Mare or Gelding??

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charliep

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Hi. I am in the process of looking for a horse. I know it sounds cliche but I want a horse for life, a best friend. I would like a gentle, safe and kind cob for a novice rider for hacking, light schooling and local shows. I have been let down so many times by buyers not advertising fairly and by rotten luck, horse being sold day Im due to go and see etc. I know the right one is out there for me but so far I have only been looking at geldings. This is mainly because I have heard mares can be a bit of a handful and if you're new to looking after your own horse, it can be a bit more complicated. Is this right? I have seen a lovely mare for sale and I have been assured she isn't mareish (very suspicious now though). What are your experiences. Should I look for mares too?
Thanks for your help
 
It is like saying all women are moody and all men are laid back it doesn’t work like that.

There are some really amazing mares and some really amazing geldings i wouldn’t be put off by the sex i would look at the horse.
 
Alot of people don't like mares..........I used to be one of them. But then I got Zoom and it changed everything. To be honest Monty is far more moody and nappy than Zoom is. Sometimes I feel like getting a vet to check he hasn't got a secret womb!

Mares can be moody but there are some cracking ones out there so best not to discount them!
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Unhelpful advice I'm afraid, but I think it depends on each horse!
My partner and I both have mares and wouldn't swap them for the world! I think they are both one man horses, they do like their ways. I think they do tend to work in a different way to geldings. As the old saying goes (I think!) you ask a mare and tell a gelding. I think there is quite alot of truth in that. I think mares tend to think more for themselves, which can be a mixed blessing, but does mean that they will get themselves (and you!) out of sticky situations, rather than waiting for an instruction. The geldings I know are generally very sweetly natured (and give the impression of being just a touch dippy with it too!) and do as they are told. I think that generally a good natured horse will be your friend, regardless of sex, it is just up to the horse! Although with mares you have their personality when in season to consider too, ours both get 'huggy' though one gets very tender across her back and behind her saddle - this means that we only compete her during the winter season. Doesn't affect her day to day riding, just that for competion she needs to be just that little bit more consistent one week to the next. Again, depends on what you are after and if that would affect you or not.
Good luck in your search, we were after something similar - sane, sensible and honest - and got taken for a total ride by so many sellers!
 
Ive had quite a few of each and currently have 1 of each and i personally would go for a gelding - even mares that arent that mareish still have seasons and their moods are going to change (as ours do!). Obviously it depends how they have been bought up but i would favour buying a gelding for the purpose that you want to use him.
Saying that my mare is truly my best friend ive had her 15 years and all her quirks only make me love her more. Having a quirky horse teaches you so much about their psychology - you have to really think about things more and can never take things for granted.
 
We have a gelding and a mare and our mare is a moody cow alot of the time, but i know PLENTY of amazing mares who would make for that "best friend" you're lookign for xxx
 
Gelding. Most of the horsey professionals I have known (vets, riders, farriers) have always said that with a gelding you get the 'same horse everyday'.

I know the mare owners out there will have their own views, but give me a gelding any day.
 
I think it depends on the individual horse, after having a rather nutty 3 year old mare I said never again but I now have 2, 1 I bought as a rescue and she will never leave me, you hardly ever know when she is in season....was tricky last year as I wanted to breed from her so not knowing can be a disadvantage. But although she is the boss in the field I am her boss or she looks upon me as boss and is just such fun although I would say a one person horse but that could be because she was mistreated before we got her and was scared to death of men. The other mare I have is a yearling filly and she is a bit more difficult but I think it maybe just her trying her luck. She is definately more bossy in the field despite being the youngest but quite unflappable and is very loving to us. I also have an Arab gelding who was a colt when I got him. Since being gelded I wouldnt say his nature has changed at all but he is most definately bottom of the heap with my 2 girls he even still does the teeth chattering thing to them? I have had other geldings who were as unpredictable as some mares so really this isnt much help to you is it - sorry.
 
Will entirely depend on the horse, I don't think I would ever have a mare and never have had but that decision was really made by a very dominant gelding we had who would attack mares so we stuck with geldings!

No horse is going to be pushbutton, i think you do get a 'click' with a horse that's right for you though. My horse (gelding) is too smart for his own good but it works in my favour when it comes to jumping etc and him sometimes having to help me out! Sticking to certain breed types isn't foolproof either but I do believe for a novice rider, going for something with some native blood in does help and, being totally unbias (obviously) going down the lines of connemara / connemara x you can't go wrong!!!
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I've had maress and gelding and too be honest i don't think it matters i think it is the horses temperment that counts, i have stubbon grumpy mares and gelding the most grumpy been a gelding i had owned since he was 6 months old had him 7 yrs if he was in a mood he was in a mood.
The one i got now mare 18hh she is a little grumpy but she also the most loving horse i've owned, get grumpy at feed time if in her stable whislt feeding and if she dose not want to do something she grunts at me then dose it, she really is fantastic and i wanted a gelding when i was looking for her but just fell in love with her.
I would say go and look at the mare you willknow if she is right for you i think when you find the right one mare or ge;lding you will know. x

Good luck finding one
 
Hi Charlie,

I started looking for my first horse early this year and only found Joe mid-June. I thought the experience would be enjoyable, fun and easy but it was exhausting, frustrating and my trust in people's word was lost completely.

