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This reminds me of Orzo, my gelding's, tie ups.  What worked finally (& 
completely) was taking him off all grain (substituted rice bran & beet pulp 
& carrots) except AFTER rides.

After a tough 50 or a 100 he'd get pretty much free choice grain but only 
for up to 24 hours, then none until he'd been out again.

I've been amazed at how well he kept his weight and energy on this regimen.

--Dabney

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim & Drin Becker" <rainbow@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 2:02 PM
Subject: Re: [RC] Mares Tying Up


> >
> > Two issues here...  One, do people ride spayed mares in endurance?  Yes,
> > occasionally.  The procedure is not all that common.  If all goes well, 
> > no
> > surgical complications, etc., then there is no reason why she shouldn't 
> > do
> > endurance, and do it just as well as she does now.
> >
> > Question two--do you really WANT to spay her??  And there are two parts 
> > to
> > this as well...  One, there is some risk involved, and you lose the
> > opportunity to breed her in the future.  For many mares, I wouldn't be 
> > all
> > that concerned about the latter, but Ruffy IS a pretty nice mare...  As
> > for the risk--it is not TOO high, in the hands of a veterinarian who does
> > many mare spays, but I've seen some doozies, with mares that have been
> > sent out to be spayed to become jump mares for breeding facilities.  It
> > isn't as simple as gelding a colt or spaying your pet dog or cat.
> >
> > The second part of the second question is, will you really gain anything
> > by this?  I've seen some spayed jump mares who simply stay in a sort of
> > quasi-heat ALL the time, since there is no hormonal activity to suppress
> > heat.  We LOVE these mares at jump facilities, because we don't have to
> > put them on any hormones--they just tease the stallions and let them
> > mount.  Granted, more mares will be "out" of heat from being spayed than
> > will do this, but enough of them do this that I don't necessarily
> > recommend it as merely a way to keep them from showing heat as riding
> > horses.  Additionally, is this really Ruffy's problem?  I know you've 
> > been
> > through the whole selenium testing route, etc., and have ruled that out.
> > But I also remember that there was another horse standing right next to
> > Ruffy being treated at the same ride, with exactly the same problem, and
> > that both of you rode out conservatively and are experienced riders.  And
> > the other one was a gelding--sure wasn't HIS ovaries causing the problem!
> > The fact that this occurred to TWO horses in pretty much the same
> > circumstances at the same ride, and the fact that you have ridden Ruffy
> > for two years and 500+ miles, even garnering a couple of Top Tens and a
> > BC, I'm not sure that the conclusion to spay her is warranted.  I'd keep
> > looking for the needle in the haystack--you've ruled out selenium, but
> > what about calcium, magnesium, carb issues, something at the specific
> > ride, etc.?  I'm simply not convinced that mares tie up "just because 
> > they
> > are mares" and particularly not when it is only one incident.  Just some
> > food for thought...
> >
> > Heidi
>
> And this Heidi is exactly why I posted to get some "food for thought " :-) 
> You bring up some really good points and  my vet thinks I may be jumping 
> the gun here as well as so far it was a one time deal but I never want to 
> go through that scenario again (knock on wood) I had Dr. Foss run all the 
> tests he could and we went over everything we could think of as you know 
> and we still are not coming up with a cause . She was low in calcium and 
> Dr. Foss thought that maybe give her a flake of alfalfa for a few days 
> before her ride may solve the problem . Its just such a kick in the gut to 
> get a 3 day Overall Best of Condition one month and then the next be 
> standing under a tree watching many many bags of IV fluids being put into 
> your horse ! So I guess maybe take a step back and finish a few rides next 
> spring and see how it goes before making a decision that can't be undone . 
> Thanks for your input and the compliment to Ruff :-)
>                                                                  Drin 
> Becker
>                                                                  Mtn 
> Region
> >
>
>
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