# Mare dangerous when in heat



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

My mum has this new horse, a 14.3hh bay thoroughbred mare named DJ, she is 10 years old and was abandoned in a forest when she finished racing. Apparently she was beaten and had pawing chains on etc at this place, she was taken off the owner by the spca around 8 months ago and has scars everywhere... But the problem is, she was beaten into defiance, not submission, so it seems.

When we first got her, we had her on trial for 2 months and she was the sweetest thing in every way, apart from being a little difficult to pick out her front hooves(we think this is in relation to the pawing chains/shackles)
-It was winter at the time, so mares don't cycle... Yes??

Well, it is now spring and her behaviour is getting progressively worse, she has turned into a little tart when she comes into heat, peeing all over my gelding and rubbing her behind on him, spraying herself everywhere, and my gelding hates it, he's sick of her and so am I.
So I seperated them, and little miss houdini gets out and in with Mitchell. Every time.

Tonight I seperated them so I could ride Mitchell in peace and he was brilliant, so I untacked and left him tied up while I brought DJ in to swap them over. DJ was tied up, and I lead Mitch out to the grassy paddock, when DJ breaks off the fence and comes galloping over peeing and whatnot. So I put Mitch in the grass, and tie DJ up again... Twice. Both times she broke off, and on the 4th time back to the fence she decided she had had enough, and reared up full height and come crashing down on my foot (which I suspect is broken now :evil: it effing hurts.) She did this again and again, inching her way closer to me upper body, so I got her hooves moving, backwards, forwards, sideways whatever way I could get them moving, until she decided she didn't want to do that either, and just stood there taking every command i gave her, over her shoulder like i was dirt. She reared up again and went to strike out at me, so I stepped back still holding the line, and whacked her hard over the base of the neck with my rope. I hate hitting my horses, but in this instance it was my safety over hers. I eventually got her dealt to and behaving. So I let her go, in the paddock with NO grass whatsoever, though I think she may be in with mitch by the time i get up in the morning.

What do I do with her now? I have several options, each of which I am happy to look in to because there is no way in hell I am risking my mum getting hurt by this psycho mare.
-I can keep going with her, try out different grass, no grass, mare calmers whatever.
-I can send her off to my racehorse trainer neighbour to sort out
-We can sell her
-Or we can shoot her (last ditch effort btw)

But whatever we do, something needs to be done. She is not in pain, and up until she started coming into heat she was brilliant to work with in every way, to worm, to ride, to handle on the ground, whatever. But if you tell her off, she will just stare at you and proceed to get nasty, thats what I mean by she's been beaten into defiance. She looks at you and kind of seems to say "well then do your worst, I don't care":evil:


----------



## Tracer (Sep 16, 2012)

It's experiences like this that makes me wary of mares. I hope you find a solution soon, she sounds like she is a danger to everyone the way she is now.


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Tracer said:


> It's experiences like this that makes me wary of mares. I hope you find a solution soon, she sounds like she is a danger to everyone the way she is now.


Yes I'm not terribly fond of mares either, but my first horse was a mare and you could never tell that she was in heat, it was just another day.
Ugh, the pain in my foot is so bad my entire body is shaking, and my foot is slowly going purple and its really swollen... Might get it checked tomorrow if it doesnt get any better, not that they can do much exceot for drug me up anyways


----------



## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

I would try mare magic (which is just bulk raspberry leaves)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

How many days of the month does this go on. A boarder here was so hormonal driven the day she was in standing heat we just left her alone. The following day she was a totally different horse, her usual sweet self. She too selected a gelding and rubbed on him. He didn't like it and would bite her which of course made her worse. Fortunately it lasted only 24 hrs.


----------



## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

When she's in season like this.....just leave her be, stay away for her and wait until the storm passes.

A lot of these posts have been popping up on the forum recently (it's that time of year:lol and I have said the same thing each time......it's not worth risking your skin dealing with a mare when she's like this, and it's such a short period of time that they are like this, I just recommend leaving her to it....if you can keep her separated from your gelding, that's great.....

I have had some very close encounters with mares like this.....it's kind of like women who are PMSing - Leave her alone until her hormones return to a more stable level........or get her on something to regulate them......

The fact that she used to be a racehorse has nothing to do with how she cycles and how she behaves during her cycles....all the other behaviours need to be dealt with according to how she is right now......not what may or may it have happened to her in the past


----------



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I like mares. Have several. In with the geldings and have no problems. Yours, if related to her heat cycle, is an unfortunate extreme.

Would you consider having her spayed? Is she worth having that done? 

I will admit to always being leery of the story of the abused horse that suddenly goes rogue. So often they are babied into spoiledness beyond belief. Or given terminal doses of sympathy.

So, was yours "taken off the owner?" Or, "abandoned in a forest at the end of her racing career?" and at what age was that?