I think I tried a total of six or seven horses and was about to give up when I saw Joe's advert - he wasn't totally what I was looking for; I'd decided what colour, breed, sex and height and all I got right from my list was the sex. I went to see him anyway as he had a lovely kind face.

With Joe, everything felt genuine - the people were lovely, Joe was a big softy and I saw two people ride him before me. I got on and rode him round the field - he was stubborn but done what I asked. My puppies were with me and they deciced to have a fight right under Joe's belly. He just stood there and didn't even flinch.

I then took him out on a little hack with the owner and another horse for company. They held back on the way back and let me and Joe walk the rest of the way on our own and Joe was perfect. Everything just fitted.

Keep looking, go on your gut instinct but question everything:

a) Did you see him get tacked up? If yes, good; if not, why not?
b) Did you see him get led in? If yes, good; if not, why not?
c) Did you see him get groomed all round and feet picked out? If not, why not?
d) Did you see him get mounted....
e) Did you see him walked, trotted and cantered....
f) Did you see him get untacked...
g) Ask to lead him back out to his field
h) Could you ride him on a short hack to check he's ok with cars....
i) Did you see him with a rug on.....
j) Did you see his behavour when stabled.....

There is just so much that you need to be aware of as a first time buyer and it is really difficult. My advice to you is listen to your instincts, if you have any sort of niggle but really really like the horse DONT do it.

You will find the right horse but keep looking until you are 100%. Gelding or Mare, it really doesn't matter - you'll just click with the right one eventually, just see and try as many as you can
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..oh and if they sell before you get to see them/make a decision on them, then your horse is out there still for you to find
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lol, I put a deposit down on a conny and went back to take him for a little hack out.

We got down the road and the horse decided he wanted to go home - I could see he was thinking about something all the way we walked, considering his options.

When a large tractor came got close enough to us, which he'd seen approaching for a good 5 minutes, he decided that was an opportune moment to rear up with me, spin and try and run for home!! I stayed on the bloody thing and managed to pull it up. It just stood there snorting with its back to the tractor, obviously not really bothere by it.

I didn't buy that horse, and the nasty woman who 'would never sell a killer' kept my deposit and refused to believe he'd reared with me just because I rode him back.

Ya live (hopefully) and learn.....
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As others have said, it really does depend on the individual horse. Yes, with a gelding you do guarantee no "seasons" but they can have their up and down days too. I've had both - one mare who was fine and not mareish at all - but a friend who had a similarly bred mare had real problems! Such a hard call really but all I would say is don't write off a mare if, in all other respects, she seems ideal!

Good luck with the search anyway - take your time and the right one will come along
 
I have owned one mare and shared another. They were both total angels. Admittedly I was about 10 when I had the share mare...but she was the same horse everyday, always calm and looked after me (always jumping imaginery fences etc. I still do that!)
My own mare which I lost earlier this year was brilliant. At one of the yards we kept her at her seasons went pretty mental and were all over the place but she was the same old Hattie everyday. When we went to view her before we bought her she was in season which gave us a brilliant idea of what she was really like. It's unlikely you'll get that with every mare you see though.
I'm now looking for my next friend for life and do not mind at all whether it is a mare or gelding. Especially if you find your perfect horse is a mare, don't let it put you off.
 
ive had 3 mare's 1 gelding, and im debating whether to veiw another mare next month! (as im away) humm, ive only ever had one really special mare, she was a welshy! - though v v marish at times. i had one layed back tb mare. and m current mares very fisy and she's not even chestnut! haha!
But by far my geldings been the best so far
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though maybe its his age?
not sure, but i like a fisy chestnut mare
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^ doesnt really help, just some experiences to help u think
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xx
 
I'm a mare person - I've had my girl for 28 years, and yes you have to ask her, not tell her, but she's not got a nasty bit of blood in her body. Looking back, virtually all the horses I've bonded with have been mares. We also have a gelding (Sec A) who is totally unpredictable, and I have also owned and loaned several geldings who had big attitude problems. I'll take the mucky bed and dirty rugs any day compared to being p****d off with, bucked off, reared, napped by some of the geldings I've had to deal with. But the most important thing really is whether you bond with your new horse, and not what sex it is.
 
I've had two mares and two geldings, couldn't click with either of my geldings and both mares were great. First mare was on loan and went back but my present mare is my best friend (and my daughters love her to bits). We've had her for over 2 years. The differences I found were my mares seemed to want to please me riding wise, whereas my gelding seemed to please themselves, I am quite novicey. Liri is very affectionate, but agree with above that she isn't quite as sweet with people she doesn't know, and she doesn't like men, apart from my farrier who she loves. Main difference I found were neither mare was particularly great with other horses, whereas the geldings lived happily in a herd. But totally agree with others, each horse is an individual, and I would definitely look at both mares and geldings. Good luck
 
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