then stopping her coming into season may be desirable and may in fact provide a 'cure' - for at least as long as she continues on Regumate. It won't 'mask' problems if the problems are due to something else - such as a GTC tumour.

Your mare, Sparrow, had a persistent - possibly haemorrhagic follicle - they're quite common in transitional oestrus (start and end of breeding season.) And some mares make a habit of them - makes them a sod to get in foal!

 

[kildalton]

I thought you could compete whilst using Regumate (on your mare!)

 

[JanetGeorge]

[ QUOTE ]
I thought you could compete whilst using Regumate (on your mare!)

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't see why not. It doesn't give a mare an advantage over geldings/stallions - just kevels the playing field. It WAS banned in international competition - but that was lifted in 2004.

Perhaps someone knows something I don't (happens all the time!

)

 

[now_loves_mares]

I bought my mare in early June and when she moved to my yard she became a pain, always in season. I then took her to my trainers yard for schooling and she was a nightmare, sending the colt 2 fields away loopy even though he always had mares near by. Regumate was suggested but I was put off by the cost and the fact that it was quite "serious stuff". Decided to try Oestress first and that really helped.

Of course it might also have been that my mare just started to get used to having lots of other horses around. I've stopped it for winter and will try not to use it next spring, but will happily start her on it again if she gets all tarty on me

 

[Enfys]

Hi,
Sorry I can't help about the regumate, but one of my mares has been in season very recently, either that or she and the stallion have been bonking for fun

Not a good time to get in foal. She was bought in foal, due in June, Zeus had shown no interest in her for months and now this! Must have slipped it somewhere along the line, damn