Long Heat Cycle on mare

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Sarah's Little Blessings

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Hello! What is normal for a mare to stay in heat? My mares normally go about a week. Well I have one mare I have tried breeding for three cycles now, the first cycle was 3 days long(so might have been the tail end of it), next time she bred once, and even though she was still acting in heat for 10 more days, she wouldn't allow a mount...
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, NOW this last heat cycle she has been in since the 25th of April, is something wrong? I am going to have the vet check her, but just wanted ya'll's opinions on this, as well as suggestions? THANKS-Sarah

Oh, she is a maiden mare if that matters? 4yrs old..
 
I would also like to know what people say, as i have a mare that had her first foal last year. Before becoming pregnant, this mare had what seemed to be random heat cycles that would last random amounts of time. After she foaled she seemed more predictable, so i sent her to another farm to be breed. Now the people breeding her are calling me and asking if its normal for her to be cycling this long, shes been in heat for 13 days! I dont know what to think!

Sorry im not very helpful, but at least you know your not alone! :DOH!
 
This has been a weird spring! A mare here has had some 'strange' cycles going on, too.

Makes me wonder if your mare is still in transition heat or if she settled and her hormones aren't adjusted yet?

Anyone else out there have an idea?

Peggy
 
Completely normal
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Spring transition heats can last for 30+ days. The issue isn't them being in heat, its them not ovulating. Once they have their first ovulation of the year the progesterone produced by the resulting structure will tell the mare that they are out of heat. Until then, any little input of estrogen can cause full blown heat symptoms, without actually being ready to have a fertile cycle.
 
Oh! Good I was getting very worried, glad I am not alone, and I'm glad that it should quit after so long! So I'll keep my fingers crossed, all I knew was its WIERD
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When do you think spring is "over"? I mean how much longer should it take before I get concerned?

TTYS-Sarah
 
Don't know if this helps any. Many years ago, I had

ann Arabian mare that was still standing for the stallion

on day fifteen! Took her to be ultrasounded. The vet said

she wasn't releasing her follicle. Gave her a shot, believe

it was follicle stimulating hormone. Was told to breed her

three days later - she took!

Probably time to have your vet check her out.

Good luck.

Cathy
 
My mare was the whole month of april last year. But she took at the tail end of it. Quite confusing, but we figured the first half was just a false heat.

Bred an outside mare that took the first time, but then came back into "heat". She wouldn't breed, but the next month, she was confirmed as 60 days pregnant.
 
FSH can be used to help multiple follicles ovulate (superovulating), but in this case hCG or Deslorelin (Ovulplant) would be the drugs of choice to assist the follicle in ovulating.

Spring transition can last just a few months or many more. Usually 75% of mares would be cycling by now, but some may take a little longer. By June 95% of mares should be cycling normally. I would expect her to hopefully start her normal cycling within the next few weeks.
 
Interesting topic. I have one mare who always cycles and breeds for at least ten days. Then she will continue to tease the stallion for months. Last year, she was driving me and the stud crazy, so had her ultrasounded. Surprise, she was in foal, but also had follicle ready for release. This behavior finally ceased after about four months. And she delivered a foal this spring right on time with the first breeding.
 
Well, here is an additional question on this topic (hope that is ok??) So, say a mare has been in heat and then goes out of heat for only about one week, comes back into heat- is this considered a transitional cycle or did the mare possibly ovulate the first round? Why would she come back into heat so soon? Maybe she never truly went out of heat even though it appeared as such?

Would this be something that your mare is going through, possibly, Sarah?

Peggy
 
Yes, those are very typical symptoms.

WLS: it is normal (and actually required) for a mare to have and "silently ovulate" several follicles partway through pregnancy. These may or may not actually ovulate, but regardless the product is several "accessory CL's". These structures are required to maintain pregnancy. At this point in the foal's development the placenta is not yet fully formed, but the original follicle-turned-cl is "expiring". In order to make sure the mare has enough progesterone to maintain her pregnancy the body creates several additional CL's as "insurance". Those will go away once the placenta takes over progesterone production.

The key is "silent"... pregnant mares in heat are not a good thing. Many times its a symptom of a questionable pregnancy and a possible abortion situation. Definately take note and call in a vet if you have a supposidly pregnant mare showing overt signs of estrous behavior.
 
Well, here is an additional question on this topic (hope that is ok??) So, say a mare has been in heat and then goes out of heat for only about one week, comes back into heat- is this considered a transitional cycle or did the mare possibly ovulate the first round? Why would she come back into heat so soon? Maybe she never truly went out of heat even though it appeared as such?

Would this be something that your mare is going through, possibly, Sarah?

Peggy
That sounds like it. Today she was STILL IN! Its about to drive me Banana's!!! Plus the two I thought were bred are also back in..
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Transitional heats can be very whacky........ If your mare does this again later during the season I would suspect a problem. Sometimes a follicle can become a cyst and create a similar situation. That's when a vet will intervene with drugs.
 
A cyst is not curable by drugs, only surgery. There are other structures that could do this, including persistant anovulatory follicles (PAFs). If it hasn't resolved itself in the next month I'd consult a reproductive vet for an exam.
 

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