I have a 12 year old reining mare that always seems to be in season. I am giving her some calming supplements from smart pak for about a month now. Today really scared me as I brought her to my neighbors round pen for some work. There were 3 horses in the pasture that can look into the pen and everytime i bring her down there she sprays green stuff at them and screams as she bucks. Today was exceptional. It was very windy ,(not making excuses), but i have never seen her so excited.
After about 30 min she settled down I thought. I went to mount her with my dressage whip in hand. I believe she saw it and jumped back screamed . Luckly I wasn’t all the way on her so I hopped off quickly. I started to pet her and got on her without the whip and she was OK.
My ques. is . can a mare be constanly in heat. or is it a behavorial thing. She has wonderful ground manners when I am grooming and saddleing her. I can pick up her feet without any problems. She doesn’t bite . Its just this thing with other horses.
I also have a hard time getting her out on the trail by myself. She seems like she hasn’t got confidence. I have had her now for a few years and she is getting better but this marish behavor is confusing me. I have never had a mare before. If someone can please tell me what she is doing so I can understand this better.
Ann
Time to have the vet look at her. An ultrasound of her ovaries may be helpful. I had my mare ovarian spayed last winter. She had a cystic ovary that was very painful and caused strange heat cycles. She is much better now. Happy girl. There is actually still a light cycle, like maybe show towards a gelding once in awhile, but it’s minimal and she is mostly just quiet.
That being said, when she was between cycles she was good, but inattentive and overly sensitive during her cycle. Is your mare good in between or always like this? Implants or depo shots could help too.
A friend of mine boarded a mare here that was constantly in heat. I finally convinced her to get her vet checked and she had a uterine infection. Her uterus was FULL of fluid. Once that was flushed and taken care of she went back to normal heat cycles.
It is way past time to a horse oriented vet look at her. “Green stuff” sounds downright scary!!!
What kind of vet check should I get. MY vet just gave her , her shots in march and I got a vet chk when I bought her. He said he would give her a depo shot if I wanted but he also said to keep in mind that the behavior might not go away. This was the first time she squealed at me when mounting her. She always would stand still for me and when i got on her again she was fine. What should I ask the vet to do? Thanks Merrygoround.
“spraying green stuff” does not sound normal AT ALL. If that is really what is happening, I would suspect a serious infection.
I have a mare, and I can tell you she has never done any of the things you described.
As for “what type” of vet check - you should call the vet and describe what the horse is doing - they should come out and do an exam of her reproductive system to look for abnormalities, these could be infections, cysts etc - and which diagnostics they do (culture, ultra sound etc) will depend on what the vet thinks is going on.
I will call the vet. But about the green liquid that she sprays. She only does this when I go down to my neighbors and the 3 horses are looking at her around the pen where i am working her. She is with my gelding out in the pasture and never does this to him which led me to believe its a behavoral thing. Could the green stuff be pee?? I did mention this to my vet and he didn’t seem concerned about it and mentioned that he could give her the depo shot. I am going to set up an appt. with him but what on earth is that green liquid that she sprays???
Is he the only vet available? I’d want more than a depo shot!!!
It shouldn’t be green - is it really GREEN?
Mares in season will “present” and trickle a bit of urine, that is normal for a mare in season.
No mare should be in season “all the time” and what is discharged should be light yellow, perhaps a bit closer to white. Not green.
Here is some good info on mare’s cycles:
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/30998/mares-and-hormones
NOTE:
Uterine infection “The most common cause I see of a mare having erratic cycles is a uterine infection, either acute and chronic,” says Bradecamp.
If you suspect your mare has a uterine infection, based on clinical signs such as frequent cycling, vaginal discharge, and shortened diestrous period, have your veterinarian evaluate her reproductive tract.
Granulosa cell tumor Another issue affecting mares’ cycles involves reproductive tract tumors, usually granulosa cell tumors (GCT) of the ovary. Veterinarians have reported these tumors in all ages and breeds, but they detect them most commonly in ¬middle-aged and older mares.
