*Spaying Mares

I know this was brought up before in a big group thing, but I couldn't find a single forum that mentions it, and it alone. I'd like to be able to Spay Mares. I know some people will be against it do to thinking there will be less horses in the rc for them to find as good finds, but they wouldn't be finding the horses that would be spayed before for the most part anyways, as people just let these mares die off to protect their line. It might take away a little of the realism in game, but it would help protect lines without having to kill random mares off.

I think this would allow members to protect their line, while allowing newer members pretty horses to level up their pages with.

If you disagree, please write why below in the comments. (same can go for agreeing too ^^)

Last edited on 2017-08-10 at 10:44:13 by River

It is done via actuality, but it is very rare and usually because of a health complication.
My neighbors mare had her ovaries removed when she was 8 years old due to some weird growths on the ovaries, so they were removed due to health reasons.

so yes, it can be done, and has been, and will continue to be done, but very uncommon to be done.

Agreed and supported! If we can geld studs, I think it is only fair to be able to spay mares.

EDIT:
As it has been suggested before, just because a player may not utilize a "spay mare option" doesn't mean it should be something offered in game for players who would like to have the option of protecting lines, stock or what have you.

REMINDER:
This is a game! And as multiple people have pointed out, in a "world" where mares can magically become stallions and vice versa, or be given a new coat, etc., why can't there be a "spay mare" option just like the "spay gelding" options.

Last edited on 2017-01-27 at 20:25:39 by Nyx

100% support. It isn't very common irl, like Potato/Spy/whateveryouwanttobecalled said, but it physically can be done- and since this is a game, that equals possible.

i support it.
the "but realistically..." argument (that's come up during previous discussions on the topic) doesn't hold water in a game where we can magically change a horse's gender, color, markings, age, and being them back from the dead.

Last edited on 2017-01-27 at 16:45:26 by ᴋᴀʜᴢɪᴇ ɪ

Support. I don't see any harm in allowing the sterilization of both genders if it's something players would use.

In the real world, gelding is common (and sometimes a necessity) because properly housing and managing a stallion requires significantly more resources and experience than what is required for a gelding or mare. Spaying mares is uncommon because it's a costly procedure with little or no benefit when there aren't health issues involved. With the way this game is structured, none of this applies to our little pixel ponies on here, so this is a case where I'm totally cool with departing from realism.

No support - seems pointless.

Highly disagree.

It is not like reality at all- as in reality, it is extremely rare, and when done, doesn't have a good survival rate for the mares.

It's virtually pointless. If you don't want a mare bred, keep her, turn her into a stallion and geld it, put it on a spare, whatever.

I'm not saying whether or not I agree or disagree because I can see both points. I simply have one question. When a stallion is gelded, he is called a gelding. So, what do they call spayed mares??

^ As far as I'm aware, a spayed mare is just called a 'spayed mare'.

I support this idea, as it allows owners to limit their lines regardless of whether the horse is male or female, and would make more high quality sterile show horses available for the newbies. The current method of either letting the unwanted mare die, or changing her to a stallion then gelding her is far more unrealistic, and in the latter case also needlessly expensive.

Rather than spaying, there could be cycle suppressant (birth control for mares). That is realistic, and it may help the problem of people not letting their mares just die off :3

I don't really care how, but I just want an AFFORDABLE way to make my mares unbreedable, but still allow newer players the better horses for shows (and prettier ones at that). Converting a horse to a stallion to geld is an unrealistic expectation. Most people can't just through around credits that way. Besides, it's much less realistic than spaying.

Yes, you can allow a horse to die off on a spare, but something about it still seems cruel to me (so they all end up locked on a spare conserving space), and sometimes you need to get rid of that horse right now, or you'll lose your chance to get another. It's taking up valuable space.

So, I'll highlight my points again. The reason is for allowing quick dumping of unwanted mares you do not want others to breed, and to allow other players the ability to get a good show horse that would otherwise have been killed off.

I'm not sure why people are saying it's "unrealistic", "highly uncommon", and "dangerous", because if you'd sit down and do even 5 minutes worth of research, you'll find all three assumptions are false.

If you google "spaying mares" you get forums upon forums of owners talking about spayed mares and the benefits. It's not just done for health reasons. It's done when a mare is incredibly unhandleable during her heat. It's also quite common with molly mules since they can't breed, anyway.

Cycle suppressant hormones are actually harmful for the human handler because they're often concentrated hormones which absorb through the skin...Meaning they can affect the handler's hormones and cause all sorts of problems. It's generally recommended that females don't handle the hormones without a bunch of protection. It can even cause issues in male handlers.

1; owner of spayed mare's story
2; states surgery is common in molly mules, and details out risks
3; spaying molly mules

I owned a spayed mare. She was absolutely fine, healthwise, and lived until about 28 till old age caught up with her. She was one of the most level headed horses I've ever known.

As stated above by several users, realism gets thrown out the window when you can change a horses: color, markings, sex, and revive them from the dead. If you don't want to use the feature, absolutely no one is forcing you to.

Thanks for the info Kuk. I based my comment that spaying was uncommon on experience rather than research, and honestly in all my years with horses (Equine Science student, a whole slew of horse-related jobs, owned well over a dozen horses) I've never known or owned a spayed mare. It's interesting to read about the benefits of spaying and experiences people have had.

I still support this feature. I don't think it's pointles at all - the benefits are exactly the same as gelding, which is a feature plenty of players use.

I don't see any reason why not. There are geldings on the game, spayed mares would be just the same functionally, and I wouldn't think the coding would be too complex, since it's just opening up gelding for both genders.