Spaying

[GSpecialD]

Have any of you ever had a mare spayed? I am seriously considering this for my mare. She had ovary problems last summer that were bad enough to interfere with our riding. She had one ovary that was very large that had cysts and the other one was not ovulating. The vet told me I would probably have to have her breed which would help the problem or spay her to resolve the problem. He said I could also try Regumate. I looked into the price of Regumate and it is very high and it would make more sense to me just to spay her. Has anyone else ever gone through something like this?

[Einstein]

I was just talking to our repro vet about this today! I don't know the cost, but they now can do it standing, it's done with a scope, and the recovery time is very little. She had all the stats on behavioral and under saddle changes in mares who have been spayed (percentages) with this procedure.

If I had a mare who responded to Regumate really well, it was my own, I would do the spay this way. So much les invasive and easier on the mare. Isn't it funny I just learned about this today!

[TeachU2Ride]

One of my customers had her good TB mare spayed about six years ago. It was simple surgery (standing flank incision), cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1200 and the recovery time was one month.

The change in the mare was nothing short of miraculous. (She also had lots of cysts). It improved her quality of life tremendously and she was able to train and compete without stress or pain or lost time.

Highly recommend it!

[filly]

I was seriously considering it bc Katy is ALWAYS in heat. She isn't marish but I've been having terrible issues with tenderness in the loin and butt muscles and had been wondering if it was due to this. I have her on Ovex and Ovatrophin. These are two herbal supplements offered to me by my western vet. He said you would know in 10 days if it would work. It basically regulates her and it's supposed to help in the enzymatic pathway of ovulation. It seems to have worked for Katy as she is less sensative and sore. It's not that expensive (about $40 a month) after initial dosing, and I've already contacted USEF to make sure it's a legal drug for showing, which it is. If you're interested, the company which makes it is Standard Process Inc. It's made for people to take as well.

Otherwise, spaying sounds like an excellent alternative as well.

Good luck from one PMS mare to another! lol

[GSpecialD]

msh said:

I was just talking to our repro vet about this today! I don't know the cost, but they now can do it standing, it's done with a scope, and the recovery time is very little. She had all the stats on behavioral and under saddle changes in mares who have been spayed (percentages) with this procedure.

If I had a mare who responded to Regumate really well, it was my own, I would do the spay this way. So much les invasive and easier on the mare. Isn't it funny I just learned about this today!

I would be curious to know the percentages in regards to under saddle. That would be interesting to know if there is a big difference or not.

Thanks for all the responses. I have the vet coming out the first week of April and I am going to find out more about it. I really believe it would help my mare a lot and I am glad to know now it has helped others. It is really driving me crazy to have one good day of riding then the next is terrible and so on. It goes back and fourth all the time.

[Einstein]

I want to say it was 81% or something for under saddle issues. The lowest percentage was for bad behavior like kicking and striking and that was in the 60% range. The vet was reading the study to me, so I can't remember all the numbers, but they did have a bunch. I can give you her number if you want to ask her about it and get more info.

[GSpecialD]

msh said:

I want to say it was 81% or something for under saddle issues. The lowest percentage was for bad behavior like kicking and striking and that was in the 60% range. The vet was reading the study to me, so I can't remember all the numbers, but they did have a bunch. I can give you her number if you want to ask her about it and get more info.

If you wouldn't mind giving me her number that would be great. I would really appreciate it. This is such a hard decision for me.

[Einstein]

I sent you a PM with all the clinic's info. I hope she helps answer some questions, she really helped me with my mare.

[niaru]

This is very interesting. I wonder how much it would cost now? Does anyone know?

[animaldoc]

Just FYI...this is NOT a simple procedure and is not without significant risks. If you're considering it, make sure you get all the information.....it's not as simple as spaying a dog or cat and shouldn't be undertaken lightly.

[Einstein]

animaldoc, which procedure are you talking about? The spay with the scope (flank incision) or abdominal?

It is actually NOT a simple procedure in a dog either ;D and it was my least favorite procedure to run anesthesia for.

[animaldoc]

Both....complications can range from bleeding to post-op colic to problems with the incisions, etc.

The good thing about spaying a dog is that you can always open them up and see everything if you get a bleeder or a ligature slips off. (And the anesthesia on a dog is WAY easier than a horse since they do much better on their backs! They also don't have the recovery issues etc.)