----------



## Tarpan (May 6, 2012)

There's depo shots too, but I don't know what the expense or side effects of those are. I'm very wary of mares too, for this reason, but I've known some awesomely sweet ones too so it's not right to stereotype!


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I'd try feeding raspberry leaves first, then if that doesn't work I'd try depo provera shots. I have had 1 mare in almost 50 years of breeding that needed to be 'chemically spayed' and that worked very well. We gave her the depo shots every 6 weeks for about a year and then she stopped coming into heat altogether. The depo stops it immediately and it eventually made this mare stop cycling.


----------



## eclipseranch (May 31, 2012)

Tracer said:


> It's experiences like this that makes me wary of mares..


sorry but this made me giggle because I hear stuff all the time about "mare"wariness...it really is the exception not the rule that mares are such B****es when in heat...most are just fine. kind of like humans, you know the type right?!


----------



## peppersgirl (Aug 24, 2012)

All I own is mares. I have had more experiences with tart geldings than I have had with mares. 

I have a horse I considered getting marbled ( I touched on this in another thread in the health section) but I solved her mare BS with a caslick and not babying her just because she was in heat. sometimes mares do get so bad that it is better to just let em be, but other times its more that we are just letting them get away with being dingbats because they are in heat.

To me it no different than letting a stallion be a jerk just because he is near a mare in heat.. If he can learn manners, and to focus, so can she.


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

I don't think we would consider spaying, because that is not a typical operation in NZ as far as we know, and DJ is just a farm trek we picked up for $200. Who knows, mum may want to, but thats her option.

Saddlebag: The past 3 weeks all we have had is this type of behaviour, and its just getting worse, including the peeing.. and the smell of that is absolutely rank.

Boots: She was abandoned in a forest and beaten by the trainer/owner after her racing career at around 4, and finally taken off by the spca around 8 months ago, as well as all his other animals, most were worse than DJ. Her hooves are a pretty good sign that she never had adequate care, her heeles are completely uneven and my farrier thinks they will never come back up on two of her hooves. It doesnt cause her pain though.

I like the idea of the depo shot or mare magic though.. Will get back to you all later, need to go to the hospital then to school.. brilliant, my entire foot is swollen huge.


----------



## peppersgirl (Aug 24, 2012)

IF its been a 3 week long thing, I'm not so sure I would be blaming heat cycles. I think I'd have her checked over by a vet just to be on the safe side. If that all checks out well, its a training/handling issue..


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I have 1 mare out of 5 that is a royal pain in the *** when she's in season - both for herself and driving the other mares mad. She is OK to ride and handle
You can try Mare Magic but it had no effect at all on my mare.
I have had her on regu-mate this summer and she has been a 100% different horse and it has been worth the cost. 
She is no trouble in the winter so will be taken off it at the end of this month until the spring.
I wear gloves to handle it and a syringe fits securely into the device on the bottle which has never given me any spillages


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

If she's been awful for 3 weeks, I'd have a vet checking her hormone levels and looking for any possible tumors. Normal heat signs shouldn't last more than about 10 days MAX and she shouldn't be raging for all 10.


----------



## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

The first thing I would do is horse proof the fences.


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Natisha, yeah I went out in the dark with a spotlight last night and horse proofed the boundary fences, but I think she is going to find herself tied solid to something if she carries this breaking off crap on. 

found out this morning my foot is broken in two places and I will be on crutches for up to 4 weeks... So I won't be dealing with the horse, I have told mum she is not to touch her, if she wants to handle her she can ask the help of our neighbour the trainer because I am not risking having my mum hurt.

I've been wondering that, because I've seen a lot of mares that are little tarts in heat, but for one thing, i have never smelt pee so strong as DJ's, or behaviour so **** dangerous. The mares here seem to be always in heat (here in general, not here as in this farm) but I will speak to mum about having her hormone levels tested.

-Spring grass I'm guessing will also be having an effect, we are on a dairy farm and toxicosis is something that horses and cows get often if they're not on mycotoxin binders for prevention... So guess who will be going on toxin binders starting today! Woo, DJ will be!

-On the up side, she is still in the paddock she is supposed to be in, this afternoon.


----------



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Urinary tract or kidney infection? That can elicit some of those extreme behaviors and would explain the odd odor.


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

boots said:


> Urinary tract or kidney infection? That can elicit some of those extreme behaviors and would explain the odd odor.


wow really? I never even thought of that! It could be too, I'll have to get that checked


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

I have actually seen her a few times standing in the "pee stance" but not peeing and then giving up and shifting, could that be another sign of a UTI? I know it is in humans but im not sure about horses :lol:


----------



## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

HollyBubbles said:


> I have actually seen her a few times standing in the "pee stance" but not peeing and then giving up and shifting, could that be another sign of a UTI? I know it is in humans but im not sure about horses :lol:


Has she been stitched up? Someone might have asked already.....but she could be rearend wind sucking.....just a thought...:wink:


----------



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Muppetgirl said:


> Has she been stitched up? Someone might have asked already.....but she could be rearend wind sucking.....just a thought...:wink:


lol. I forgot about "those" mares!


