• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Why does a horse roll?

Help Support Ranchers.net:

C

Cowgal

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2005
Messages
89
Reaction score
0
Location
Manitoba/Interlake
My mare has started to roll onto her back more than usual? She also rolls her lips and shows her teeth, not to unusual. Is it that its warm weather, scratching or other? I had a friend see her roll and gasped?!?! She said she did not want ti jinx me by saying what she thought?????
She has never had a foal and should be bred. Not 100% sure as of yet. Is this a symptom for an illness or what????
Also why does a mare not "catch" ? I have seen her bred before and nothing happened, the stud was proven. Can you please give me some advice

:?
 
Cowgal said:
My mare has started to roll onto her back more than usual? She also rolls her lips and shows her teeth, not to unusual. Is it that its warm weather, scratching or other? I had a friend see her roll and gasped?!?! She said she did not want ti jinx me by saying what she thought?????
She has never had a foal and should be bred. Not 100% sure as of yet. Is this a symptom for an illness or what????
Also why does a mare not "catch" ? I have seen her bred before and nothing happened, the stud was proven. Can you please give me some advice

:?
Click to expand...

Horses will roll to scratch their backs or if they are in pain. Get someone who knows something about horses to check her out.

Same for not getting bred. She may need a vet to do an exam.
 
Back in the day when we were hand breeding 60-90 head of outside mares every year to 4 or 5 different studs, I would tease the mares every day until they came in heat, then breed them every other day until they went out, then check them starting about 19 days after their last service. A lot depends on the mare, if she has a colt at side, if she has a history of being a hard breeder, etc.

A mare is the most difficult domesticated animal to hand breed and have them "catch". All I know is any time we had to bring the vet out, use the prostiglandin, etc., is that I was in for a hard time getting them bred.

The easiest way to get your mare in foal, if allowable, is to let her run with the stud all summer. He KNOWS when the time is right, and will get the job done. Next year, there should be no problem hand breeding her.

HOWEVER, do NOT turn her out if the stud has a history of violence. We turned one of our own mares out one time with one of the studs in the pasture. She was in heat and hotter than a 2 dollar pistol. The stud made one round around her and ran her away from the bunch, ran alongside her and clamped down on her neck with his teeth, all at a dead run, breaking her neck and killing her before she hit the ground.

After that, we always brought the studs home for 30 days in the late winter, and turned any of our own mares out with the bunch during that time. When he was turned back out with the girls, the new addition was in the bunch, with her own social status, and things were fine.

Good Luck!
 
I did not mean she was hand bred, she was with the stud for sometime. I actually seen them breed. Could it be that she was bred and was rebred as a neighbors stud broke loose and ventured onto my farm several months later? - she may of lost the initial pregnancy? I have asked many horse people and get too many different answers. I know they roll to scratch and dust themselves, but the repetition was new. She seems ok now, eating the newly sprout greens..... The vet will be here later this week.
Thanks again
 
Cowgal said:
I did not mean she was hand bred, she was with the stud for sometime. I actually seen them breed. Could it be that she was bred and was rebred as a neighbors stud broke loose and ventured onto my farm several months later? - she may of lost the initial pregnancy? I have asked many horse people and get too many different answers. I know they roll to scratch and dust themselves, but the repetition was new. She seems ok now, eating the newly sprout greens..... The vet will be here later this week.
Thanks again
Click to expand...

Some mares just won't take. Tipped uterus (sp?), acidity wrong, absorbs the fetus. Have had 3 different vets say the mare was ok, but never got her to breed, a couple mares took and just never carried past 3 months. As for rolling that is telling you how much she is worth, $100 for every roll until she gets up.
 
I had an old mare here wouldn't catch to save her life so I used her to keep the stud company after we pulled him-damned if she didn't foal as a 15 year old and never misses now lol.
 
we have a mare that is terrible, when you put a saddle on her she is fine, but when you get on her she automactly drops to the ground and starts to roll, the vet said she hasent got any back problems. when we bought her she apparently was drugged because we put my 4 year old nephew on her and she was perfect, any body got ideas of whats wrong with her or how to stop this problem?
 
I was always told you could figure the value of your horse by how many times he rolled from one side to the other.
 
colic is another reason why a horse rolls and rolls and rolls its cause they have belly ace and will twist a gut but since it seems like she is not dead yet then i am sure she is fine if she is moving around like normal . some mares just dont take just like a woman some do some dont . but its normal for a horse to roll to scratch or shed the winter hair or after you yank the saddle of of them to scratch and dry off .
 
Our mares live in blow sand. They roll to dry the sweat, or coat themselves to keep off fly bites. However, one 27 yr old, rolls everytime I move her from one paddock to another.
 

Latest posts

Top