Spaying A Mare.

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hobo

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My 18 year old very fit and well, much loved mare in later life her seasons have got very over the top. She has had a full ovary health check, bloods ect. She had the summer on regumate which though I though did not do much as soon as it finished I realised what I had forgotten! I hope to enjoy many more years with her and my instructor talks about getting her spayed has anyone done it and were they pleased with the results.
The constant spraying that she does makes her rear end sore and she goes from being very easy to spooky & over reactive and screaming for the boys that live next door. She even spread and sprayed at the gas man the other day!! Regumate helps but to keep her settled she would have to have it near enough year round. If an op works it means we both can just go about our rides for the next few years in harmony.
 
I don't have experience with it and I'm not a vet/ vet nurse, but it is far more invasive than gelding. She would need a general anaesthetic. I'm sure posters who are more knowledgeable will help out but it sounds drastic.
 
My vet suggested a marble placed in the uterus for a similar problem, She had other issues so I didn't try it but might be worth discussing with your vet. I was told it isn't always successful.
 
I don’t work in equine veterinary however know a small amount about it. Horses are not normally spayed as there is no need - most male horses are geldings and unlike cats or even dogs we control their contact with other members of their species much more closely.

Horses can be spayed but as a last resort. Due to the deepness of the ovaries (even approaching through the flank) it involves specialist equipment often involving small cameras meaning the surgery would cost a lot of money, unlike the few hundred involved in small animal neutering.

General anaesthetic is also very risky for horses due to their anatomy, gut system and recovery. Death rates are high (~1:100) and I believe that’s only deaths directly from anaesthesia not breaking a leg on recovery etc.

At the moment it sounds the horse is merely inconvenient to you, you don’t like her spraying, or calling, she’s also a little spooky. This doesn’t sound like it’s negatively impacting the life of the horse so I would question the morality between putting her through a procedure. If your vet would even reccomend referral for it. Maybe a mare isn’t for you? Or try another technique such as marble placement or long term regumate.

ETA: Just read that back and it sounds really harsh, sorry! Just was trying to emphasise it’s not a ‘small’ procedure for horses.
 
Ask your vet about improvac injections. They stop your mare coming in to season for around a year. Cost about £200.
 
mule said:
I don't have experience with it and I'm not a vet/ vet nurse, but it is far more invasive than gelding. She would need a general anaesthetic. I'm sure posters who are more knowledgeable will help out but it sounds drastic.
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An oophorectomy can be done laporascopically under standing sedation if the ovaries are normal.
 
SOS that was harsh so thanks for the sorry! I should have said that she has had to be washed out with antibiotics a couple of times this year because of it. I have also owned her for 14 years so know how horrid it is for her. They can do it standing under sedation now which is the only reason I would consider it if nothing else helps.

TP will goggle improvac injections and ask vet about them, he did say he could get an injection for her but it has to come from Australia.

I was just hoping someone had real experience of it but I guess it is rare here.
 
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