Has anyone ever used a shot to bring a mare into heat?

[Chaos Ranch]

So I took my 20 year old mare to the 25 year old stallion. Mare isn't cycling yet. (been there 3 days). I don't have a stallion in (or near) my pasture so my mares don't show their heat cycles like they would if there was a stallion. Breeder says bring her back in 18-21 days we'll try again. But, wouldn't that just bring us right back to the same point we're at now?

I want only one foal from this mare. And I want it only from this stallion. It will be a keeper, regardless of it's color, shape, size, or gender. Living here in Arkansas sometimes our pastures can get pretty weak and dried up in late June/July/August. May would be the latest I would want a foal born. I prefer March/April... the flies and ticks aren't so bad in March/April either. So if I don't get my mare bred now, I may have to wait until next year to breed her.

I remembered the man I bought my Peruvian Paso mare from told me that he was going to breed her to his stallion before she left his farm. When I asked if she would be cycling in Jan. he said yes, but if not that he would just run by the vet's office and pick up the shot to bring her in with.

So my question is, what shot is he talking about? Is it safe for my horse? I'd heard of it only once before, and it was actually for a dog, not a horse, and the person that was going to give her dog the shot was doing it to abort an accidental mating. She said it can be pretty rough on the dog, but she'd rather do that than to have a potentially unhealthy litter of puppies. (it was Australian Shepherds, and an accidental Merle/Merle mating.)

What is the shot for the horses called? Is it safe for my mare? What are the side effects? Does it actually work to bring a mare into a true cycle? What is the average cost of the shot? Please tell me any good/bad that you know about this. I want to make a very informed decision for my mare.

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

I believe the shot is called Lutalyse(sp?) and we only use it if our mares arent coming into a regular heat. We have never had anything bad happen to them from the shot and it works most of the time, we had some problems getting mares to come into heat last year even with the shot so it really depends but a majority of the time it works. I hate using it to be honest with you because it causes the mare to break into a heavy sweat and sometimes will cause minor cramping. As I said before none of our horses have ever had bad effects from it but all horses arent the same and I would check with your vet and see what they suggest and also check the name since I am not 100% sure on that.

 

[Miniv]

Maple Hollow is accurate about the shot. It does have side effects of sweating and some cramping.

We used it years ago on a mare about 10 years ago. Didn't work. The mare was a "silent heat" mare and she chose to get pregnant with the stallion she preferred!!!

May I suggest that you discuss with the stallion owner the idea of leaving your mare with her stallion for a full month? That way, the stallion can tell you both when she is ready. There won't be any drugs and side effects involved, just a very natural breeding. You will probably just have to pay for some extra board........instead of the drug.........

 

[Chaos Ranch]

Thanks !

I actually wanted to leave the mare there longer.... but the problem is that the stallion owners are very elderly (70's) and the man (our Uncle) has gotten so frail, he can't even walk out to the barn on his own, or even feed/pet the horses anymore so it's all left up to the wife. Their son comes in and helps them as much as he can, but he has two jobs and cannot devote as much time as he wants to help them out.

My husband could go there every morning after work and check the mare, turn her into the pen, and water her. We could buy our own feed. He could clean the pen...so they wouldn't actually have to do anything except put her up at night. The stallions paddock touches the corner of the mare's pen...so he would be able to tell if she were cycling when he turned her out and observed her for a little bit.

Oh I'm just not sure what to do at this point. I don't want to put our Aunt and Uncle out at all... and I sure don't mind us doing the actual work of turning her in, or out...feeding and cleaning up after her. I don't know about the shot... I don't want her to be uncomfortable, or have other possible reactions.... but I want this one foal so desperately.

 

[Miniv]

Would it be possible to LEASE the STALLION for a short time?

 

[Kira98]

It might be worth it to do all that stuff yourself if you can to get that foal.

Maple Hollow is right on about the shot we have used it in large horses before

Would it be possible to bring the stallion to your place and leave them in the pasture together for a month ???

you mentioned that its your aunt and uncle so do you think they would let you "borrow" the stallion for a bit

you feed and take care of it etc.... just a thought

hope you get your mare bred.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

You can use a drug called Estramate too... its the same thing, except synthetic. You use half the volume of a dose of lutalyse and it has much much less side effects. Is this stallion local to you?

 

[Chaos Ranch]

Yes, the stallion is close to us. About 10 miles away. But, he's a world champion, and 25 years old, so he's a highly guarded horse. I wouldn't feel right about taking him to my pasture and risking a freak accident or something.

I called my vet to ask about the Estramate ! Thanks for the suggestions !

I don't want to come off as trying to squeeze out one more baby to make money off of...that's not at all what we're wanting. This mare is the most spectacular horse I've ever been near in all my life. Her disposition is impeccable, her conformation is without obvious flaw, and her pedigree is well respected. Same with the stallion. Very intelligent, very compliant stallion. It took me 13 years to be able to get one of our uncle's horses. Our uncle is a living legend in these parts and he's one of the most amazing horsemen one could hope to meet. Having this foal carries on his memory for us (he's very frail and not going to be here much longer) and it also combines two of the best horses we've known to produce just one foal to carry on the legacy of the three best contributions to the MFT world in our area, and in our opinions. The baby will be with us forever, and both parents will be retired after this breeding.

 

[Miniv]

Kim, There are often SPECIAL circumstances to things............

Since the stallion probably shouldn't leave his place, can you take your mare and LEAVE HER for a month (at least), and perhaps feed or at least check on her daily?

The age you are speaking of with your mare makes me wonder about the safety of using drugs on her at this point.

 

[ruffian]

I've used Lutalyse and had good results with it. It does cause the mare to sweat, but doesn't seem to bother them.

"Yes, the stallion is close to us. About 10 miles away. But, he's a world champion, and 25 years old, so he's a highly guarded horse."

If the stallion is so heavily guarded, what would be the issue with leaving the mare there? It sounds like your place would be safer because you are able to do more with the horses.

Good luck!

 

[~Lisa~]

I personally would go for the estromate instead. It has less side effects and most mares I have used it on show none. I used lutylce (spelling?) and even though my vet warned me of the side effects I thought my mare was dying I could not keep her walking due to the cramps she had. Now it did last only abouit an hour just like the vet predicted and then she was perfectly fine and normal but given the choice I would prefer estromate and in fact plan to use it myself to short cycle my mares later in the season