Mare has gained her marbles!

[cobwithattitude]

The vet inserted a marble (yes, the real thing. complete with colours and no, I did not get to choose the colour scheme!). Mare was extremely placid (with the help of minimal sedation) despite what must have been an uncomfortable procedure. She is having bute for the next couple of days but the balance of hormones should have happened by what would have been her next season. (As the marble mimics early pregnancy.) Fingers crossed it works and she is more comfortable long term as a result.

 

[LeneHorse]

hehe - great title!

hope they stay put and sort out her problems.

 

[lennysmith]

Oo this is very interesting as this was being considered for Josie. Can I ask what made you decide this was the best option for your mare? also if it's not oo cheeky how much does it all cost? thankies xx

 

[calon]

please can you tell me what problems your mare has been having my mare is terrible once every three weeks almost to the day she shows signs of extreme painful colic she kicksat her self bounces off stable walls and lashes out with her back legs she is in agony we have found that sedazine works for her but the pain has been getting worse so we are now on regumate which works well stopping her coming in do u think the marble thing would help her i would be very interested to hear how your mare fairs and what her problems where thanks

 

[dunthing]

The marble treatment goes back to camels in the desert. They couldn't afford to have pregnant camels going for miles in the heat and so the owners would insert smooth pebbles into the camel's uterus to emulate a pregnancy. This is how the human coil came to be used.

 

[cobwithattitude]

Hi - whole visit cost £82. Mare was aggressive to saddle up (back/saddle ok) and after scanning was thought to have painful ovulations. She was very 'hot' when in season and very stressed. Only a week after marbles, i am v impressed - no reaction to saddling up but will have to wait for a couple of weeks to see if she is quiter when she should be in season. Decided to go for marbles as did not like regumate or comntraceptive alternative (similar to pill in humans) I also am not made of money (!!) and this was the best long term option - down side will be if ever i want to breed from her as the damn thing has to be retrieved and it looked v uncomfortable being inserted - i stood there with my legs crossed holding her tail!!

Hope that helps everyone!

 

[cazzr]

Hi there,
How is your mare doing now? Interested as just this morning my mare has had one put in. Her symptoms sound a bit like yours, cold backed and v grumpy to be saddled and rugged up, she is generally quite irritable and doesn't tollerate tickling (can't groom with a body brush, has to be dandy brush/curry comb). She is also quite the loony in season, being more stressy about coming away from the herd whereas she normally is ok.

Vet said these more extreme problems are likely because she is prime breeding age (she's nearly 7 and I've had her since she was 18 months and her hormones have been more of a problem in the last year) and said if I had wanted to put her in foal then she'd be very easy as the first scan showed a beauty of a follicle which he'd have been chuffed to see if he were AI'ing her!
Vet didn't mention bute for afterwards and said to treat her as normal so interested to read that yours had bute for a few days....
We did try regumate for about 6 months and whereas this was effective at keeping her out of season it didn't seem to help with the other stuff, plus I always worried that if she didn't finish her feed whether she was getting the right dose each time. That and having to be careful when handling the stuff meant I was keen to try the marble instead.
Just wanted to mention too that I feel for your mare as I infact get pain with ovulation so know exactly how she feels.
Just got to hope she doesn't pop the thing out now, i'd be most frustrated if she did!

 

[cobwithattitude]

Hi Cazzr - just browsing on forum before i go and order a dressage test...and saw your reply come up on main index! Mare is ok - symptoms have definitely died down, although she is still prone to a minor grump occasionally when putting on the saddle. She has had a very small 'season' too - i think(?) but seems a lot more settled and generally happier in her self. Marble must still be 'in situ'! I had to keep her in for the day when it was inserted as that was the prime time for it popping out. Good luck! Let em know how you and your mare get on.