# Question about mares in heat.....



## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

First, your mares behaviour sounds like she's just throwing a tantrum because you're taking her from her friends. You'll need to work on bonding with her so she doesn't feel all alone, you need to be her leader.

When she's in heat she'll be winking, squatting, peeing and backing up to a fence post.....You'll know. She should not bleed. She will pee and it will run down and splash on her legs and make a mess, just hose her off regularly and wash when it looks ugly and she'll be fine. If she's particularly annoying when in heat, you can put some Vicks in her nose and she'll calm down some, not all the way maybe but she won't be able to smell the boys.


----------



## jody111 (May 14, 2008)

Nope they dont bleed - I own two mares and are a big mare person...

Every mare is different - some will pee everywhere and wink (Possibly what you were wiping off the first horse)... I know some that get really cuddly others that are super touchy.... One of mine you wouldnt even know shes in heat - the others a bit of a madam and gets girthy and swishy...

You can get suppliments to help with "moody mares" like the stuff by James Hart... chaste berry is also said to help... My friend feed her mare vit B as this helps her not be so sore in her cycle...

its really an individual thing just like female woman and their cycles....


----------



## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> First, your mares behaviour sounds like she's just throwing a tantrum because you're taking her from her friends. You'll need to work on bonding with her so she doesn't feel all alone, you need to be her leader..


It was weird because she is usually attached at the hip with her buddy jagger that we got her with and she has started to really calm down since But yesterday she was no where's with him and was buddy with another horse. So that could have totally been the problem yesterday. She gets separated at night anyway usually and she goes into a grass arena with moose her buddy jagger we got her with, and her.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## DressageDreamer (Feb 29, 2012)

> I know some that get really cuddly others that are super touchy...


We had a mare that we have since sold that was obnoxiously cuddly when in heat. She was a real witch the rest of the time but when she was in heat, she was disgustingly sweet and constantly wanted to be petted. 
The rest of my mares really don't seem to change much when in heat....just the winking and peeing thing. No huge personality changes, thank God!


----------



## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Reading these stories makes me glad to have my mare. LoL. She never, ever, has messy legs that I have to clean. She doesn't act moody or marish at all. She isn't huffy and puffy. It's very hard to track her heat cycles because she doesn't show signs. I have to lift her tail and look and see if I notice a difference.

There have been only a handful of times in the 10 years I've owned her that she acts different with one of my geldings. Attached at the hip, nickering and will flag her tail to him. Those are the only times I know for sure that she's in heat. The rest of the time, she's like a gelding. LoL.


----------



## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Well I definitely know she is in heat. I pulled her out of her pen today and she was still quite moody and ****y because she wasn't with her 'buddy' well she soon calmed down but as soon as I let her out she runs up to one of the geldings and winks, pees, and pushes her butt towards him. I better go order some mare magic pronto.....lol
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## corgi (Nov 3, 2009)

This is a timely topic for me. I am a new horse owner and have been wondering when my girl is going to go into heat. I was anticipating some behavioral changes and hoping it wasn't going to be too bad.

I had a lesson on Tuesday and went out to the field to get her and she was standing with her butt to the fence, tail lifted, and winking at the geldings in the next field. This was my first experience with a mare in heat, but there was no mistaking what was happening. LOL

Being a newbie with confidence issues, I asked my trainer to ride her first in case she was going to be moody mare. She was an angel and we had one of the best lessons ever! I hope this means that she is going to be one of those mares that doesn't get crazy/ unpredictable while in heat. Crossing my fingers!


----------



## corgi (Nov 3, 2009)

Well, crossing my fingers didn't work. It has been 24 days since Izzy was in heat. I went to the farm today just to groom her and let her eat some lush grass outside of her paddock.

Omigoodness. She was a totally different horse.

She was fine when I went into her paddock to get her. But as soon as I got her to the hitching post, she started acting strange. She wouldn't stand still as I brushed her. She usually falls asleep she is so relaxed. Today, she kept swinging her butt towards me. Unacceptable! So I kept untying her and made her move her feet and do ground work.

I started wondering if she was in pain so I took her to the round pen to lunge her. As soon as I got the gate closed and her halter off, she started running around the ring without me asking her to. She would run and then stop and whinny at a field of unfamiliar mares. Loudly.

Getting her to canter is usually a huge task and I have had her since Feb 4 and have never heard her whinny. That's when I started counting days in my head and figured out she was probably in heat.

I made her finish her grooming session. She let me pick all four feet but started pawing at the ground, which she has never done before...

When I turned her out, she did not stick around for her treats, she went straight to to the fence that borders the geldings.

When she lifted her tail, it confirmed she was in heat.

So....my question is: do mares have "good" months and " bad" months? She was fine during her last cycle. Or could it be a particular day in her cycle that makes her act crazy...maybe I didn't see her on this day of her cycle the last time she was in heat.


----------



## GreySorrel (Mar 5, 2012)

Well, some mares do bleed but there is an explanation for it. I have a draft mare when she is in heat, she has a little bit of blood in her vaginal wall and vault, sometimes even on her rump. I had a repro vet look at her, what it was is there are many small veins in the vagina and vault, when they are in heat, they swell some, the skin will rub together, causing the tiny veins to rupture, hence why you may of seen some blood. 

However, with Smoke, if she laid down, it would literally puddle up so the vet had to go and cauterize it. Talk about feeling bad for my mare!


----------



## HagonNag (Jul 17, 2010)

Reading this makes me really happy I have geldings! ROFL


----------



## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

corgi said:


> Well, crossing my fingers didn't work. It has been 24 days since Izzy was in heat. I went to the farm today just to groom her and let her eat some lush grass outside of her paddock.
> 
> Omigoodness. She was a totally different horse.
> 
> ...


Having owned mares for a long time, I'll make some general comments based on your post...

- It's spring and all horses tend to be very fresh and full of energy.
- You've had this mare about 2 months now and she has probably reached the point of settling in and feeling comfortable with her new home/herd. This is often the time when they'll start testing their owners more.
- Mares cycle around 3 weeks, roughly 18-23 days. During that time, they are typically in season about 3-7 days. Although this can vary a lot, if this behavior has been going on for 23+ days, you may want to consider that this is not just being 'mare-ish'.
- You never want to treat your mare differently when she is in season. Handle her the same and expect the same behavior and work that you would any other time. If _you_ change your behavior or expectations because of _anticipating_ problems, you will create problems, i.e. this becomes a self fulfilling prophesy... I guarantee it.
- About not behaving while tied. Although a lot of people turn to working the horse, in my experience this is the opposite of what you want. A horse that is impatient while tied _wants_ to be untied and you have just given it what it wants, even if it means running around in a pen. If she is swinging her butt, flicking her tail, etc. while tied, give her a smack on the shoulder or butt, yell at her, and continue doing what you were doing (IMHO).

At our place, the rule is that just like any other horse behavior, if you want to be 'mare-ish' or fuss with each other out in the pasture on 'your own time', that's fine, but when it's 'my time' and I'm handling/working/riding, you behave. Simple and consistent.

Good luck and don't let mare horror stories get in your head.


----------



## corgi (Nov 3, 2009)

Thanks for the info!

I guess I wasn't clear in my post. I know she was in heat 23 days ago. She was fine...no personality changes. The perfect horse.

Yesterday's behavior was the first time I had seen this type of thing from her. She was fine on Wednesday. Thursday she was a different horse. She hasn't been misbehaving for 23 days. It was only yesterday. And then I noticed she was in heat again. I was just wondering how she can be fine one month and a pain in the rear the next month. Sorry for the confusion.


----------

