Best supplement for the uptight Diva mare

[DownYonder]

Looking for recommendations for a good mare supplement for a finicky eater. Mare has been on Quiessence for a few years, but I’m thinking it is time for a change. She is supersensitive to external stimuli when in heat, and since we just moved to a new barn, she is staying pretty worked up about everything (very tense and anxious). We need something to help relax her, but it has to be palatable - she is very suspicious about new aromas/flavors (was even apprehensive about her bran mash at the new barn :rolleyes:).

TIA for any suggestions.

[stryder]

Have you considered ulcers?

[DownYonder]

[QUOTE=stryder;6003717]
Have you considered ulcers?[/QUOTE]

Yes, but we are also looking for long term hormone support.

[Herbie19]

A friend of mine has her mare on Mare Magic and seems to think it helps settle her.

[jm2]

Personally, I’d try another form of magnesium. Specifically MagRestore from Performance Equine. www.performanceequineusa.com It is the “Big Guns” of magnesium supps. It is a highly bio-available chelated form (dimagnesium malate).

I had a VERY high anxiety mare (actually two - mother and daughter) and I tried Quiessence and Ex-Stress with little to no results. MagRestore made a TREMENDOUS difference. The amount of magnesium in products like Quiessence, Ex-Stress, SmartCalm is not enough per dose for many horses. Once they get deficient, they need much more magnesium to reverse the deficiency.

When starting MagRestore, it is recommended that the horse go on a loading dose of 40 grams a day for 7-10 days, then you can taper down to find your maintenance dose. The others give you a max of about 20 grams.

You can try a 1 lb. bag for about $15 and there are currently specials for the month of December. They also make a product called FOCUS Equine. Another excellent product and can be used in conjunction with MagRestore. FOCUS is vits and mins that act on seratonin and dopamine.

MagRestore literally has given both my mares a new life. So much more at ease and their heat cycles have benefitted also. Their muscles are no longer tight and my show mare is even putting muscle on over her hindquarters and topline.

Overall, wonderful products.

[LittleblackMorgan]

Re: Magrestore

I have a VERY hormonal, dare I say bitchy, mare.
She’s been on Regumate, Magrestore, SmartCalm Ultra, and now being treated for ulcers.

The Magrestore did seem to help her body relax a little, but she’s still a hussy. She has been in heat for a week, cut her face up trying to taunt a gelding pasture mate. She still has raging heats, we still have arguments and she’s still high maintenance.

I know it is all related to her hormones. She’s fine for the rest of the month. No amount of magrestore is going to change that.

The only thing that actually WORKED I am sorry to say, is the Regumate. Obviously no heats, did not give a whoot about other horses, didn’t spook, strike, wink or balk.
I would keep her on it all the time but the vet told me not to (I want to breed her).

OP, I get it. I really do. I put her Regumate in a tablespoon or so of applesauce and put it in the smallest tupperware containers I could buy.

My vet recommended marbling. Which works 60% of the time. Sometimes. I wasnt interested.

Then there is Depo. He said he would have to do the IM injection once a month. I dont know if it is a state law or whatever, but I am SOOO comfy giving shots. I did not want to pay him every month.

I’m a fan of Regumate. Instead of the pop rocks, the Magrestore, the calming stuff, the foo-foo raspberry mare magic, the tryptophan…I’m putting her back on the Reg in the spring.

[Herbie19]

LittleblackMorgan it goes without saying that the BEST option would be Regumate, but it is my understanding that the OP wants a supplement to help with the “symptoms” rather that using hormones.

Just out of curiosity what state do you live in? Seems odd that the vet would have to administer the depo themselves…

[LittleblackMorgan]

[QUOTE=DownYonder;6003831]
Yes, but we are also looking for long term hormone support.[/QUOTE]

See above?

I don’t know how one would lessen the symptoms without hormones…my girl gets crampy and tight backed when she is in heat (and a few days before).

My vet’s in NH.

[deltawave]

Hormones do not need to be “supported”.

If she’s unmanageable due to her heat cycles, try a marble, Regumate, or spay her.

Otherwise, maybe she just is who she is.

Supplements don’t change basic temperaments.

