Horse Care

Re: Any spayed mares out there?

chandab — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 22:56:43 GMT

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She's normally a sweet mare and laid back. But it seems like early spring through late fall she's in heat- and is she a booger when she's in heat!
Karen

Sounds like she might be a good candidate for spaying, according to what the vet told me. Sounds like your mare will be sweet all the time, if she doesn't have those seasonal/monthly mood swings. My mare was gritchy all the time, no real mood swings, so spaying wouldn't have changed her. [I sold her, and she is now a 9 year olds mount and they have absolutely no issues with her.]

Re: Any spayed mares out there?

SunsetHalters — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 19:21:13 GMT

She's normally a sweet mare and laid back. But it seems like early spring through late fall she's in heat- and is she a booger when she's in heat!

I bred Satin to a QH built Appy. She was preg checked at 4 months, and vet said she was pregnant- but lost it sometime after that. She was bred to a Mammoth Jack a few times, but I just don't think she ever took. I don't really count that time, as alot of mares can't carry mule babies.

I think Satin would've carried the first baby fine if she would've been stitched up- the way she's tilted, I think that was the problem

Karen

Re: Any spayed mares out there?

SunsetHalters — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 19:16:35 GMT

I've looked into marbles a bit more, and I'd rather have something permanent. In your case sounds like the marbles are the way to go- I wouldn't want to spay mares like yours either I'll never breed Satin again, so in her case, it seems like the way to go

Katie, our Paint mare never shows any noticeable signs of being in heat. No mood swings, no nasty behavior, and she doesn't squat for anything like Satin does I've been around alot of Paints like her, and I just luff 'em! My Dad's mare is the same way

Karen

Re: Any spayed mares out there?

chandab — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 08:24:22 GMT

I talked to my vet about spaying a mare I used to own, she was gritchy all the time (no real mood swings). Anyway, he said that usually their spayed personality is like their winter anestrous personality, so if your mare is moody year-round spaying her might not make any difference.
If she wasn't able to hold a pregnancy you might check her for cystic ovaries or similar problem (probably have to go to a reproductive specialist).

Re: Any spayed mares out there?

robison02 — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 07:20:35 GMT

I totally understand wanting to spay her. I HATE mares and only want geldings. So what does my broodmare produce? 90% fillies

Have you considered having the vet put a marble in her? It cost us about $35 and lastes about 3 months (although it can last up to 8 months). Georgia gets absolutely stupid when in heat, I refuse to handle Regumate, and we can't spay her because of resale value. This marble deal was a blessing. We were stalled across from two studs at a big show and they talked to her the entire time, but she could've cared less. We're having marbles put in both show mares next summer!

Re: Any spade mares out there?

SunsetHalters — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 00:55:09 GMT

LOL! When she's moody, I'd be very tempted to send her to ya- LOL!

Re: Any spade mares out there?

spragueme — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:52:27 GMT

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The best thing to do so you don't have to deal with her moods is.........MOVE HER TO MY HOUSE!!!!

LOL! I'm talkin' about Satin, not Katie The more I look into spaying, the more it seems about as risky as gelding. I'm sure at one time it was risky, but with laproscopy, it seems to be pretty quick and easy.

Karen

Well Hello, I'm not fussy or greedy but you know that I'd take either or. LOL I luff them all.

Re: Any spade mares out there?

SunsetHalters — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:24:44 GMT

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The best thing to do so you don't have to deal with her moods is.........MOVE HER TO MY HOUSE!!!!

LOL! I'm talkin' about Satin, not Katie The more I look into spaying, the more it seems about as risky as gelding. I'm sure at one time it was risky, but with laproscopy, it seems to be pretty quick and easy.

Karen

Re: Any spade mares out there?

spragueme — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:19:56 GMT

The best thing to do so you don't have to deal with her moods is.........MOVE HER TO MY HOUSE!!!! And of course you will retain visitation privlages.

I was once thinking of having one of my mares spayed but after looking information up on the internet I thought it was to risky and costly. I wish you the best of luck with her though.

Re: Any spayed mares out there?

SunsetHalters — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 22:36:47 GMT

I went and looked up more about the marble from this site, and this is what I found:

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One of the newest methods of estrus suppression was suggested at a fairly recent meeting of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and involves placing a Uterine Glass Ball (UGB) in a mare's uterus at the end of her heat cycle. Uterine glass ball is just a little more medical sounding than marble, which is what it is. We get them at the toy store and they need to be 35mm in diameter (a "shooter"). Nobody has proven why this can be effective but some feel that the marble signals the uterus similar to a pregnancy. Our experience has been that this technique is effective in about 50% of mares which is similar to the published data. The marble should be removed towards the fall when mares typically stop cycling.

It seems that the marble doesn't have a high effective rate and it's an ongoing thing. This article went on to say this about spaying mares. Seems that it didn't use to be a good choice, but now with laparoscopy it seems pretty safe and quick.

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Another way to suppress estrus behavior that often goes overlooked is spaying. People think of spaying oftentimes as a procedure for just dogs and cats but it can be a very feasible option for owners of performance mares with no plans to ever breed. Spaying mares has had a precarious past as it used to involve a dangerous procedure with a scary complication rate. The widespread use of laparoscopy in horses has revolutionized spaying of mares.

Karen

Re: Any spayed mares out there?

citabobita — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 22:06:55 GMT

I took lessons from this Dutch lady years ago. She said it was farily common in "her country" for mares to be spayed. She added, however, that it was an invasive, risky procedure at best, and she wouldn't have it performed on her own mares.

We have two mares who have had great experiences with the "marbles." I know it's not "permanent" but it is also not as invasive, risky OR expensive to say the least

Re: Any spade mares out there?

SunsetHalters — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:34:49 GMT

Nope, no Universities that are very close. We're inbetween OSU and WSU. Although if it were considerably cheaper, it'd be worth the drive!

As 'simple' as this procedure seems to be these day, I'm not sure why it's so expensive either

Re: Any spade mares out there?

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:30:19 GMT

I'd spay her if I were in your situation. I'm sorta surprised at the cost though. Do you have a university near you? The mare I saw was done while standing. Didn't seem to bother her one bit! I saw her the day after the surgery. The owner had to have it done to hardship register the mare as an App.

Re: Any spade mares out there?

SunsetHalters — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:25:48 GMT

LOL! No kidding! Sounds like they do the same procedure- I wonder why in the world they charge so much?!

Karen

ETA Good to know the mare healed up so quickly!

Re: Any spade mares out there?

SunsetHalters — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:24:55 GMT

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IMO, if hormonal issues are keeping her from being a "perfect" horse, and you have no intentions of ever breeding her, I'd say do the spay.

I bred her a couple times, but she aborted. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized she really wasn't nice enough to be breeding anywho

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And yes, it is a lot of money, but you will be ending up with an almost new horse, anyway (personality wise)!

Satin's really sweet, except for those dang hormonal moments! And she seems like she's in heat almost year around. She was squattin' for the boys last week

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If she's as good as you say she is, and she has the potential to be your daughter's perfect horse - go for it.

She is, has lots of miles up in the mountains, will go over anything, through water, is smooth, and short. I think her and Hailey would be a good match

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As far as I know the procedure has a very low risk of complications, especially if the vet has done a lot of them.

That would really be my only concern. After just losing Wings, I'd hate to lose Satin too. I bought them at the same time back in high school, so have had her a long time too

Karen