[Nojacketrequired]

...to interfere with a horse's cycle.
Are there any that are a one-time thing, perhaps with boosters along the way?
The barn staff will not do Regumate and I don't know that much about marbleing. I'd like to sound at least semi-informed before speaking to my vet.

General costs would be helpful, too.

NJR

[Discobold]

Yes, there are injections. I use Depo, one shot every ten days. It's very easy to give and costs about $12 a shot @ 6cc's. My vet thinks I can down to 5 cc's. I had read here that it doesn't work on a lot of mares, but my vet scoffed at that and said it's worked on every mare he knows. I know several other mares on it.

[deltawave]

Lupron

[retrofit]

Regumate really isn't hard. You just attach a syringe to the tip of the cap, turn upside-down and pull back on the syringe to your desired dosage. Since nothing leaks, you don't have to wear gloves for this. It isn't any harder than any other liquid supplement. As to cost - $260 for 100 days at a typical dosage for a 1200 lb horse. = $78/month

Depo shots are not effective on every mare. They are cheaper though, esp. when you get the compounded medroxy progesterone. Can't remember what I was paying but it ended up not being worth a dime, as it was not effective for my horse.

[Discobold]

Here's another thread on this with more ideas and more people's experiences -

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/sh...tion-What-else

retrofit, in that thread you said Depo worked "great" on you mare. What happened? The OP already said the barn staff wouldn't do Regumate, and I don't blame them. I've used it in the past but wouldn't use it at my current barn where teenagers handle the supplements and feed.

[retrofit]

Here's another thread on this with more ideas and more people's experiences -

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/sh...tion-What-else

retrofit, in that thread you said Depo worked "great" on you mare. What happened? The OP already said the barn staff wouldn't do Regumate, and I don't blame them. I've used it in the past but wouldn't use it at my current barn where teenagers handle the supplements and feed.

It DID work great - for about 2 months in the dead of winter. (Note the February date on that post.) Then when spring came, it really didn't work and I switched to Regumate.

Another mare at the same barn was also using depo, and for her it still worked come spring-time. So it might be worth a try for the OP, due to the cheaper cost and ease of administration. But based on my experience, I can't say it works as reliably as Regumate.

I know the OP said her barn staff didn't want to do Regumate. I think a lot of people kind of panic about it before they really know what's involved. I also balked at using Regumate because I had always heard it was difficult to handle, but now I see that it's really not hard to use at all. Just wish it wasn't so damn expensive!

[Meadow36]

Yes, there are injections. I use Depo, one shot every ten days. It's very easy to give and costs about $12 a shot @ 6cc's. My vet thinks I can down to 5 cc's. I had read here that it doesn't work on a lot of mares, but my vet scoffed at that and said it's worked on every mare he knows. I know several other mares on it.

This seems like a huge dose to me; I can't say I know anyone else using that high of a dose. I use 3 cc's every 3 weeks. It's safe to use every 10-14 days but I try to go as long as I can.

I agree it works very well on every mare. It is important that they are not currently in heat when you give it.

I get it wholesale so it's about $6 per dose. Most vets will sell you a multi dose vial, just ask. Much cheaper then supplements that don't work and put the horse off their feed.

[My Two Cents]

We have used a marble and had excellent results. No drugs to mess with. Doesn't work on all mares though. Marble was about $25 and it was put in and taken out when we needed the vet out for other things so we coordinated the timing. Mild sedation was needed when we took it out.

[Meadow36]

Article about marbling from Colorado State. Only 5 of 12 mares studied stayed out of heat:

http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/bms/e...bles_apr09.pdf

[Discobold]

This seems like a huge dose to me; I can't say I know anyone else using that high of a dose. I use 3 cc's every 3 weeks.

Depo comes in different strengths - for example, 100 mg/ml vs. 200 mg/ml. My guess is we are using a different concentrations. I give the 100 mg/ml.

[NMK]

Get the syringe "gun" for Regumate. No muss, no fuss! I put mine in a small little nylon bag with a strap, and it stays right outside her stall in its holster. Very simple, even at a big boarding barn.

Nancy

[melmda]

I use depo on my mare but my vet did mention a new form of regumate in a shot form like depo... She is supposed to be getting back to me on details of price, how often, etc. I do know it costs a little more than depo (not sure exactly) but it is supposed to be more effiective. Although depo works just fine with my girl...it even helps her "thoroughbredy too sensitive to touch skin"....She actually can enjoy brushing now with being tickled!

