# Mare in heat!



## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Very frustrating...I've only had Sandie 8 weeks and this is the THIRD time she's been in heat since I have had her! So basically she's been in heat this whole darn time -- but the first day or so is always the worst! She gets mean with the other horses (esp other mares), she tried to kick one today that went by her while I was grooming her! And she calls to EVERYONE else in the barn...she is normally very quiet and calm, but the day she goes into heat she just starts crying out to every other horse within a mile radius, and she paces back and forth in her stall (even though she's been out playing ALL DAY).

A few people have suggested I use some sort of natural supplement for her...does anyone else use anything to calm mares in heat down/regulate or make the cycles less often? What do you use?


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## CrazyChester (May 5, 2008)

This is off topic but I have always owned geldings and Abby is my first mare and I was woundering how do you know there in heat?

Sorry that I cant answer your question


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## DixiesPaintedNova (Nov 18, 2008)

If she's pacing she might be in pain so try some Bute.


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## toosexy4myspotz (Oct 7, 2007)

Some mares will squat farther down when they go to urinate, their vulve will be a little bit swollen and have a discharge. Some will also get ready to urinate but they just spray a little.


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## toosexy4myspotz (Oct 7, 2007)

vulva*


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Ah, I hate when they get like that. Well, some mares. Daytona has those days, & about 2wks ago I was riding her & she was acting totally different; so I ended up getting off & lunging her to cool off some steam-it worked!  I got her to pay attention as well, instead of being a pain in the butt. :lol: Sometimes it can't be helped though; mares are mares!


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## CrazyChester (May 5, 2008)

toosexy4myspotz said:


> Some mares will squat farther down when they go to urinate, their vulve will be a little bit swollen and have a discharge. Some will also get ready to urinate but they just spray a little.


ok Thankyou


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Dixies, they can be in pain from just being in heat?? No one's ever mentioned that to me...

Poptart, I know what you mean! I do longe her every day, before I ride, but today all we did was longe, I never got on her because she was acting so "marish" -- and when she gets like that she stops paying attention and listening during riding, she just seems very on edge and calls out to the other horses with me on her back!...my trainer got on her and had a hell of a time with her, so at least SOMEONE rode her! but she gets rather "flighty" when she's in heat so I didn't want to take my chances (he's a much stronger rider, that's why he's the trainer and I'm the student lol)


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

CrazyChester said:


> ok Thankyou


To add to "how you can tell": I know that my mare and another in the barn both call (whinny at the top of their lungs!!) to the other horses in the barn CONSTANTLY when they're going into heat...even when we're riding them sometimes! 

That was the big sign today...she was just calling and calling in her stall and would not stop, it was almost embarassing, she was disrupting the whole barn and others were trying to ride and hold conversations and here's Sandie screaming her head off at the geldings lol!! 

oh that and any geldings anywhere near her will stick up their top lip, it looks hilarious, it's called the "flehmen response" (Flehmen response - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Those 2 things are the tell tale signs for Sandie and a few other mare-owners I know!


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Hey but has anyone tried any herbal supplements or anything? I don't really want to medicate her with actual meds from the vet, I'd like to try something natural first...I've heard of "Moody Mare" and others like it...has anyone tried anything like that before?


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I haven't tried that personally, but yeah, so true! :lol: It's best to not get on sometimes, as it could make it even worse. You don't wanna put yourself in danger.


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## LMW (Mar 1, 2007)

Mare Magic has worked wonders with some of our horses.


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## Jubilee Rose (May 28, 2008)

DixiesPaintedNova said:


> If she's pacing she might be in pain so try some Bute.


I have to disagree here and wonder with Hoofprints, why would she be in pain? Also, I would definitely not recommend using bute for this. Bute should only be used when absolutely necessary (for a large injury, etc) as it can cause ulcers. 

Hoofprings, I'm not really familiar with products... but I think your mare may be in heat so much because she is in a new place. You've only had her for 2 months, and she's still getting used to things. There's lots of handsome boys around that she's checking out.  She may still be settling in and finding her place in the "herd." I would give it time, and she may get better. I think someone told me that mares can go in heat proverbially any time (ie, when stressed, or meeting a new gelding, etc). I'm not sure about that though. :?


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Two things helped my mare, age and diet change. 

As they get older, most mares settle down. If she's young (7 years old or younger) she may get easier to handle later on.

I switched my mare to a more "natural" diet because of weight gain and some spookiness on the trail. Once she got off all sweet and pelleted feed, her attitude did a full 180. Her heats were much easier to tolerate, she had a better work ethic, and she was much more level headed. It took about 4-6 months for the diet change to make its full effect. She gets 25-30 lbs of grass hay, 1 lb of plain whole oats (1/2 of a 2qt scoop), 1-1.5 lbs of alfalfa pellets (a bit more than 1/2 a scoop), and a vitamin supplement.

As for the supplements, I know some people have had good luck with Moody Mare and Quiessence (sp?). The reviews are mixed. You have to give it a full 60 days to see if it really works.

Another idea is that your mare has some abnormal hormones and/or excessive cramping due to cysts on her ovaries or uterus. You might want to have a reproductive exam and blood work done by your vet.


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Thanks this is some great advice! I'm going to look into her diet more...when I got her 9 weeks ago, she wasn't even eating grain at all, she was just in a pasture living on grass and hay (which made her overweight, but I'm sure I could strike a balance!!) 

Now she's eating this sweet grain, and I think it may be making her crazy lol...she's not eating as much as the other horses in the barn, but still a whole scoop a day at least and the barn manager loves her and likes to feed her a little handful here and there too, so I know she's getting more than she likely needs, with her history. She's an easy keeper, as the vet told me!

