Dealing with a mare in season can be a pain. Figuring out how to help her can sometimes be a mystery. While some mares show little symptoms of their heat cycle, other mares show sides of themselves you didn’t know they had. And, their behavior can vary from month to month. At times they can be fractious, angry and distracted, and at other times they can be sullen, depressed, or moody. In other words, not themselves.
Like women, mares can feel upset or physically uncomfortable from their cycle. There are many ways to manage this ranging from using natural supplements to prescribing hormone therapy. It is important talk to your vet about what your options are and what will work best for you and your horse.
One thing you can do is to help find relief for your mare through essential oils. While essential oils do not treat, diagnose, or cure disease or illness, they can help with
emotional and physical discomfort.
My 8-year old Arabian/Saddlebred mare, Stormy, is often uncomfortable when she is in heat. Emotionally, she becomes distracted, herd-bound, sometimes frantic, worried, and even more right-brained than usual. Physically, her back gets tight causing saddling and riding to be painful.
Here are five essential oils I’ve found to be helpful to unlocking the mystery of Stormy. (Please read how to use essential oils on your horse below)
Progessence Plus (Young Living Essential Oils blend)
Progessence Plus oil contains the natural progesterone produced by wild yam extract. With sacred frankincense, peppermint, bergamot and coconut, it has soothing and uplifting properties that can calm or combat sluggishness.
Dragon Time (Young Living Essential Oils blend)
Dragon Time, a natural phytoestrogen (dietary estrogen) is a blend of jasmine, clary sage, marjoram, lavender, fennel, and blue yarrow essential oils that helps to promote emotional balance in human and animal females. It releases anger, frustration, and other emotions associated with a monthly cycle.
Geranium
This sweet smelling oil helps to balance hormones. It compensates for both lack of hormones and excess of hormones. It calms and relaxes, and also supports the nervous and circulatory systems.
German Chamomile
This light blue oil supports the body’s natural response to irritation by clearing heat from the body. It’s sweet, grassy aroma promotes feelings of peace and calmness. It is similar to yarrow in its properties to relieve physical discomfort.
Clary Sage
Clary Sage works as an anti-spasmodic and is good for mares prone to back pain and tension during their cycle. It stimulates the production of progesterone and is warm and comforting. It also promotes focus and relaxation, and also helps with previous trauma.
Other oils to comfort your mare during her cycle:
Bergamot
Rose
Marjoram
Yarrow
How to use essential oils on your horse:
Present the oil with the cap on, first. See how she reacts.
If she sniffs at it, nuzzles it, or tries to eat it out of your hand, you have
been given the green light! If she sniffs it, turns away, and then comes back
to it, you might take off the cap and present it to her again. Go slowly.
Sometimes it takes horses a while to process the oil. If your horse seems to
accept the smell of the oil, put a few drops in your hand and let her sniff it
again. Signs of acceptance, licking and chewing, licking the oil out of your
hand, lowering of the head, blowing out – relaxation or signs of relief. Signs
of rejection. Turning away and staying away, trying to walk away, wrinkling of
the nose, flipping of the upper lip.
If you get the green light, rub a few drops on the oil on your palms, rub on the nose, poll, chest, withers or insides of the hind legs.
What kind of essential oils to use on your horse?
I use only Young Living Essential Oils on myself and on my animals. Young Living oils are 100% pure, therapeutic grade oils with no added chemicals or solvents and they back their products with their Seed to Seal Guarantee (https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/discover/seed-to-seal)
If you have questions about or would like to obtain Young Living Oils, contact Kari at Kari.bovee@icloud.com or https://www.youngliving.org/Karibovee
I first started studying natural horsemanship in 2012. At that time, I thought I had a good foundation in my knowledge and skills. My relationship with my horses seemed solid. Once I started learning about the principals and practices of natural horsemanship, I realized that I had little understanding of what it is to be a good partner to my horse. My knowledge, my practice, and my “feel”, needed improvement.