# supressing heat cycles in show mares



## kaykay (Jul 2, 2005)

i have been told by a friend at the shows to put copper tubing in my mares water bucket to keep her from cycling while being shown. He swears it works and has no ill effects. Its just seems kinda mean to me?? Anyone else do it? It is hard to show a mare in a raging heat


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## js1arab (Jul 2, 2005)

Hey Kaykay, my friends daughter's 4-H horse has gradually for the past three years gotten to where she is a royal B**** through most of the summer. She will drive their gelding crazy by trying to "present" to him yet she'll kick the snot out of him or anything else that moves and she wants to be with everybody else, but can't since she has started all this. It first started that she'd come into what appeared to be a heat cycle evreytime they went to a show then it started happening on occassion at home and now it is all the time. But I helped her pick this mare out for her daughter and I can tell you that was not her nature when we looked at her or the whole first year and a half they had her. I told her it sounded like a hormone imbalance or cystic ovaries. Her vet thought so too and told her to put her on Regumate. She says she is only doing it 3-4 days before a show and it seems to help. I wasn't there so I don't know how much vet told her to use or how long etc. and I do know it can add up cost wise, but I know lots of people have tried this so it is known to be a safe method. Don't know a thing about the copper. I would guess copper could leak into the water, but I don't know how sensitive they are to copper. Good luck. I know it can be trying to deal with hormones.


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## Minimor (Jul 2, 2005)

I don't quite see why this would make a difference....but I surely don't see it would hurt anything to try it. Having copper tubing in the water isn't really too different from having the water run through copper pipe, as our house water does....and we water horses off our house water system....hehehe, I guess none of our mares should ever be cycling if this theory works???


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## justaboutgeese (Jul 2, 2005)

I do not know of any folk preventions for heat cycles but we did use a treatment for our dogs when the need arose. It was many moons ago so I do not have information available but your vet should be able to point you in the right direction. This is one more reason geldings are nice. No hormones.


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## kaykay (Jul 2, 2005)

its supposed to have something do to with the copper interacting with the water. it wont eliminate a heat cycle but will tone it down. He said he starts doing this about a month before show season and all thru out show season.


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## Margo_C-T (Jul 2, 2005)

This is an "old" belief that has been around a long time; whether it actually "works"? I have no idea! Back when pennies really WERE(mostly, at least)copper, dumping a pile of pennies into the water bucket was suggested-and of course, for performance mares, there was the copper mouthpiece on the bit! Never heard of any real "proof" that this kind of thing helped, but there were plenty who believed it did! I'd just use Regumate, I believe, if were REALLY an issue.


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## Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis (Jul 2, 2005)

i wonder like hmm was it minimor who said wouldnt it work then if you had copper pipes out to your barn?


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