Extreme heat and mares settling????

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]Some of us in the extreme humid and hot south east are experienceing problems with adequate follicles and or early loss of embryo in our mares..... has anyone else had similar problems this year? This has been a very dry hot summer in Richmond. I have only had 1 mare out of 6 settle and I really should have her re ultrasoounded to make sure..... I bred later this year than years oast and dont think I will do that again.[/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[palsminihorses]

Lyn,

We live in SW Missouri and had really hot, humid weather this summer. Two mares that we bred late (June) did not settle. Another breeder told me that she has had trouble getting mares settled when breeding in hot weather. So I'm sure that the weather does play a role in it.

Pam

 

[nicole]

My moms mare was bred in June and she came back in last week for 2days and out again. I have a feeling she did not settle either. Another mare she has came in for her foal heat but has not been in sense.

Another freind of mine has Paso Finos, 9 mares none have settled she has been trying sense May she thought they were all in foal but are all now showing heat.

 

[mistyrose]

My Vet mentioned during our heat wave she was seeing the same problems.

 

[Becky]

YES! We are having a lot of trouble here with getting mares to settle as well as mares not even cycling!!!

: I have no idea at this point how many mares will actually foal on my farm next year. We have had at least 30 + days of above 100 temps this summer and virtually no rain. :no: It's definitely affecting heat cycles.

 

[Danielle_E.]

This is an interesting thread. I had my farrier (Brandy) come the other day and I was telling her what a tramp :bgrin Crystal was, she let Flash breed her for almost 10 days!!! It was insane. It got to the point where Flash was running away from her, ROFL :lol: . My other mare, Abby, NEVER showed a heat cycle this summer. Brandy mentioned that she was talking to Dr. Butler and she told him that she was having a really difficult time getting her full size mares bred this year, those that had foals at their side were NOT showing heats at all. Dr. Butler said many of his clients were saying exactly the same thing and it's interesting that you are mentioning the summer hot weather perhaps being the reason, we have had a VERY hot and humid summer, up until last week anyway. When we hit 118 degrees a few weeks ago it literally made me feel ill to the point I was WISHING FOR SNOW, lol. Anyway it looks like Crystal's breeding took, she tried to kick the crap out of Flash the other day through the fence but Abby is still not showing any heat cycle so I guess no baby for her next year

and I so wanted to breed her to my other stallion, Dancer.

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

Great thread. I have had a dispointing season so far. Everyone has come up open and so I am trying again. Weird though, they may show heat for a day then stops. Horrible heat and drought here in NJ. I may end up with no foals for next season!

 

[Becky]

Weird though, they may show heat for a day then stops.

Robin, I've had exactly the same thing with one mare for awhile. 2 days in, 2 days out and it kept going. She finally quit doing that and had a normal cycle. I thought she was in foal, but she came back in heat this week at about 23 days. Am breeding her now. You might talk to you vet about putting your mare(s) on Regumate for 10 days. That should help straighten out their cycle.

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

Hmmm... good thought , Thanks Becky!

 

[ChrystalPaths]

My girls have not shown heat this year at all, perhaps this is the cosmos or Mother Nature's way of controling the population. We have droughts, hay shortages, way too many folks having to downsize their numbers. perhaps it behooves us to remember that. JMHO No flames please.

 

[Candleliteranch]

You know Debs, I was thinking the same thing.

I don't think any of my mares settled. The ones that I thought were bred, all came back in. I decided earlier to let let my stallions run with their mares. Theye keep breeding them and they keep coming back in. I would think maybe the stallions problem, but it's happening with both herds.

 

[Sun Runner Stables]

I completly agree with Deb, however more so that the drought will keep mare thinking that getting preggers is a BAD idea. I live in Florida, but even here, it's been hit or miss. I figure it's just one of those years, and that it's the same way all over. If they catch great if not, that's okay too. My girls do good by me and they can have a break when they think they need one. No short cycling or drugs here!

 

[Manyspots]

We have also done some rebreeding here, but I guess my thought is a little different. In Iowa we have had the high temperatures in the summer also but I have wondered (no flames please) about vaccinations. In the old days when we first started with the minis we just gave Encevac 4 and Rabies. We didn't even know what it was to rebreed. The mares all settled on the first breeding. The last three years we have also given the W. Nile vaccination. We have not had any deformities with our foals, but we have had to rebreed. We have used 4 different studs also. I have visited with friends that have not given any W. Nile shots and they have not had to rebreed. I questioned some of the vets at ISU and asked if we should possibly be giving just half the amount we give to the larger horses. The reply was we don't have enough info to say that yet. Our open stock, maiden mares and stallions get their vaccinatioins before breeding. Our bred mares get vaccinated a month before their due date as a rule. I do think the W. Nile vaccination is a good preventative for it, I just wonder if it possibly interfers with our early breedings. I am not saying to not use it just wondering here. I some times wonder with these little ones if we don't over do it some times. Lavonne

 

[Charlotte]

[SIZE=18pt]Lavonne, Frank and I have been talking about the dosage of vaccinations for miniatures too. Since NO testing is done with miniatures it would be interesting to vaccinate a group with a reduced dose then do periodic tests for blood titires and see what you got. Anyone want to volunteer their herd? :bgrin [/SIZE]

We live 3 miles from Becky and we are having the same breeding problems........mares just shut down and not cycling and other problems getting them to cycle. Early embryonic loss, etc. Thank goodness for ultrasound so we can actually SEE what's going on.

We've been using so much Regumate I'm thinking I need to buy it by the GALLON! But so far, it has helped us get each mare to cycle. We are breeding Bright Reflection right now and hoping Spring will come in heat. Those are our last two to breed and I can only hope the others are still carrying. I think this extreme heat is hard on all of us.

In a normal year we would have had all mares in foal by the end of June! I think mare stare will be a very long season next year

Charlotte

 

[Songcatcher]

Praise the Lord my situation is very different from most of those reported here. I live in Southeast Oklahoma and it has been over 100 for the last month and VERY dry. I am 90% sure that 8 out of 9 mares are bred. I started breeding in April. My first two mares came back in heat the second time, but most took on the first breeding. Most were bred before the end of May. One did not breed until late July after her foal was weaned. One mare that is still coming in heat, but I will not let her breed now until it cools off a little.

EDITED TO ADD:

OOPS! Scratch that remark about one getting bred in late July. I just went outside and she appears to be coming back in heat now. She WILL NOT be put back with a stallion until sometime in October. It is entirely too hot for me to think about foaling this time of year.

7 out of 9 is still not bad on the odds.

 

[mmmorgans]

I am in Saskatchewan Canada and my mares are experiencing strange heat cycles too. Not sure if anyone is actually bred here - I guess I will have to have mares ultrasounded to see. To weird!!!!!!!

Also - as far as dosage of vaccinations are concerned - that would be an interesting study. Does the dosage given affect other things - who really knows for sure.

A fellow breeder up here vaccinated his herd for Anthrax and has lost 1/2 of his herd - he gave them the "normal" dose - but what is normal for minis? The horses died a horrible death - they actually ended up with the Anthrax disease and suffered terribly.