Re: fit mares tying up
Laney Humphrey (laneyh@mbay.net)
Sat, 23 Nov 1996 07:05:00 -0800
>To: ridecamp@endurance.net
>From: Laney Humphrey <laneyh@mbay.net>
>Subject: Re: fit mares tying up
>
>>
>To everyone who has asked about the implant I used in my mare:
> It is a progesterone implant. To be honest, of the 3 vets who
practice together, only the youngest (only a few years out of vet school)
was initially enthousiastic about it. It is for horses (Norplant for horses
is how he described it). The vet did tell me that it doesn't work for all
mares and can sometimes not work on a mare it has worked on in the past.
But my mare cycled 12 mos/yr and was PMS-ish almost all the time! In
addition, she tied up and would also get what we all decided were ovulation
cramp colics (I had every test run for sand, stone, etc. - nothing). The
makers of the implant describe it as lasting 4 months, Tara's lasted 3 mos,
1 week but during that period, she was a completely different horse - all
for the better!!! The only negative reaction she had was to develop a small
lump at the insertion site which the vet said was a reaction to the inert
material within the implant. It eventually disappeared. One word of
warning if the vet who inserts it isn't experienced at it: make sure he/she
puts it high under the mane right below the mane bed. Because it worked so
well for my mare, a friend asked a different vet in the same practice to
insert one in her mare. He put it down near the mid-line of the neck
instead of up higher and Wendy had quite a problem with her reins rubbing
it, keeping it a little tender - no good on an already touchy mare!
> Another option I would seriously consider for a mare I wanted to
use and never breed is spaying (or whatever its called in horses!). I've
heard that here in NoCalif it is now a very simple, stand-up operation and
costs about $400 (about what a year's worth of implants costs here). The
mare eventually made it very clear that she did not like endurance and I
sold her so I never pursued spaying. Does anyone else know anything about it?
>Laney
>
>