[Meadow36]

No I use 100 mg/ml. Just saying you could probably get away with less.

[Lilypad]

My vet told me depo and marble usually dont work. The most effective are regumate or spay. Due to the severity of my mare's issues I opted to spay (laporoscopic ovierectomy) since I needed a long-term solution and the cost of regumate would quickly overtake that of the spay. Really glad I went that way--mare is so much better

[kkindley]

I tried a marble and it did not work for my mare. It wasn't terribly expensive to do, did need sedation, and I had to have the vet out when she was in heat so her cervix was open. I know of other people that have had it work great. Worth a try if you can split a call when you have it done.

A couple people have tried Depo and it helped with attitude, but did not keep them from cycling. I know it HAS worked for some.

Regumate works great but a no go if the barn won't do it.

I asked my vet about the "injectable regumate" I forget what exactly it is, but he said it works on some, like depo, but has a tendancy to have a lot of injection site reactions.

Good luck!

[future vet]

You probably don't want to put in a marble if you plan to breed her in the future. Although some mares have no problems getting in foal after it is taken out, it can cause significant fibrosis and make it really difficult to get them in foal.

[cherham]

Oh Lord don't talk to me about those darn marbles. We had one inserted in a VERY marish show horse 5 years ago. Did not do a darn thing to suppress her heat cycles. We decide to breed her last year. She is in perfect health, repro checks all great, ultrasounds all done regularly. 5 textbook breedings, 5 conceptus all seen at 14 days, 5 NO EMBRYO ultrasounds at 21 days. OK what the heck is going on here? Wait.....what is that little round "thing" that quickly showed up on one of those scans....its the damn marble. Still in there...after 5 years! Mare catches five out of five, and looses five out of five. We won't even discuss the vet and breeding costs that were totally unnecessary.

Vet reaches in, takes out marble (placed in plastic container because no one believes me) and voila....next day breeding, mare safely in foal 6 months later. Ugh!

[katyb]

Oh Lord don't talk to me about those darn marbles. We had one inserted in a VERY marish show horse 5 years ago. Did not do a darn thing to suppress her heat cycles. We decide to breed her last year. She is in perfect health, repro checks all great, ultrasounds all done regularly. 5 textbook breedings, 5 conceptus all seen at 14 days, 5 NO EMBRYO ultrasounds at 21 days. OK what the heck is going on here? Wait.....what is that little round "thing" that quickly showed up on one of those scans....its the damn marble. Still in there...after 5 years! Mare catches five out of five, and looses five out of five. We won't even discuss the vet and breeding costs that were totally unnecessary.

Vet reaches in, takes out marble (placed in plastic container because no one believes me) and voila....next day breeding, mare safely in foal 6 months later. Ugh!

I can't believe it didn't occur to anyone involved to check for the marble before breeding #1. Where did you think it would go? It's like an IUD - it is supposed to stay put until you remove it. I wouldn't use a vet that didn't consider that for FIVE breedings. I'd be feeling pretty stupid myself for not coming up with the cause. DUH.

A marble worked wonderfully for my mare. The UT vet school says their success rate is about 75%. I think using a provider who inserts a lot of marbles is the key. The timing and size have to be right for it to work, but I don't think anyone suggests it is 100% effective. It's cheap (I think about $150 for the marble, sedation, ultrasound, and insertion), so it's a worthwhile first try.

[cherham]

To be fair to my Vet this mare always showed a regular heat cycle so we (all of us) assumed incorrectly that she had already kicked it out....that's what is supposed to happen. Had she not come back into season regularly after the marble was inserted of course we would have thought it was still there doing its thing.

Despite many, many, many ultrasounds (including a full very thorough Vet repro workup the year before we were going to breed to ensure everything was good to go) that darn thing was never seen. Not once! I guess it was moving around and it was only by chance we glimpsed it on the ultrasound one day after the 5th non sucessful breeding.

It was the weirdest most expensive thing I have ever witnessed with a broodmare.

[Senszuri]

Has anyone used MGA? A couple mares were on that at a barn I previously boarded at and it completely eliminated the signs of heat in all mares on it. Cheap supplement and no risks like regumante to humans handling it. (I am interested to know if there are other risks specifically to the horses - I believe this is actually a cattle supplement?) I know a couple geldings have been on it for temperament improvement also. Thoughts/experiences?