"A mare person"

[smolmaus]

Mares can still get mucky underneath and some can be quite difficult if you fiddle round down there but it needs to be done

Yeah definitely. My girl loves a boob scrub though and it is nowhere near as gross. I've probably just seen the best of one and the worst of the other!

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I would have said I was a mare person but when I look back at my favourites over the years they have all been geldings + 2 stallions. Of course once I started breeding I had to have mares so got used to them. If I was to go looking now not sue what I would go for. I definitely prefer bitches but grew up with dogs and have had one of my own. All lovely but prefer my girls.

 

[LEC]

I am a good horse is a good horse person.

The mares are a pain in the backside and had a lot lately. The geldings are much easier. Currently own 2 geldings and 2 mares. Have responsibility for another 2 mares so 6 horses where 66% are female.

 

[fidleyspromise]

I am generally a mare person however I have a young gelding so we'll see.
He's quite amicable and took a few weeks to trust me but I can now groom him and handle him in the stable loose while he's relaxed.
He does seem more laid back than my mares but with a spark. Ideal. One mare has BIG opinions on what she wants to be doing.

I didn't think about other animals but my 2 closest dogs have been females.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Is this really a thing, are some people more successful with mares (or of course, geldings/stallions). And the counter option "not a mare person".
Or is it the type, or the unique individual/s, and the perception becomes that it's about the gender?
Can we generalise about equine gender any more than we can human? (I don't mean PC-ness, but in genuine objective study).
And would "mare people" also be "stallion people" (so that the difference is more about being entire than gender) if there were enough around to make it a realistic experience for most?

I have only ever bought mares, only boy I had was my boy I bred, so only nature had a role in his sex. My boys mum loved here boobies scratched, none of the others have.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I've had a lot of mares and the only reason I would prefer to buy a gelding now I'm down to being a one horse owner is the potential for unpredictability of mare behaviour when they are in season. You never know when you buy one that you haven't been involved with whether there are going to be issues or not.
.

That's why i think of mares as two horses in one, you get a biotch every few weeks and then a nice girl.
Always remember this poem from a child . ............................

There was a little girl​

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very good indeed,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I don't know how to describe it, and this doesn't go for all mares, but in general mares seem to have more or a sense of what is fair. If you want a mare to do something, you have to be a bit more tactful about it. The boys will handle the muscling and roughness a bit, or lack of tact a bit better. Not that you should do/be those things, but in my observations, they'll be far more tolerant of it (some, not all).

 

[Mouse19]

I’m a gelding person for sure. I’ve had a couple of sweet mares in the past but one I had was the most disingenuous animal I’ve ever come across. Spooky, nappy and an all round cow. definitely wouldn’t help you out when riding her - in my jumping days I took her eventing around a 90 and by god was it hard going.

I’m always of the opinion that bad behaviour is generally pain related. Couldn’t find anything wrong with this mare and boy I tried as I really wanted an explanation.

Put me off for life - I really wouldn’t want a mare now.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I’m a gelding person for sure. I’ve had a couple of sweet mares in the past but one I had was the most disingenuous animal I’ve ever come across. Spooky, nappy and an all round cow. definitely wouldn’t help you out when riding her - in my jumping days I took her eventing around a 90 and by god was it hard going.

I’m always of the opinion that bad behaviour is generally pain related. Couldn’t find anything wrong with this mare and boy I tried as I really wanted an explanation.

Put me off for life - I really wouldn’t want a mare now.

I don't know, I knew a mare like that, and with a change in rider she was different. Can't say that the second rider was "better" but it just worked. Now, if she was that way for every rider, then fair enough.

Honestly though, that's just one horse. I had a gelding that was...not easy, we shall day, but it didn't put me off of geldings. Almost put me off of horses though! My goodness. Honestly, he had every temperamental and/or not amateur friendly Warmblood in his pedigree, I swear, so things were against that one from the beginning poor dude.

 

[Mouse19]

I don't know, I knew a mare like that, and with a change in rider she was different. Can't say that the second rider was "better" but it just worked. Now, if she was that way for every rider, then fair enough.

Honestly though, that's just one horse. I had a gelding that was...not easy, we shall day, but it didn't put me off of geldings. Almost put me off of horses though! My goodness. Honestly, he had every temperamental and/or not amateur friendly Warmblood in his pedigree, I swear, so things were against that one from the beginning poor dude.

I sold her to a teenager - the horse was still a bag but the teenager loved her so go figure. But definitely some horses just click with other riders, we didn’t.

But two horses that I have learnt the most off have both been mares. One was an ex racer I got when I was 12, in hindsight she had the worst conformation but I knew no better. She jumped everything you aimed her at and was the most honest horse.

The other mare again was fabulously genuine and I did my first 1.20 track on her.

