and how you can help them naturally.
When it comes to the subject of mares do you find yourself cringing at the thought of owning a mare? Have you had the unfortunate experience of a mare who was extremely unpleasant during a heat cycle? Do you feel geldings are more “manageable”? Well, you’re not alone.
Over the years I have had a tendency to steer clear of mares. I have, however, owned more than one. In fact, my very first schooling horse when I was younger was a mare…Penny. I loved that horse so much. I was devastated when my parents bought a gelding for me I didn’t even know in place of Penny. I was actually not fond of geldings back then. Maybe it was a girl thing lol. Anyway, that gelding set my mind about the kind of horses I wanted to own from that point on.
I had many mares come and go through out my career. My first competitive horse was a mare…Nifty. She was amazing…except when she was in heat. I formulated a bad opinion of mares from that experience. My opinion was exacerbated and encouraged by the culture of the times back then. I look back now and wish I had a better understanding of her.
Today is a different story. We, my husband I should say, owns a beautiful walker mare. She has the best personality ever. In fact, she really does remind me very much of Penny. Katie Kat is her name, and she will do anything you ask of her. While we are still dealing with past traumas from her previous life, she has experienced some very uncomfortable heat cycles. Obviously, these changes give the impression she is not so special.
Katie Kat’s heat cycles resulted in her acting very nasty, aggressive, and resource gaurdy. We were not aware of this issue until we implemented our new pasture paradise program. Once we let everyone out together in a community group it was obvious she was experiencing some overwhelming changes.
In the beginning of our program implementation we kept one large paddock for her to be able to separate and regulate. This was not a punishment, nor did she take that way. She actually became super loving towards us, and more comfortable. It was clear to me that Katy Kat was tired of gelding management, and just wanted her own space to decompress.
Over the next few months we slowly allowed everyone to self regulate. As Katy Kat’s aggression slowed we eventually got to the point we are now. Everyone is in a big community group in freedom.
While Katie Kat is doing better with the others, and more comfortable each cycle we felt she need something extra. I decided to try a very natural and homeopathic herbal supplement. There were two different herbals I consider trying. Chaste berry and raspberry leaf are the two most acceptable for our application. Both are readily available locally, and online.
We chose a product that has dried raspberry leaf. It was recommended that we give it daily, but we feel it’s best to regulate it. When she goes into heat, and start to show signs of aggression, or discomfort we give her just a small amount on her morning pellets. We have experimented with this to find the correct dosage for her. Once we see she is self regulating, usually only a few days, we stop. Less is more in world.
To my astonishment, I notice a big difference towards the other horses. I feel like we have found a way to assist her find balance, and self regulation.. For us this is in her best interest, and falls under the guidelines we preach. If she is happy then, so am I.
Adding in a herbal supplement is simple, and just one of many things we have done for her benefit over time. We are here for them. Whatever we can do to make their quality of life better we will.
If you are interested in using herbals for you horses you can find products at the feed store as well as online that will work. Do your research, see what others are saying, and most of all give your mare the time it takes to self regulate.
As always,
May The Lord Bless you and keep!
All my love,
Annie 🙂