I bought a mare that was on regumate. We were told it was because of the stallions/babies on farm and they didn’t want her cycling while showing. Mare was super quiet and easy when I tried her. We took her off regumate once we brought her home (we don’t have stallions or babies at farm), and she has been fresh for pretty much every ride since (approx 3 weeks). She isn’t marish or nasty, just spooky and fresh. She is getting more turnout then she previously was (now getting 6-8 hours a day vs 3 hrs), and is on a low sugar low starch grain plus mare magic. She gets worked 4-5 days a week.
Does regumate make them less spooky/fresh? I hate the idea of making barn staff handle it, but I also want to enjoy riding my horse.
Sometimes pain/discomfort related to cycling results in a twitchy, spooky mare who acts like she can’t stand to be in her own skin. Regumate can provide relief and does have a calming effect in those cases.
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My experience was that it stopped the hormonal behavior but had very little effect on her overall energy level.
The horse has only been at your place 3 weeks and its winter. Let her settle in and get to know you and the area. Longe if needed.
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What Scribbler said, and some horses also need more than 4 or 5 rides a week! Or just don’t put the days off together…my guy is best at 6 days of work…5 days of hour long working rides (transitions, leg yielding, shoulder in, pole work, jump schooling whatever it takes) and 1 day with 30 mins light hack BUT if I can only ride 5 days, I cannot put his 2 days off in a row…I will have a spooking, bucking idiot. It’s just him. He’s still young, he’s show fit and energetic, so I make sure to keep his mind active when I ride!
Well, it could just be the new rider and surroundings. What kind of program was she in before as compared to now?
You could put her back on regumate for a bit and then you’d likely have your answer. Just discuss it with the barn staff.
I’ve become a big proponent of raspberry leaves for mares. Raspberry leaf tea improves MY mood swings. Lol. Seems to help with a lot of mares, too. Of course It’s not as strong as the Regumate.
That’s what Mare Magic is, just dried raspberry leaves in a bag with a brand name, which OP says she’s already using.
I’ve not personally seen it make a mare more quite. But if you want to keep her on it, they do make it as an injectable. Depends on the type but usually you have your vet give it once a month. You should discuss it with your vet.
Wait another month or so before drawing any conclusions. It’s almost spring, May of them are…overly energetic…this time of year
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What you were told is commonly said sometimes when other reasons exist. I bought one of those. A favorite, and still is, but is a marish mare.
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I have had a couple of mates who would get less spooky on Regu Mate, that is if the spooking was caused by discomfort.
One of my mares is on it for the first few months of spring every year, she will spook at everything, even in turnout, but the rest of the year she is fine.
I would suggest seeing what her heats are like before making the decision.
Does she get a lunge day? I work with a mare who thrives when given the opportunity 1x a week (2x is more ideal in winter), to get her out her dragon-snorting, tail-flaging, dolphin-bucking, watch-me-piaffe, antics.
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It’s also worth mentioning that the first cycle after coming off Regumate can be a real doozy. So you might be getting an idea of why she was on it in the first place. Does it make them less spooky or calmer in its own right? No. But it gets rid of the symptoms they show when they are in heat–which can include some of what you are seeing. Though it’s really hard to say for sure with her being a new environment and new work schedule.
Some mares don’t go into heat during the winter.
My new-to-me mare, who I brought home end of October, is having the same type of issue. Having had her when the weather was nice, I am definitely chalking it up to crummy weather, not enough riding time (for me) and seasonal. I toyed with the idea of putting her on something but am going to ride it out (literally) until nicer weather and reassess.
You took a mare off her hormones which she’s probably been on for ages just as they may start cycling again during the worst weather of the year. IME regumate absolutely helps with mares who may be reactive or tense in their heat cycles. This often manifests as spookiness, cow kicking, etc. Unfortunately the spring and fall transitional heat cycles are the worst. Properly handled regumate is fine, and as mentioned there is an injectable. I do not think it’s a burden on good barn staff. They so make it in a paste which is very easy to use as well, just squirt it out on their food. If regumate provides comfort for your mare, why not use it?