I wonder how much grain she actually needs?


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## DixiesPaintedNova (Nov 18, 2008)

Well maybe its just a myth but a lot of mare owners have told me to use bute for discomfort while dixie is in heat. She'll pace up and down the fence line until theres a ditch to prove it. I've given her some bute and for some reason it seems to work. I've also changed her diet and that's definatly helped i dont have to use bute and she's not uncomfortable.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

She doesn't likely need any. You might want to take her off the grain completely and just give her half of a 2qt scoop a day of alfalfa or other hay pellets (read the tag to be sure it's not preserved with animal fat). Add to that a vitamin supplement like Select II or SmartPak's Smart Vite Easy Keeper Grass. If she sifts the supplement out, just add in a little water and mix it up.

More turn out time will help too. The poor girl is just going stir crazy right now, lol. How would you like to be hormonal and cooped up in your room with nothing to do??? :shock:


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

DixiesPaintedNova said:


> Well maybe its just a myth but a lot of mare owners have told me to use bute for discomfort while dixie is in heat. She'll pace up and down the fence line until theres a ditch to prove it. I've given her some bute and for some reason it seems to work. I've also changed her diet and that's definatly helped i dont have to use bute and she's not uncomfortable.


No, they're right. Diets high in sugar (for both horse and human) cause more cramping during extra hormonal times. Mares CAN get crampy! Dixie is probably one of those mares.


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## toosexy4myspotz (Oct 7, 2007)

I cant think of the maker of the supplement but it is called "moody mare". A girl I used to know had a mare that produced way too much estrogen and the vet recommended and the mare has done great on it.


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## 1dog3cats17rodents (Dec 7, 2007)

I had the pony I was riding go into heat while at a show. She fell in love with the 17h gelding in the stall behind her (she was 13.1h, lol) She kept screaming to him and squating *while* I was trying to saddle her. Fun times. I feel your pain


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## huntseat7 (Dec 31, 2008)

Omg I know! We have a couple mares that are miserable and go into heat every other week at my barn!

The one girl does a low does of bute (but talks with the vet a lot about it) and messages her horses hips when she goes into heat, it helps. 

I'm not big into the herbal stuff we have tried in on two of the ponies and we had a few really nasty reaction and odd side effects. Then they started to work and after so long they stopped like the horse's body's cope to it.

There are some stronger treatments ment to stop them from going into heat all together. And I've seen a couple with marble inserted to simulate pregnancy and it worked! 

I would call up a really good vet and talk, and let them see her in heat. There are some strong drugs out there that can help keep her happier but they are not to be taken lightly, they can be very serious.


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

LMW said:


> Mare Magic has worked wonders with some of our horses.


Several people at the barn use Mare Magic, and I've decided to try it! (esp since it's all natural, raspberry leaves! sounds yummy lol!) She starts on it tonight, wish me luck!! ;-) If she's not crazy for the next 21 days, I'll know it did its job! :lol:


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## ohmyitschelle (Aug 23, 2008)

Just to come in here a bit late to put my two cents in... Jubilee, (i think it was, sorry if i have the wrong username) and Hoofprints - mares do get sore/tender when in heat... it's just like women, we all get crampy and get sore too! I find with my mare Bailey she tends to get very tender towards the middle - late end of the "season"... mares do go into heat around new geldings although not for long - Bailey tends to start squirting as soon as there's a new man in her sights haha. Dirty toad. Atm she's in heat and touching her flank area is asking for a nice boot from her. I like to give her a low dose of bute if it gets really bad - like we take pain relief when it gets bad for us! 
I also think walking them out is a good idea. I put Bai on the lunge and just let her stretch and loosen everything up... as you can see they tense up and hold their muscles etc. 
So far Honey's only been in heat a couple of times... and both times she's not that different than usual. Athough she's starting to love her boys these days lol. She has like three different boyfriends at the moment. Haha.
Good luck with the mare magic... must look into something like that over here for Bai.
x


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

ohmyitschelle said:


> Just to come in here a bit late to put my two cents in... Jubilee, (i think it was, sorry if i have the wrong username) and Hoofprints - mares do get sore/tender when in heat... it's just like women, we all get crampy and get sore too! I find with my mare Bailey she tends to get very tender towards the middle - late end of the "season"... mares do go into heat around new geldings although not for long - Bailey tends to start squirting as soon as there's a new man in her sights haha. Dirty toad. Atm she's in heat and touching her flank area is asking for a nice boot from her. I like to give her a low dose of bute if it gets really bad - like we take pain relief when it gets bad for us!
> I also think walking them out is a good idea. I put Bai on the lunge and just let her stretch and loosen everything up... as you can see they tense up and hold their muscles etc.
> So far Honey's only been in heat a couple of times... and both times she's not that different than usual. Athough she's starting to love her boys these days lol. She has like three different boyfriends at the moment. Haha.
> Good luck with the mare magic... must look into something like that over here for Bai.
> x


Thanks! She doesn't act sore when she's in heat, she just screams/calls out to every horse in the barn and "flirts" with the geldings lol...there is a new horse in the stall next to her now and we believe he's a stallion (someone rescued him from auction and he won't let anyone near him enough to take a true look!), and that is no doubt making her worse! From what I've heard about Mare Magic, it sometimes calms down the nerves/spookiness that can come with them being in season as well, so I thought I would try it out! Esp. since its only ingredient is raspberry leaves, it makes me feel good that it's all natural and I'm not drugging her up ;-) 

Otherwise she is a GREAT mare, extremely sweet girl! Just needs a little help focusing/not being crazy when she's in season (which for her so far has been every 21 days on the dot!).


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