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Oh I wouldn't have a clue lol :lol: can you tell just by looking or do you have to get a vet to confirm?

She was good tonight, I took a stockwhip out with me so i could get through without any issues... NOT to hit her with, but to make sure that she knows **** well to get out of my space and leave me the hell alone. I only had to crack it twice, the other times I just pointed away and said "Out" very forcefully, both her and my gelding know what that means. When I gave her some feed (just plain old meadow chaff with some toxin binder in it) she really took her time coming over. I stayed by the feed with my whip dropped on the ground, not looking at her and stood there with quite a weak stance, and she circled around me, and walked back and forwards before coming any closer. when she finally walked in to the feed slowly, i petted her on the neck and left her be.


----------



## Wheatermay (Aug 22, 2011)

The mare magic (raspberry leaves) worked really well on my mare! She wasnt crazy like that, just tempermental and her back would get very very sore. After the raspberry leaves (tractor supply carries it around here), she is a sweetie pie during her heats!


----------



## QuietHeartHorses (Jul 31, 2012)

I don't have a mare, personally, but I have worked in breeding barns in the past and I know exactly what you are talking about! My friend Kim found the best solution for this issue. She had all six of her mares "impregnated" with a glass marble. The marble simulates pregnancy, so the mares don't cycle. Her vet recommended it and from what she says, it works wonders!


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

QuietHeartHorses said:


> I don't have a mare, personally, but I have worked in breeding barns in the past and I know exactly what you are talking about! My friend Kim found the best solution for this issue. She had all six of her mares "impregnated" with a glass marble. The marble simulates pregnancy, so the mares don't cycle. Her vet recommended it and from what she says, it works wonders!


That's a pretty cool idea lol, not sure mum would spend up to do something like that with her little farm hack though, if she was a show horse or something like that then she probably would, but little DJ is just a farm hacking little bush pony.

She was far better behaved today, as i would darn well expect.


----------



## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

UTI's have the potential to be life threatening if allowed to get out of control. It might be a result of a kidney stone problem It would make her irritable, lethargic, have difficulty peeing and she would have a raised temperature - thats something you can check yourself and can be sorted with a course of antibiotics

Two other things:
She may have an ovarian tumour and the symptoms of that are very much like the extreme and dangerous behaviour you are seeing
She may have an ovulatory follicle that hasn't responded as normal to the bodies alerts mechanism and has formed into a cyst like structure.

IMO I think you need to call your vet out and get these things eliminated or confirmed before her situation gets worse. Its not fair to punish her for a behavioural problem if the cause is a physical one she has no control over that could also be life threatening


----------



## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

Just like a colt that needs gelding.. this mare needs to be spayed. 

I would have that done and be done with it. I believe the surgery is performed with the horse standing up or in a sling. The vet removes the ovaries (not the uterus) through slits just forward of the hip (as I recall in the mare I saw who had been spayed). It used to be a fairly common practice in the western US.


----------



## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

Another thought is she might have a cystic ovary. That an put hormone levels over the top. Not common in horses. Much more common in cattle. 

I would still spay her.


----------



## AndersonEquestrian (Sep 25, 2012)

Mare's aren't all bad. I only have mares. I am not a gelding or a stallion fan really.. I guess it really depends on the horse. My two girls even in flaming heats pay attention and behave. I just don't put up with BS like that.

My suggestion is maybe talking to your vet and finding out some supplements to put her on for this. I know there is a shot or something that makes them not come into heat or something like that.. You might try that


----------



## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

Regu-mate will prevent a mare from coming in heat. It is not without side effects and it is not cheap.


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

we've only had a couple mares over the years that were really bad, rasberry leaves fixed the problem, but spaying may be a good option. neither of my current mares show at all when they come in heat. i love mares and wont willingly own another gelding.


----------



## HollyBubbles (Jun 22, 2009)

Hmm, well maybe the local vet school would like to have a look at her then? It's not a common thing over here for things like these so perhaps I could take her down (its only an hour)

She was much better last night, very respectful and back to the DJ we know and love.

The other thing I'm wondering is do pregnant mares get moody like that or not? I am somewhat suspiscious(sp?) as before we got her she was paddocked with colts who "didn't know they were colts yet" - yeah right, one of them was 3 -_- so I might just take her down to the vet school for the 5th year students to look at (when they specialise in a discipline) and get them to do the works.

And see what they would like to do, it may just be the grass that is the added problem also, I know that if I don't control Mitchell's grass intake he goes loopy, but not to the extent of being like that.


----------

