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It’s happening again.
Breeding time! Here are some tips to ensure those maiden or empty mares
are well prepared for breeding, and to optimise your pregnant mare
health and the delivery of a healthy foal.
 The
Oversexed Mare
We all know these, it
feels as though they are more in season than not. The pleasant ones are
simply a nuisance: they present to anything and anyone, rub their tail
constantly and drive the geldings crazy. The bad ones are nasty: they
can call all day, run around, and attack their paddock mates or even
their humans. Both are easy to quieten down with ONE herb:
Chaste Tree
Yes, my only regret
with Chaste Tree is that I didn’t give it to my human daughters when
they were teenagers ….seriously, you only need to give them about 1/4
cup a day, just mixed in their feed and that will do the trick. When
they quieten down, a single Tbsp (ie half the dose) is enough to keep
them that way. If they hot up again, build up to 1/4 cup, and so on.
Will that stop them
from getting pregnant?
Not at all, it will
just stop both the extended heat and the “PMT” type behaviour. When you
wish to breed your mare, just stop the Chaste Tree. Voila!
The undersexed mare
These are actually
more complicated because there could be a host of reasons why they don’t
cycle. First you need to insure their nutrition is at a premium by
feeding them yeast extract, vitamin E, Zinc. They need more protein; so
feed them extruded grains such as Lupins as they are not only richer in
protein but also more readily digested. MAKE SURE THE MARE IS NOT ON RED
CLOVER PASTURE.
The herbs for these
mares are: Nettle Leaf, Rosehip, Chamomile, Borago, Hawthorn Leaf and
Dong Quai. 1/4 of a cup per day of any two or three of these herbs. Use
less Rosehip as it packs really tight and you get more per volume.
This will work on the
mare’s fertility but won’t change the behaviour of those “butter would
not melt in her mouth” mares. For those silent ladies, often you just
need the vet to check by ultrasound that she is indeed producing
follicles.
Safe herbs in
pregnancy:
Chamomile, Nettle
Leaf, Liquorice, Thyme, Dandelion Leaf, Burdock, Rosehip, once again:
1/4 cup of two or three of those per day (rotate them.)
Less of Rosehip and
Burdock as they pack tight.
Also Echinacea: 1/4
cup a day if needed to boost immunity for a week or two, not
continually.
How about Raspberry
Leaf?
Raspberry Leaf is
excellent for woman and mare but not at the beginning of pregnancy.
Women should start after the first trimester; for mares it is better to
start when the mare is 6 months pregnant. Raspberry Leaf is wonderful to
tone the uterus and helps with a swift delivery. You need to give your
mare 1/3 cup per day in her feed.
Lactation herbs:
Fortunately mares are
usually much better at lactation than the human species, if your mare
does not seem to have enough milk first look at her nutrition and her
stress levels. The herbs to help with lactation are Fennel, Fenugreek
(both of these benefit for being cracked first or soaked in water
overnight 1/4 cup 0f each) or Goat’s Rue.
Herbs contra indicated
in pregnancy:
Dong Quai, Chaste
Tree, Red Clover, Meadowsweet, Sage, Pennyroyal, Tansy, Thuja, Wormwood,
Willow Bark.
The above are also
contraindicated in lactation.
So, if your mare has a
cold you can use Thyme (not Sage), if you do exercise her and she is a
bit stiff do not use Willow Bark or Meadowsweet (which are great for all
other horses), exercise your mare with kindness so that she doesn’t get
stiff and sore.
Note about dosages:
It is well worth
buying a set of measuring cups dedicated to the horses to keep in your
feeding shed. This way, no mistakes, no problems
Happy Foaling!
Elyane
© 2008 Dr Elyane
Brightlight is a naturopath/acupuncturist with 30 years experience with
humans and 10 years experience with equines. She keeps her five horses
happy and healthy with the daily use of herbs. www.etbrightlgiht.com |
