Older retired broodmare having rough heat cycles

[JenRose]

I have a 22 year old TB mare. Big old girl who was pretty much a career broodie before I got her in 2009. She had 1 foal for me in 2011. After that I tried to breed her back in 2011 and again in 2012. She would catch first try but then lose the pregnancy between the 14 and 45 day ultrasounds. I figured the old girl’s uterus just couldn’t sustain another pregnancy and she had definitely earned her retirement even before I got her! Not a huge deal, she still gets queen B status and is the best Auntie/weaning buddy on the farm.

Last fall, she would turn into a tee total beotch during her heat cycles. Permanent grumpy face and would stand alone in the run in shed and bite at/kick the walls… the other horses would be out grazing not even close to her. She kicked 3 holes in the walls of the shed during her last cycle before winter.

The past few days she hasn’t wanted to eat her grain and this morning I noticed she is big time in heat… squirting and winking at her buddy mares. I am guessing her being in season has her off her feed. She is still her normally pleasant self so far this time and will still eat hay and grass.

Could cysts be causing her issues? Hormonal issues? Do horses go through menopause? Would marble’ing help? I just hate to see my best old girl so out of sorts.

[Dutch]

I can’t help you other than to say I have a 19 year-old mare who has the same issues when she is open. I try to keep her out as much as possible during her heats to avoid injury to herself in the stall with her kicking. She has no cysts, and her uterus looks very good via u/s. Her transitional heats late in the fall are murder! She gave herself arthritis in a hind fetlock from her kicking. I try to keep her pregnant as much as possible, which solves my problem. Otherwise, I am also at my wits end how to best manage her, other than using Regumate.

[JenRose]

Update after vet appt…

Just wanted to update. Took my big girl into the vet today. Ultrasound and exam were normal. No cysts or tumors. They do think she is in the middle of a transitional heat cycle. Advised against putting in a marble. Recommended 30 days on regumate and then revisit her behavior. Said we may have to just do regumate fall and spring since she is having such wild transitional cycles. Anyone else’s mares go nuts on transitional cycles?? My vet said if he she was his, he would breed her and keep on regumate early on in the pregnancy. Her last foal was in 2011 and she is 22. She was a career broodie before I got her and even though she loves being a mom and is in great weight/condition for her age, I just don’t think I can risk it due to her age. I LOVE this mare and would never forgive myself if she had complications. Vet kept saying but she LOVES having babies. Ack!!

[JenRose]

Another update…

My mare finished her 30 days of regumate as prescribed by the vet and she is back to acting nutso. :no: Won’t eat, obsessively teases her mare buddy and is zoned out. Last night I stalled her next to her mare friend who is in foal and about to pop and she didn’t eat any hay or drink any water all night. I think she just stood against their shared stall wall and winked/peed all night. I do not want to keep her on oral regumate the rest of her life nor do I want to breed her due to her age. Do I have any other options? Depo? Injectible Altrenogest? I have tried various oral supplements (Mare Magic, Moody Mare) and not really noticed any change. My vet is not a fan of marbling but I may ask him about it again.

[Lynnwood]

Have you tried Dong Quai ? I have used it in combination wit Red raspberry leaves with good results on a mare that frankly got violent when she was in heat.

[Elkie]

Lynwood, what is the amount of Dong Quai you feed? Thanks,

[Lynnwood]

[QUOTE=Elkie;7593336]
Lynwood, what is the amount of Dong Quai you feed? Thanks,[/QUOTE]

I’ll have to check the exact milligram for you tomorrow but its in powdered form and we feed two tablespoons one a day and a large handful of cut form red raspberry leaves.