When I was looking for a new horse I was open to a mare but so many of them had caveats - one had to be on regumate most of the year. Another wouldn’t stay out in the rain and would fence walk. Thankfully the owners told me this as ridden she was beautiful and I was about to put a deposit down.

 

[Umbongo]

When I started riding I only rode geldings, and thought I preferred them. I have ridden a few mares that I just have never got on with and didn't enjoy riding them, then I got that "click" with a couple of mares that I have NEVER had with any geldings I have ridden. Prefer male cats & dogs though!

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I sold her to a teenager - the horse was still a bag but the teenager loved her so go figure. But definitely some horses just click with other riders, we didn’t.

But two horses that I have learnt the most off have both been mares. One was an ex racer I got when I was 12, in hindsight she had the worst conformation but I knew no better. She jumped everything you aimed her at and was the most honest horse.

The other mare again was fabulously genuine and I did my first 1.20 track on her.

When I was looking for a new horse I was open to a mare but so many of them had caveats - one had to be on regumate most of the year. Another wouldn’t stay out in the rain and would fence walk. Thankfully the owners told me this as ridden she was beautiful and I was about to put a deposit down.

That's actually really great about the transparent sellers though!

 

[Ladybird L]

I love both. Mares I have a tendency to work better with, but there have been some geldings I adored. I couldn’t choose.

 

[Mouse19]

That's actually really great about the transparent sellers though!

Yes thank god. We get so much rain where I live the mare would never be out and I couldn’t cope with that.

 

[Caol Ila]

I'm mostly a mare person, but I love little Fin. He's a quirky, complicated wee guy. Kind of a mare with a willy.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I didn't really used to think about it. I have had both. Now it's geldings only! I have a few friends with mares and no thank you!!

 

[planete]

I have loved my mares and geldings but now I can only have one and he needs to be predictable at all times I have a gelding. I prefer bitches though as the boys would be too much like hard work and I need to slow down, not be made to feel guilty that I am not providing endless stimulation and entertainment.

 

[dottylottie]

as a side not, it’s interesting that the majority of horse-hunting posts on facebook, that i see at least, would like a gelding only, but the majority vote here is for mares!

 

[The Xmas Furry]

I'm very much a stallion person.
However as I no longer breed or compete to decent level, I won't keep one as they are not welcome at rc stuff.

So, my 2nd love is mares. Have 2 currently who live together overnight.
B is a very willing partner

 

[maya2008]

That's why i think of mares as two horses in one, you get a biotch every few weeks and then a nice girl.
Always remember this poem from a child . ............................

There was a little girl​

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very good indeed,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

I’ve had/have 9 mares. Never had them behave differently when in season. We’re n out on a livery yard though so they are in a stable herd. No idea if that makes a difference.

 

[Vodkagirly]

A good horse is a good horse, doesn't matter about colour or gender.

 

[rabatsa]

The horses that I have got on with best have been the ones that I have spent most time with. Regardless of sex.

 

[Trouper]

I always feel as if I have to "look after" a gelding whereas with a mare I feel as if I am the one being looked after.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

The horses that I have got on with best have been the ones that I have spent most time with. Regardless of sex.

I would agree with that too.

 

[southerncomfort]

A good horse is a good horse, doesn't matter about colour or gender.

I agree with this.

If you'd asked me before I got Bo, I'd have said I prefer mares. But he is just such a dude and so much fun that i have a better opinion of geldings now.

 

[marmalade76]

A good horse is a good horse, doesn't matter about colour or gender.

Agreed.

 

[Tarragon]

I have mostly owned geldings, but I don't remember it being a conscious decision. It was probably a practical one, as I ride Exmoor ponies, and for me the bigger the better, so it is more likely to be a gelding. I have just moved my ponies to a new yard where there is an incredibly hormonal Dales mare. For two weeks she is fine, then as the season starts she becomes very irritable and cross, handy with her teeth and feet, then when in full season she becomes oblivious to anything except flirting with the boys and very wooden to ride. We all breathe a sigh of relief when she stops squirting and it is all over again, but those next two weeks fly by and before we know it we are back there again! What a nightmare! I look at my two laid-back geldings and feel very grateful!
(p.s. if any mare owning people can give any advice to my friend I will pass it on!)

 

[Sasana Skye]

A good horse is a good horse, doesn't matter about colour or gender.

This is very true, though all else being equal I would always choose a good mare over a good gelding.

 

[Curly_Feather]

I myself have a constantly high anxiety buzz, so I prefer horses that are laid-back and preferably a bit dopey, because they will inevitably get quite jazzed up after I've been on for a bit. That has so far meant geldings

 

[Hormonal Filly]

potential for unpredictability of mare behaviour when they are in season.

This is the ‘only’ thing that would put me off another mare in the future! Mine is on regumate which has been a game changer but it’s expensive. Sadly she needs it or she becomes really uncomfortable over her back.