Spay surgery for mares?

[watermarkfarm]

Hi,

I know this belongs in Health.....but nobody looks there!!

Do any of you know about new procedures for spaying mares? I have a friend who is looking to have this done.

Thanks!
Katie

[TashGaia]

LOL, I just asked cutiepiepmu about this very thing... She can explain things pretty well.

Short answer: bad idea.

[jtjedi]

Why a bad idea?

I could really use this surgery for one of my girls.

[lorsadoon]

When they spay a mare, do they do a hysterectomy like with a woman? What do they take out, ovaries and uterus?
Do they spay for medical reasons, or just to prevent pregnancies, or to alter the once a month behavior that some mares have.
If they just want to prevent pregnancy, then couldn't they just do a tubal-ligation?

[fairazelle]

Anyone familiar with the cost of the procedure? You would think they could just remove the ovaries laparoscopically fairly easily.

[Admin]

One of the newest methods of estrus suppression was suggested at a fairly recent meeting of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and involves

placing a Uterine Glass Ball (UGB) in a mare's uterus at the end of her heat cycle. Uterine glass ball is just a little more medical sounding than marble, which is what it is. We get them at the toy store and they need to be 35mm in diameter (a "shooter"). Nobody has proven why this can be effective but some feel that the marble signals the uterus similar to a pregnancy. Our experience has been that this technique is effective in about 50% of mares which is similar to the published data. The marble should be removed towards the fall when mares typically stop cycling.

Another way to suppress estrus behavior that often goes overlooked is spaying. People think of spaying oftentimes as a procedure for just dogs and cats but it can be a very feasible option for owners of performance mares with no plans to ever breed. Spaying mares has had a precarious
past as it used to involve a dangerous procedure with a scary complication rate. The widespread use of laparoscopy in horses has revolutionized spaying of mares. There are many laparoscopic techniques available to do this, and all have advantages and

disadvantages. Dr. Tom Yarbrough, a boarded surgeon from the Sacramento area has developed an exciting technique that is probably the least traumatic way to spay a mare yet. One of the main issues with spaying a mare by any means is how to control bleeding where the ovary is removed. Laparoscopic sutures can be difficult to place and laparoscopic stapling equipment is very expensive. Dr. Yarbrough found that if you occlude the blood supply of mare's ovaries, you do not have to remove them. Left in place and with no blood supply, the ovaries appear to turn to fat and not produce anymore hormones. This is accomplished with a "zip-tie", yes the thousand-and-one use zip ties you have in your kitchen drawer. The zip-tie is introduced into the mare's abdomen through a laparoscopic instrument. The ovary is manipulated through the loop which is carefully tightened and the free end cut short. The procedure has been effective at reducing or eliminating estrus behavior in about 100 test mares. To get a feel for the behavioral changes you can expect, try a several week course of Regu-Mate first. Once spayed, the mare's behavior should be close to what it was like while on Regu-Mate. Mares are held a gradually decreasing diet for several days before surgery because it is important to have their intestines as empty as possible prior to surgery to aid in visualization. The procedure generally takes about an hour and leaves two stitches on either side of the abdomen which are removed in several weeks. While other procedures to spay mares oftentimes cause abdominal discomfort for several days, mares undergoing the laparoscopic zip-tie procedure generally are back on full feed that night. Hospitalization is typically for about 4 days and they go back to work in several weeks. Total cost for the procedure is typically around a couple thousand dollars.


Total cost for the procedure is typically around a couple thousand dollars.

[watermarkfarm]

Thanks so much.

Once again, Dr. Y is our guy (he's the one who did Rescue Horse Reggie's tricky bladder stone surgery....)

[nalasmom]

BTW I do not know why you are looking into this, but ALL of the mares I have ever met that where spayed were completely and utterly horrible b*tches! They were actually worse after being spayed.

[watermarkfarm]

My friend's mare in particular is like Jekyl & Hyde. On Regumate, she is much much better. She can be quite dangerous during various parts of her cycle. Spaying is kind of a last ditch effort. They really want to keep the mare. She is one of those horses you could eventually see end up on a feedlot because of her cycle-related behavior....

We're going to track down Dr. Y. and talk to him about it, at least. Will let you know more. Thanks for all the input ---- will ask him about the cons of spaying, for sure!!

[cwinterburn ( RIP) We love YOU]

My experience exactly - a Vet friend of mine spayed his 'bitchy' mare and she turned from an occasional bitchy mare to a totally b*tch full time. The ovaries are not the only place that produces estorgen and when you remove them - in some mares the other sites stimulate to make more - to keep the balance but the mare no longer 'cycles' she just stays bitchy...he really regretted spaying her and she eventually became useless she was so agressive to other horses and people.