Mare very uncomfortable in stall when in heat

[MegBackInSaddle]

I’ve searched the forum and found some discussion, but nothing that quite sounds like my mare.

She’s a 9 yo OTTB. I’ve had her for about a year and a half, and my sis had her for a year before that. Sis had her turned out 24/7, whereas I board, so she’s stalled with daily turnout. The only issue Sis ever noticed with her heat cycle is the mare really leaning into dividers/butt bars in the trailer,to the extent that it could be hard to get her off the bar to unload her (only when she’s in heat).

Having her in a boarding situation, it’s become obvious that she’s very bothered during her heat cycles. She leans on the stall walls, often sort of strobing against the wall (push! relax a little, lean and PUSH!). She’ll sometimes kick at the walls, as well, often pinning her ears and shaking her head. She’s also different in cross-ties, trying to swing her rump over to lean and push on the stall fronts, but none of the kicking, and no more angry faces than usual. She’s a somewhat bitchy mare, a sensitive Thoroughbred who’d rather not be brushed and isn’t the in your pocket type.

She’s absolutely fine under saddle. I honestly can’t tell a difference riding her when she’s in heat, not in how she responds to leg pressure, not in how she reacts to other horses riding with us. It’s just this stall behaviour. She seems quite desperately uncomfortable, when she’s otherwise quite content in her stall.

What avenue would you go down? Coach is recommending Regumate. Wondering if there’s some testing I should be doing first? Ultrasound?

Spaying may also be an option. I’m 90% sure she’s mine for life (hubby’s military, so it’s hard to be 100% sure of anything), and I have no intention to breed her.

I’m not looking for an attitude adjustment or a more manageable mare. I just worry about her obvious discomfort. She cycles year round, though it’s milder in the dead of winter and cycles are further apart. They’re ramping up again, and she’s having her first really bad heat of the year now.

I do show (low-level eventing and jumpers in Canada and probably the States), so while it wouldn’t be the end of the world if she needed a banned substance for comfort, it would be disappointing.

Advice? Experiences?

[rememberthenight]

I would ultrasound to make sure her ovaries are normal, and just making her uncomfortable and not that there is something affecting them.

there are methods like a marble to trick her body or supplements like raspberry leaves that can help reduce the pain during heat. Regumate is certainly an option that you could trial. And if that helps, spaying certainly makes everyone’s life a little easier. I have worked with a spayed mare and she was so much happier after she was spayed.

One of my current horses has turners syndrome and does not have significant reproductive organs and I enjoy cohabitating with her as a “gelding”. Not that I don’t love my other mares!!!

[Abbie.S]

Yeah, she sounds quite uncomfortable, both in the physical and mental sense.

For these cases, especially if your intention is the keep her, never breed her and she cycles throughout the year (meaning she’d likely need to be on medication for the entirety, rather than just during summer months, etc) I would probably be leaning towards a more permanent, non-medication route like spaying or trying the marble method. That takes care of the issue at the source versus managing symptoms.

Before I do anything, though, I would also recommend a repro exam including an u/s of her ovaries to make sure she doesn’t have anything like an ovarian tumor, etc.

[ryansgirl]

I went through this with my mare - also OTTB. she would rub so hard on the stall walls that she was getting sores (thankfully no kicking, etc.). I took her to the equine hospital and had her thoroughly checked out including ultrasound. Everything came back normal (ovaries, etc). She actually got a lot more comfortable as she got older and turnout 24/7 made a difference. We never did Regumate since she kind of grew out of it.

Definitely frustrating. I had her teeth done with a vet who specialized in teeth (& who I’ve known for years) who when she saw my mare’s hip area commented that she must have a history of bolting through stall doors :rolleyes:. Um no she never bolted through doors - it was from rubbing while in heat and yes she has been thoroughly checked.

I’d definitely start with a thorough repro exam.

[Scribbler]

Regumate will shut down the hear cycles and is definitely worth trying. It is expensive but I found I could go quite a bit lower than the recommended dose and it was still effective.

My experience was that after one summer on Regumate, and then stopping for the winter, the behaviour problems I was worrying about did not return when the mare went into heat again the next Spring. Also as she has gotten older her heats are less extreme.

I have read that spaying does not shut down heats 100% in horses so investigate that more.

[Kyrabee]

Just get a repro exam and see what the vet says. Then you won’t be guessing.

I had a mare spayed years ago. She did cycle but it was mild and didn’t affect her life. Nothing like the unrelenting pain she had when she was in heat due to a tumor on her left ovary. I had both ovaries removed as I had no intention of breeding. It took her about 2-3 months to realize that life was much better. They did not have any endoscopic surgery back then and even with 2 abdominal incisions, she had 1 month stall/pen rest then rehab under saddle month 2 then back to regular work at month 3.

Susan

[DinkyDonk]

I have a jenny that has severe donkey PMS. Raspberry leaves (or ground chastetree berries) give her relief to the point that she changed from being a kicker around her back end to making her a sweet happy little thing. Both can be bought online from herbal distributors very inexpensively (as opposed to buying products branded for horses). Worth a try.

[quietann]

I would say the repro exam is the place to start. If they aren’t coming up with much from that, and you want to keep her breedable, would try raspberry leaves before going the Regumate route, because Regumate is expensive and can be dangerous to women of reproductive age. (My mare gets about 1/2 cup per day of raspberry leaves. She never has had really severe symptoms in heat, but can get weirdly sensitive to touch around her hind end.)

[MrsCJag]

I have an off track QH mare that I’ve had 6 months, also on stall board with turnout. She rubbed against the wall of her stall when she was in season and also became very sensitive to groom, however like yours, was great under saddle. When she entered anestrous this winter she became less sensitive (however had a fluffy coat, which helps) and there was no more rubbing. I’m leaning towards regumate this year to hopefully relieve her discomfort (and save the stall wall).