A GCT causes an increase in various hormone levels; this imbalance can affect a mare’s reproductive behavior. Mares with GCTs exhibit three types of behavior, depending on the amount and type of hormones the tumor produces: 1) prolonged anestrous behavior (not showing signs of heat); 2) stallionlike behavior and aggressiveness; or 3) persistent or intermittent periods of estrous behavior.
If your vet has no more idea of what to do about a mare constantly in season, who is spraying anything, than giving a depo shot I would find a different vet. I personally don’t like depo, I have seen it really make mares sick.
I tried implants for two years, refused to do Regumate or Depo shots. My mare was really hurting and I was trying to listen to her, but trying to figure out naughtiness vs pain can be hard.
One thing my horse’s surgeon did tell me before her spay was if your mare is just a poor tempered mare ALL the time, then she will still be poor tempered mare after spaying.
My mare is a doll after her spay, pain free and a joy to ride. Herbs, implants helped some, as did Bute, but after the ultrasounds and surgery the vets couldn’t believe she was good as she was as painful as she must have been. Having her this way all the time instead of 10 days a month is great for both of us.
Now, some mares do spray pee everywhere when meeting gelding or stud. Its a defensive thing, my mare did that when I first got her. I had three geldings. She would swish her tail and pee everywhere. Ears back and unhappy except in full heat and she loved them. After she settled in, she didn’t do it anymore, at least the aggressive peeing.
On the riding part, mare’s backs especially in the loin area can be really sore. Check your saddle fit, poor saddle fit definitely was an issue with my mare. Hard horse to fit both western and english saddles. Try giving her some Bute on a bad day and see if it helps. Then you may be looking at a real pain issue.
You really need to have a good reproduction vet look at her. She is trying to tell you something…loudly and now its time for you to do something to help her.
@craz4crtrs
Reproduction vet. It sounds like I need to bring her down to U.C.Davis or something. Very costly for me to do and I have had this mare for 4 years now and i have seen an improvement in her with some weight gain, (she was thin when I got her), and when I took my gelding out she would have a tantrum and sweat profusely. So I started to tie her a couple of hours a day and when I took my gelding out I would tie her instead of her running amock in the pasture… Now she stands tied without a problem. I felt that was progress with this mare. I also think if I rode her more she would get more confident. I have 2 horses and sometimes I will ride her only once a week. Hours in the saddle I believe is very important.
My trainer told me this mare has a big motor and she can go for a while so I should be taking her out with other horses more.
I’ll have the vet check her but I’m starting to think more behavioral …
You said the spraying. That is what it is when I bring her down to the neighbors place. Mabe its more yellowish . she is peeing at them. It seems like stallion behavoir but you say its a defensive thing and I believe you could be right because she is a doll when I groom her and saddle her ,(not cinchey) . I just touch her leg and she picls her feet up.
Mabe she is genuinely insecure. She doesn’t spray at my gelding. This could be the reason I am having a hard time getting her out on the trail alone.
Thanks for your help. Writing these things down can make me see a clearer picture.
Ann
There should be ambulatory vets in your area, especially if you are in California. Just to have some blood analyzed (looking at hormone levels) and to get her ultrasounded shouldn’t be a huge expense.
I hate mares and I think 90% of the time it is them just being witches. However, you have a responsibility to make sure she’s not in pain. We once had a mare that was given to us as a broodie because she was “unrideable.” Lots of aggressive, studdish behavior too. Turned out she was unbreedable, because she had huge granulosa cell tumors. I can’t imagine how painful and disruptive that was for her.
I certainly don’t hate mares. I have only owned 3 mares out of 16 horses. All had their moments but so did the geldings. My little mare is the best horse I have ever owned and I have owned some wonderful horses. Her sensitivity is what makes her brave and responsive. She may not be the best at everything but she takes such good care of us when crap happens. That’s why I did everything I could go figure out her painful cycles. She is worth the amount of money for the surgery, just like good training on a good horse. Worth the money. Honestly, she would be very difficult to replace.
