>>>> Wondering what your experiences are with your mares in heat? I remember a discussion a while back that people couldn't tell that their icelandic mares were in heat, but my very sensitive Brenna (very eager to please, wants to be good, and get everything right) becomes noticeably out of sorts.
My job as an Icelandic owner seems to be to dispel all the myths, so here I go again.... I honestly can't tell when my most of my Icelandic mares are in heat - that's true. But, Sina DOES show some seasonal fluctuation. Nothing like some mares I've met, but it's still noticeable. But the big one... and I can't tell any change in her behavior (yet?) but nine-year-old Bjola did not get pregnant this spring. She was with Melnir for about 4-5 weeks, and I was a little surprised and very disappointed when I had her ultrasounded. The first blow was that she isn't pregnant, but the real blow is that she appears to have a tumor, possibly a granulosa cell tumor. Of course, Melnir is gelded now, so the wonder-baby I envisioned from them will never be. I will have her re-checked before too long, to confirm the diagnosis so we can decide what to do. If it is indeed a granulosa cell tumor, then her behavior may become affected, so the normal recommendation is surgery. We don't have a firm diagnosis, so we'll have to see how this turns out. It seems that the personalities of mares with granulose cell tumors may become drastically affected, even aggressive. So far, Bjola shows no personality changes, so I'm hoping for a simpler explanation for initial appearance of her affected ovary. This probably won't apply to Brenna, but I thought it would be good to "confess" I have an Icelandic mare may have a reproductive issue, so anyone else who has one can also "come out of the closet". I'm sure she's not the first, but I sure haven't heard many people talk about this sort of thing. But, then, I never heard people talk much about cryptorchidism until I started talking about it, and I've heard a few callous breeders swear that Icelandic mares never have trouble delivering foals. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
