Your Horse's Health - mean girls?

Sugar and spice and everything mean. That is what some mares seem to be made of when they are in heat.

As is the case with any animal, horses can be affected by the hormonal changes that occur during the heat-or estrus-stage of the reproductive cycle. This phase, in which a mare is most receptive to breeding, commonly manifests itself through such behaviorisms as tail swishing and squealing when around other horses, and can be accompanied by a short attention span and a bad attitude.

In practically every equine discipline, there are trainers and owners who dislike working with female horses for this reason. They simply don't want to put up with the monthly hassle that is created by a mare that is in heat.

To assume that estrus is the only reason a mare gets moody, however, is a mistake. Veterinarians recognize that a horse that seems mentally imbalanced may be going through more than just the usual hormonal changes. She could be experiencing any number of health problems that have her behaving in a less-than-nice way.

Shaylyn Bliss, DVM, an equine reproductive specialist at Performance Equine Associates in Whitesboro, Texas, cares for hundreds of mares every breeding season. She says the key to determining whether your mare is being affected by a standard estrus cycle or is suffering from another medical condition is to know what is "normal" behavior for her.

Finding "Normal"
Bliss is often asked to assist the owners and trainers who have complaints about a mare's conduct. These visits, she admits, can be somewhat predictable.

"They're usually having extreme problems with training or they've noticed a decline in performance," says Bliss. "Or the mare is being uncooperative and fractious and sometimes even aggressive."

According to Bliss, these clients have almost always diagnosed the horse themselves at home. And the gist of this diagnosis is usually that the mare's problems are all related to her heat cycle.

"I've had several clients bring their mares in, and they claim a lot of things and try to associate that with the mare being in estrus," says Bliss. "One of the things I hear most often is, 'Her ovaries are sore and that's preventing her from performing well.'"

In her experience, Bliss has found that these home diagnoses are often incorrect.

"I lot of times we'll check the mare and she's not even in heat," says Bliss. "So I think for some reason people tend to want to blame the mare's estrus cycle for everything that's wrong. And I would say, most of the time, the mare's problem has nothing to do with her estrus cycle."

To avoid making this primary misdiagnosis, an owner should first be familiar with how his or her mare behaves on an every-day basis. Is she usually aggressive or submissive toward other horses-or toward people? Traditionally, has there been a difference in how she behaves when she's in heat and when she isn't? And, of course, do you really know when your mare is in heat?

If you admitted "no" to the last question, then it is there that you should begin tracking down a diagnosis for your horse.

A mare's reproductive cycle is relatively simple... Read more: http://barrelhorses.com.