regumate

[supaspot]

could people tell me of their experiences using Regumate , I have a mare that has had two late term abortions/miscarriages , usually around 285 days , the foals have had no obvious defect and the mare never had an infections , my vet couldnt give any reason for her losing the foal and each time says ,,,"its one of those things" (the cord was very twisted but did the twist cause the abortion or did the dying foal cause the twists ...)

she has had one live foal for us , then had year off and then the two aborted ones , she is pregnant again and is due in April , this will be her last foal whether it lives or dies and Id hate her to lose it again , my vet says that without testing levels of a hormone (cant remember which one) she doesnt know if it will be helpful or not but is prepared to get it for me if I want it but says its very expensive

what do I need to know to make an informed decision ? at what stage do you start using it and at what stage do you stop (just before birth date?) what dose do you give ? are there any side affects etc

please help !!

 

[Becky]

I've used Regumate to successfully maintain pregnancy in mares several times in past years.

I currently have one little pregnant mare on Regumate. She had her last foal in 2008 and we really aren't sure what's been going on with her. I don't know whether she's been getting in foal and slipping them early or just not getting in foal at all. This year when she had her first cycle I had my vet out to check her. Physical exam showed no abnormalities and a culture was negative. So, I bred her and had her checked in foal at 30 days and she was started on Regumate then.

I generally dose at 1 cc per 100 lbs body weight. It is safe to double dose Regumate in the case of suspected placentitis.

Pregnant mares are kept on Regumate until they foal. It has no interference in udder development nor does it make them carry longer than they would normally. Old school of thought was to wean them off of Regumate prior to foaling, but there have been issues doing that, so now my vet and others agree to leave a mare on Regumate until she foals.

I would start your mare on Regumate immediately with her prior history. Good luck and we expect to see pictures of a healthy foal in the spring.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

If you read the label on Regumate it will site its use as to control cycling, it does not claim on the label that it will maintain a pregnancy.

The placenta will produce enough progesterone on its own after 160 days (might be a little off, but I'm close), thus even if progesterone insufficiency is suspected (and its true occurence is debatable), then supplementation for an entire gestation shouldn't be needed.

Regumate is used to treat placentitis along with other drugs, but placentitis isn't likely to occur pregnancy after pregnancy unless the cervix is incompetent.

With all of that said, do Vets use it at times to maintain a pregnancy? Yes. And do they use it for an entire gestation? Yes. Are there any risks? No. But, it is costly.

I leave the decision up to owners. I don't think it works, sadly sometimes abortions occur. But, I feel like I need to let owners know its available just for CYA.

Dr Taylor

 

[supaspot]

Thanks

Becky

Dr Taylotr ....thats pretty much what my own vet said . out of curiosity ...if these problems were cause by an incompetent cervix what would be the standard treatment ? its too late to put a stitch in now isnt it?

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Regumate is a reasonable treatment for an incompetent cervix.

 

[Riverdance]

I have an older mare who was on Regumate for her whole pregnancy twice and i got two colts. then last year she was ultrasound pregnant, so I put her on Regumate. sometime during her pregnancy she either reabsorbed or slipped the foal. Never found an aborted foal. But, not knowing that, I used Regumate up till the time she was due. No foal, though I suspected that for months before her due date.

So, with experience, looks like it is iffy. When I had Morgans i always used it on one of my older mares for 4 months, then stopped. She carried a foal full term.

 

[Charlotte]

We have also had excellent results with using Regumate both in cases of placentitis and with mares with a history of abortion.

I can only tell you that if your mare were mine she would be on Regumate ASAP.

I'm a little surprised at the talk about it being costly. I find it to be a lot cheaper than a dead foal and possibly a traumatic abortion for the mare.

Good luck with your mare and her 'soon to be' foal.

 

[valshingle]

In my own experience, I think your mare might be prone to placentitis. My vet would probably recommend Regumate and Uniprim (antibiotic). In some cases she would add banamine.

But your mare could also have other problems that would lead to abortion. I have a mare that had a silent uterine infection that has left her with a 10-50% chance of carrying a foal to term. Sometimes she aborts early, sometimes quite late, and sometimes she carries them all the way to term.

Good luck!

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

If she were my mare I'd put her on it immediately and keep her on it until the baby was on the ground. Lots of drugs work in ways that aren't indicated on the label. Did anyone see the stories on Ambien lately? Really makes one think about the alternate uses a drug may have.

