Just ride her through it, but if she’s sensitive on her back during this time, keep your seat super light. Or ride in 2 pt.
Just ride her through it. Don’t fight with her. Be kind with her. But let her know it’s time to be partners and work together.
If you get uptight with her physical changes and get pissed, it only makes what could be a mild issue even worse. Smart and sensitive mares can read you like a book.
Can you tell I adore mares? They make us better horsemen for sure.
[QUOTE=Lady Eboshi;8196864]
Log the behavior, and her heat cycle precisely if you can “tease” her with a gelding broodmare fashion, for a month and show those findings to your VET with a complete description of the behavior.
Likely, she’ll be prescribed Regumate which is progesterone and will make her feel like she’s in foal, and the estrus-related behaviors should be absent. This is a powerful hormone treatment you DO NOT want to get on your hands, and if that’s what her problem really is, it should very much do the job.
Herbals, supplements and other voo-doo-woo-woo, not so much.
Magnesium and raspberry leaves ain’t gonna stop YOUR ovulation, are they? :rolleyes:
BTW don’tskip–taken a look at your thread count lately? You must have more “problems” with one horse than anyone I’ve ever seen since I’ve been on COTH! Are you LOOKING for an excuse not to ride? Or to justify the out-of-control behavior of a really bratty horse who’s got you overmounted? If you really DON’T want to ride, stop before you get yourself killed. I’ve got TONS of clients whose horses are idle pets, and that’s OK. Failing that, before you medicalize every thing you think you see, maybe put your money toward 90 days of cowboy “boot camp” for this mare so she can learn company manners. You might find it’s money better spent![/QUOTE]
I noticed this too, after I wrote my reply.
I don’t think it’s a horse problem, maybe owner histrionics. ?
I have one who is so painful in heat that she’s unrideable, unbearable, and prone to colic. She gets a monthly progesterone shot to keep her from going into heat. It work well most of the time, occasionally she breaks through. We tried to spay her at one point and the surgeon found so much scar tissue on her ovaries that he wasn’t comfortable spaying laparoscopically. So this one at least clearly has a reason for being a lunatic when she’s in heat. She’s since been retired for lameness issues, but she still gets the monthly shot to keep her out of heat and so far so good. But I can’t be one day late with it or we are in a world of trouble. Just another idea to look into.
[QUOTE=Lady Eboshi;8197126]
Scheduling things so you don’t ride her the 3-4 days of her heat cycle is actually a cost-free, non-medical solution. Make up the lost time later. [/QUOTE]
This is basically what I’ve always done. I grew tired of fighting with her real fast (especially those months where we “synced”… OH BABY we wanted to kill each other). The further along in the summer, the better and less noticeable it was when my mare(s) went into heat.
Perhaps her hormones are a bit off with everything she’s been through like the weight loss? That’s enough to make a person’s body go out of whack.
Chey gets totally OBNOXIOUS during her cycle. It probably doesn’t help there’s a stallion in a separate pen 100’ away. If you are riding her most every day you’ll start to learn the signs and be able to adjust your habits accordingly. I’ve learned that she will get rammy and really just run like the wind no matter how you cue her (had a good rider on her and she did the same thing with her she did with me). So I’ve learned that the best I’ll get out of her is some ground work. One day a cycle she doesn’t want to come out of her pasture. I learned (or accepted) last night (the hard way because the first how many times I wasn’t listening to her - yes I’m a typical guy every once in a while) it’s better to leave her alone on that day.
My advise would be keep track of her cycles and behavior. Write it down so you have a reference guide. Maybe she just needs basic ground work a few days at a time or, like mine, a day off once a cycle. Horses are like people as they have good and bad days. Maybe she was hormonal, moody and … you know?
I’m not looking to medicate Chey. Instead I’m looking to improve myself to better handle her and just accept that she is who she is. Everyone who sees us together tells me she absolutely loves me by the her body language and they see in her eyes. And no relationship is prefect platonic, personal or otherwise so why give up an otherwise good thing with hormones or medication is the way I look at it. Unless she gets totally out of control and you can’t adjust yourself to meet her needs I’d try to learn her completely, then try to find ways to deal with it.
Just my humble opinion 
Mine can get VERY “distracted” at the beginning of a heat cycle - squatting in the cross ties etc - honestly, I tell her to knock it off -If a stallion can pay attention to his rider / handler with mares around, my mare should be able to pay attention when in heat.
So, I let her know what is, and is not acceptable in my presents - and she has gotten MUCH better about listening when I am on the ground.
Undersaddle - same thing, she wants to be distracted, looking for other horses to call to etc, so I put her to work, as soon as her attention drifts, we are leg yeilding, doing walk canter transitions etc - anything to get her mind back on ME.
I have to be a much more active handler / rider when she is like this, but it has paid off, and she behaves pretty well - that said, she has not shown any signs of a sore back, or pain otherwise.
Magnesium and raspberry leaves aren’t intended to stop ovulation…
FWIW magnesium and the addition of a “woo-woo” supplement (Omega Alpha PreMare) have made a noticeable positive difference for my mare. I opted to try it before going the Regumate route and have been very pleased with the results. Mare still shows signs of being in heat, but at least now retains her brain while doing so.
Best of luck to you!
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