[Perfect_Pony]

I know some people claim this stuff doesn’t work, buy my 4 year old pony mare was really needy during her heat cycles. She would get worked up and start calling to anyone and everyone, and even threw a couple tantrums.

I put her on the SmartMare and she has bee much more even tempered. I am just waiting to see if it works this coming springtime. But for me, it helped just enough that she stopped driving me a bit crazy with her neediness.

[jm2]

Have you run a hormone panel on her? Have you had her checked for ovarian cysts?

Chastetreeberry can be used to help raise progesterone, but it won’t stop her heats like Regumate (synthetic progesterone.)

Marbling has worked for many mares as well.

Until you run a hormone panel on her - you really don’t know what could be out of whack.

If she is not a mare that is worth breeding, I would consider spaying. IMO - if her symptoms are not related to hormones being out of whack or a cyst and this is the way she is, I’m a fan of not breeding these type mares. Both my mares are high anxiety and neither will ever be bred as long as I have them (and that should be until they die.)

Spaying is actually quite common with working ranch mares. When it’s time to move the cattle, ranchers need to move them and can’t be down horses because it’s “that time of the month.”

Also consider that this may be her transition heat into inestrous. The last of the year and the first of the year tend to be strong in some mares. My mare was in standing heat for 23 days last February as she transitioned. I finally put her on a chinese blend called Heat Stopping and she was out in 2 days. Great stuff! It is what my holistic vet uses instead of Regumate. Might want to consider that instead of Regumate which has to be handled very carefully by females. It (regumate) can stop your cycles too if you get it on you, plus it is expensive.

[Herbie19]

[QUOTE=deltawave;6004554]

Supplements don’t change basic temperaments. :)[/QUOTE]

Tell that to one of mine who’s a nervous nelly without his magnesium and equishure. He’s retired and I’ve tried taking him off of it. He’s miserable.

As far as the OP goes, Regumate is the way to go. But I have seen some herbals help moodiness in mares. To each his own.

[DownYonder]

Contrary to what some believe, supplements can and do help with many issues - have seen them work quite well in many instances. Quiessence has done very nicely for this mare for several years, and I used to have a mare on the herbal supplement Regulate (now called Easy Mare), so I am leaning in that direction. Just hope the mare will eat it - like I said, she is a bit finicky about new tastes.

Regumate is not an option - barn owner will not allow it on the property. Mare is not bad enough to warrant spaying, and I am not interested in the marble thing. Her heat cycles are actually fairly quiet and normal, and she is usually pretty good under saddle - just more hyper alert and reactive to external stimuli, esp. with this move.

[deltawave]

Progesterone implant/pellet?

[retrofit]

DY - Wondering if you have found a solution for your mare? Could you share please?

My riding mare has had irregular, painful heat cycles starting last fall, with all the lower back pain & evil behavior that goes with that. I started using injectable progesterone in oil to help regulate her hormones, and it’s been a godsend. It’s an IM injection every 10 days. Some horses get very sore at the injection site, so it’s not suitable for every performance horse, but mine seems to be fine (so far, knock wood). I’m just afraid that I’ll give a routine shot 3 days before a show and that will be when the reaction shows up. That would be my luck.

DY - Like you, I do not want to do anything to jeopardize my mare’s future breeding soundness. My understanding is that like people, they should be allowed to have 4 heat cycles/year (as in, 1 every 3 months or so). This can be easily accomplished by taking them off progesterone for the duration of a heat cycle, then starting back up. There are docs on the Regumate site that illustrate this.

Just curious what you ended up doing with your girl.

[Jacqui]

My vet gave my 9 year old mare the Progesterone shot (in oil) April 28th. Now she is soooo ready for another shot! Anxious, spooky and jumping out of her skin. I went to give her the shot today and followed all the instructions for mixing and pretty much screwed up the entire dose $90.00 down the drain. Not sure what happened but vet said there must have been a air bubble because mixture would not come through the needle big PIA! I have given many IM shots before.
Anyone else experience this? Vet will come to give shot tomorrow because I need to watch how she mixes this!
Anyway, I am anxious to see if it works in the next couple months ( may have to give this shot every 3 weeks…which makes sense.