Old Mare in heat?

[ADKLogger]

I have a 32 yr old belgian mare that has been with the camp for around 17 yrs and is spending her last days here. But recently she has been showing signs of being in heat (sqirting and making a strange wincing kind of noise when Petey is around) is this possible, and exactly what are the signs of a mare in heat. She did this 2 weeks ago and is doing it again today.

-Frank

[ADKLogger]

Does anybody have anything on this?

[Tom S]

Yes, even though they are beyond getting pregnant, they do come in heat.

I had a neighbors 28 year old mare that was sick and ready to be buried that I took in and nursed back to health. Once she got to feeling good again, she would come in heat just like the younger ones.

[dominiquer60]

This has some technical information on the estrus cycle and describes heat (estrus) detection at the bottom.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/181601.htm&word=equine%2cestrus

There are many factors and possibilities that could explain this including cysts, tumors, and normal cycling, it is hard to tell. There are products that you can use including (new to me) marbles to keep your mare from coming into heat, but I am sure that just dealing with it is the cheapest option. There is nothing wrong with an old girl feeling her oats, but if she causes problems you may want to try something different so that she doesn’t hurt one of the other working horses. Just my two cents

Erika

[ADKLogger]

This is good because I thought I was going crazy, she started doing this squirting thing when I brought my new gelding in and she has been a pain in the neck since. Squealing and making all kinds of funky noises, and then he is over there nibbling at her neck. Life is truly stranger than fiction.

Thanks,

-Frank

[Author]

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