(PS: I'm not suggesting people run out and use drugs for other than their intended purpose willy nilly)

 

[HGFarm]

Maybe have some blood work done? Check her hormone levels and also her thyroid.

I used Regumate one time, on a mare that had a hormonal issue that year. She had already had a few foals, and was getting pregnant but losing it at about 40 days. Bred her again, had her checked in foal at 30 days and put her on Regumate. She carried the healthy foal full term and she never needed the Regumate again. She was just having a bad hormone year that year.

It will not stop aborts for other reasons.

Had another mare I leased years ago- as a yearling. When she was three, she was bred for the first time, and aborted at 9 months. We THOUGHT it was a twisted cord. Same thing the next year. The third year she carried to about 10 1/2 months and had a very thin and weak filly that didnt make it, despite excellent vet care. She was sold as a pet, with the knowledge of her foaling history, however a couple of owners later, they figured they could get more as a broodmare and sold her as such.

This mare was cultured, biopsied, blood worked and everything else we could think of, with no real answer as to why she would not carry a foal full term.

I agree with you though in wondering- I think the death sometimes is not from the twisted cord, but that something in there has gone wrong already and that is a 'side effect' of the problem.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

I would love to sell a drug that I never tested nor claimed to be a treatment for a condition. But the public felt like it 'might' help and couldn't hurt so will happily buy it 'just in case' of something they really don't understand.

I sell quite a bit of Regumate to clients who think its 'cheap insurance'. I use very little on my own mares and never to maintain a pregnancy, especially beyond 120 days (sorry I reported the wrong number earlier).

Sadly, owners rarely send away aborted fetuses and placentas for a 40% chance at getting information that could be used in future years. Of the 2, I think necropsies are of far more value than is progesterone supplementation.

Dr Taylor

 

[alongman]

This is just my opinion...so burn away, but I've worked in medical profession for a long time. Some people (and mares) just aren't intended to have careers as mothers based on a biological, genetic or chemical reason. Sometimes the problem is a simple fix, such as adjusting diets or supplementing, but sometimes that isn't the case. We have two mares on our farm that just aren't breeding mares. Does it mean that they are not productive in their own right - ABSOLUTELY NOT! They are great baby-sitters during weaning time and have other jobs. In an economy where horses are not selling for nearly the prices most people would want, maybe it's natures way of saying that this baby just wasn't supposed to be..

Dr. Taylor - thanks for your input. I love reading your comments, they are very informative.

 

[little lady]

I agree with Adam. Well said. I have had no reason to use Regumate so have no input to add. I also would like to extend thanks to Dr. Taylor for graciously sharing his knowlege with us. I have learned so much. I wish that there was a place that one could donate fetus's to research possible causes of preterm abortions.

 

[supaspot]

well I did put Boo Boo on the Regumate but Im sad to tell you she lost the foal yesterday , last thursday I went to the vets to get a repeat prescription but they had forgotten to reorder it and had none in stock , I went to every vet for miles around but couldnt get any , most people had never heard of it) I even spoke to the companies that supply the vets and they were out of stock too , it had to come from out of the country and the earliest anyone could get it to me was monday (yesterday), I drove to the surgery to collect it and when I got back the foal was born and was dead in the sac , I know there was no guarantee that it would have worked even if she hadnt been off of it for several days but now Ill never know, Boo has now retired from breeding and will stay here as a nanny to the weanlings :-(

 

[stormy]

I am sorry to hear of your loss, never easy to lose a little one!

I know of some breeders having success preventing late term abortions in mares with a suspected lax cervix treating mares aith SMZs at 3 month intervals to prevent placentitis. So hard to know what is really going on with these girls without a full reproductive work-up but could be another option, not expensive, not long term and apparently successful for some.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Oh no! I'm do sorry about the lost little one. Hugs to you.

 

[Barnmother]

Sorry to hear of the loss of your foal losses are never easy. I admire you for giving her the important post of taking care of the weanlings,I am sure she will be happy to be supportive in that role.

 

[supaspot]

Barnmother I wouldnt sell her , with her foaling history she wouldnt be worth an awful lot of money and I wouldnt want her to fall into the wrong hands , Id worry that someone would want to try to breed her again and I couldnt put her through it knowing how slim the chances of success are

I have a mare who will be 15 this year and as they are friends we have decided to retire them together

 

[Riverrose28]

Sorry to hear you lost your foal!