{"id":814,"date":"2020-04-16T12:53:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T12:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/?p=814"},"modified":"2022-01-05T12:54:31","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T12:54:31","slug":"behaviour-hormones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/behaviour-hormones\/","title":{"rendered":"Behaviour & Hormones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
A mare’s oestrus cycle depends on the season, and can cause them to be unpredictable which can affect performance, but understanding can help you manage it.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The ovaries in mares and testes in stallions produce hormones including testosterone, estrogen and progesterone for reproduction. Horses produce all of these, no matter their sex, but it is the concentration of each that differs. These hormones regulate the reproductive cycle in mares, which in turn influences the stallion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the gestation period for a foal is almost a year, horses had to adapt to a breeding season that corresponded to the best weather and grass for survival in the wild. This is controlled by many factors, but as daylight hours increase, reproductive inhibitors are reduced to kick start the mare’s cycle. In early Spring, mares enter a transitional phase as they start to become reproductively active. As their hormone levels adjust, their behaviour can become unpredictable until early Summer when their cycles become more regular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average cycle lasts 21 days and consists of a diestrus phase, when progesterone levels are higher and they are nonreceptive, and an estrus phase that lasts about 5 days. It is during estrus that the mare produces oestrogen to develop the follicles ready to be fertilised which can result in sensitivity and often makes them distracted. This pattern occurs naturally from around April to September which often coincides with the competition season and can compromise the ability of even the best mares. In this instance, a supplement can be used to help improve their temperament. Vitamins, plus Zinc, Magnesium, amino acids and herbs are thought to decrease oestrogen and increase progesterone levels in order to mimic the diestrus phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a mare on the yard is in season it can also cause behavioural changes in male horses as the drive to reproduce dominates their minds. You may see them herding their field mates, showing aggression towards other geldings and trying to reach the mare. This type of ‘riggy’ behaviour can occur when a colt is gelded late, when some epididymal tissue remains, and can also be learned from others. In a similar way to mares, increasing progesterone levels through supplementation can subdue this behaviour and help regain their concentration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NAF Oestress<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Oestress is a fast acting supplement that compliments the mares natural cycle. Using herbs that have been known for hundreds of years including chaste berry and magnesium, it will encourage regularity and support hormonal balance. What’s more, Oestress promotes muscle relaxation and calmness, as well as boosting the whole system with antioxidants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Oestress\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Global Herbs Frisky Mare<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A traditional herbal formula consisting primarily of fever nut seed, celery seed and turmeric that is designed to help with the behaviour and comfort of cycling mares. It provides quick and effective results to reduce excitability caused by hormones and help re-focus your mare to achieve the results that you know she can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Friskymare\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dodson & Horrell Stroppy Mare<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Using a blend of soothing herbs, Stroppy Mare supports normal hormonal function and provides nutritional support to the reproductive system. The chamomile and vervain help calm her and aid the nervous system, whilst the St Johns wart and chaste berry assist the natural cycle to improve overall mood and behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stroppy<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Global Herbs Rig Calm<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Containing a blend of herbs including agnus castus and magnesium, Rig Calm is ideal for colts, stallions and geldings that show too much interest in mares. The calming formula works quickly to promote relaxed, good behaviour. It is purposely designed to support the management of excitable male horses to assist their performance and handling, as well as reducing aggressive behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rigcalm\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shop All Calmers<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A mare’s oestrus cycle depends on the season, and can cause them to be unpredictable which can affect performance, but understanding can help you manage it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-814","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-horse"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/01\/hormonal-2.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"speedgateadmin","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/author\/speedgateadmin\/"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=814"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":816,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/814\/revisions\/816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/spee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}