I'm just wondering if anyone's had this done to their mares, and if so, what was the effect?

I have a 14h QH/Arab mare, that I've had since she was a yearling (she's now 14). She is a wonderful mare, will go over anything, very quiet, but when she's in heat- holy cow! Not only is she a hussy, but she's super witchy, and it's like her brain falls out of her head.

If it wasn't for this hormonal behavior, I think she'd make a great horse for my daughter. And I wouldn't put Hailey on just anyone. Satin has a million miles on her, is the perfect size, and just wonderful in every way, but the hormone thing.

I called around and found a vet that will spay mares, and he charges $1100-$1300. Seems like a lot (compared to gelding), but I'd spend alot more on a pony, and not really know what I had.

The vet tech that I talked to (this is the only place I found around here that spays mares, and they do alot of them), said that after she's spayed, she will be just like a gelding- no hormonal issues at all.

Anywho, what do you guys think? Has anyone had any experience with this?

Karen

Wow, that's a lot for spaying. The vet around here charges around $300 for it! We'd been asking after a mare at the stallion station had been spayed.

The price differenc is because they have to actually go inside her body to do the job. Same as male/female dogs. She will take longer to heal than a gelding and has a higher risk of infection.
Will this be done at your farm or at the clinic? If you can, I'd have it done at the clinic. She will be fully sedated and wide open for the procedure.
Would I do this with my mare, if I thought she would become a better horse mentally/physically yes. if it was just to turn her out around studs no.

have you considered the marble method?

When I worked on a dude ranch in Wyoming, our stock contractor gave us a spayed mare one summer. She was a good little horse, and yes, just like a gelding; no mood swings. She was spayed standing up, through an incision about 6" long on her flank, just like a ceasarean on a cow. 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. And yes, it is a lot of money, but you will be ending up with an almost new horse, anyway (personality wise)! 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. As far as I know the procedure has a very low risk of complications, especially if the vet has done a lot of them.

*gasp* HOLY COW! Can I ship Satin to you to have her spayed?! LOL! I thought it sounded like alot too- I wonder if they do it a different way?

This vet goes in through the flanks- so it's $1100 if they can do it with the mare standing or $1300 if they have to lay her down.

Karen

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She will be fully sedated and wide open for the procedure.

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They said they'd go in through her flanks and have her standing- just sedated. They said if they had to, they could lay her down, but still said they'd go through her flanks. I'd have it done at their clinic

I've heard of the marble method, but I'd rather have something permanent, that I don't have to worry about again

Karen

It'd be cheaper to buy the vet a plane ticket! LOL! This guy went through the flank... was a small.. 4"? or so incision. Mare didn't look uncomfortable at all (saw her a few days after it had been done).

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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.

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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)!

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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.

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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.

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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

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!

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.

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

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

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.

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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.

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Karen

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.

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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!!!!

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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