# Mare with hard heat cycles-Solutions?



## myQHpaul (Jun 25, 2009)

I have a mare that I got in June. I absolutely love her to death but she has the worst heat cycles anyone at our barn has ever seen. I have tried all the normal remedies like watching what she eats, putting her on something similar to mare magic withouth any results. I'm glad that winter is here and her cycles will stop until spring but once spring rolls around, so will the witch I have come to love. Anyone have suggestions for what might help her stay lovable? I plan on calling my vet come March and asking him but was wondering what everyone else has tried and what's worked and what hasn't. I had heard a few things about depro shots and marbles. Thanks.


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## Pyrrhic (Dec 11, 2011)

I'm not sure what Mare Magic is, so can't comment on that but a lot of hormonally imbalanced mares do well on a magnesium supplement (not the sulphate epsom salts as dehydrates). Magnesium itself is not a calmer, but a lot of mares are deficient and do well on magnesium as a supplement. 

Magnesium also has the effect that it will improve your horses feet!

As well as that, try and find a hormone balancer. Agnus Castus and Evening Primrose has a positive affect on a lot of mares but as they are herbal remedies some owners see no change. 

If it were me, I would get the vet to do a blood test and in the meantime feed some magnesium, a gnus casts and maybe some EP also.


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## Pyrrhic (Dec 11, 2011)

I've just looked up Mare Magic. I have to say I've never heard of Raspberry Leaf being used in itself as a calmer. I've only ever seen it used in the UK to help with muscles in the reproductive tract and that any calming affect is only a side affect. 

In humans, pregnant women drink or take Raspberry Leaf to help them achieve a smoother labour. I certainly didn't feel any calmer when I drank three cups a day :lol:


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Our mare went through some wicked heats the first year we had her. At first we never noticed her going into heat and then when she did she was impossible to be around and had the messiest hind end imaginable. I did speak to the vet and he suggested the Depo shots. I wasn't wild about it so I gave her just a little more time (this was in November) and we had to wait to begin until she was had just finished coming out of heat. We ended up managing through the winter and then following spring she was much better. 

I don't know if she was on Depo before we got her and had terrible heats when she started to cycle again, or if because she was underweight when we got her, she didn't initially come into heat, but had horrible cycles once she gained weight. I heard that when they come back into heat after a round of Depo, it can be ugly. It can also take quite some time to bring them back in if you want to breed.

Also, after owning her a year, maybe we all settled down and everyone "levelled out" a bit. So far, we haven't given her anything and while she does come into heat often, she isn't the total cow she used to be.

Maybe try to wait out the winter (if you can) and see how your mare gets on in the spring. If she is still terrible, consider the Depo.


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## myQHpaul (Jun 25, 2009)

Are there any supplements I can buy that have these ingredients in them? I don't plan on doing anything drastic until I see her first heat cycle in the spring. She is just terrible to work with. Won't listen, jumpy, sensitve, kicks the side of her stall, rubs along the fences and her stall wall, I feel horrible because I feel like she is tearing the barn down.


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## Pyrrhic (Dec 11, 2011)

You should be able to buy magnesium, Agnus Castus and Evening Primrose on their own, then add them to her feed. Back in the UK you could buy them at any feed store but as they are herbal you can also buy them at a pharmacy as people take them too. Might be work ringing feed stores near you to see if they have them first.

I don't know if you can get a supplement over here that would have all three.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

If she's that bad she may need a vet's attention. Could be an ovarian cyst or something that needs to be managed with Regumate or even surgery for her own comfort and sanity.


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## Annnie31 (May 26, 2011)

If your mare is mean...give her green... Dont ask me when or where I heard it..too many years have passed, but we always fed more chlorophyl rich foods (alfalfa hay, fresh grass etc.) and herbs such as dandelion root and red clover are supposed to be good although we just increased their alfalfa hay if they were not out on pasture alot, and if they were on pasture and it was low, they got good quality alfalfa hay. 
I can also tell you a mare with a cyst generally wont have a heat cycle so that is not likely the problem.

Mares can also be showing signs of heat but not actually be in heat, its a fear response in some mares (kinda like a puppy who gets excited and pees all over if they are scared) and that can be mistaken for a heat cycle other than if you pay attention the mare will not lift her tail when she squats and will push her butt away from the other horse not to it like a mare in heat will do.

Mares who are in estrus and are grouchy may just be producting larger follicles that can be painful. 
During the transitional period from estrus to diestrus some mares become irritable or aggressive due to the clashing of estrogen and progesterone and that is usually when they act more like a stud..it is frustration at its best.
So there are many factors involved in finding out where and how your mare fits in with her heat cycle behavior and I think in the spring you should record her cycles, daily behaviour etc so you can see where she fits in. Tell your vet and get their advise after you have studied a few of her cycles and understand her better.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I've used Mare Plus with good results and I use it routinely for last trimester mares because we are selenium poor here. 

I've also had a mare who had Gawd awful heats and just couldn't be dealt with when she was cycling, so I used the Depo shots on her. I'm trying to remember, but I think she got 4 or 6 shots/year, not too expensive and well worth the peace it gave me. She was NOT a breeding candidate due to some conformational faults so I didn't care if she stopped cycling all together, and she did. After a couple years on it, she never cycled again and that was a relief to everyone. 

I've used raspberry leaves in cystic mares, they seem to hold the pregnancy better and seem to get pregnant easier with the leaves and I've heard of the marbles but never actually known anyone who used them.


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## myQHpaul (Jun 25, 2009)

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will start recording her symptoms come spring and talk with my vet about alternatives. I am hoping it's something that can be fixed simply. A friend of mine used Depo with her mare and got great results from it.


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## MarleysGirl (Oct 21, 2011)

I have one HOT HOT mare so I completely relate to you. Mine tries to literally kill me when she is in heat. In all honesty, I suggest speaking to a vet. I just had my girl checked to rule out an ovarian tumor along with other things. I've tried Mare Magic and saw no improvement or change. I discussed the depo shots with the vet and he pretty much said "eh"... His suggestion which I am going to be trying next is Regumate. It's a tad expensive but I have heard tons of good feedback on it. 

I wish you best with your girl! This is definitely a discussion I'll be checking back on!


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## Kathieh (Apr 15, 2012)

*Muscle Tremors in Cycling Mares*

Muscle Tremors in Mare Cycles:
I too have a mare who struggles with her cycle. Having her for only 2 years I now have found the pattern. January is a big cycle for her, then
idles easily until April and then another tough one. In fact this year I had
the vet out because she was displaying muscle tremors. Her entire body
quivers from tail head to neck almost in a wave. The vet was stumped and pointing at those diseases horses MIGHT get. Gave her banamine and it helps. I believe she is in such pain that her body reacts in this way. I have tried the herbs and didn't see any relief but I will call the maker of
the herbs to see if they can help. Today she came to me from her herd mates to tell me and sure enough when I brought her in to the barn she was trembling again. At least she knows I can help her with the banamine.


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