Mares V Geldings?

floradora09

floradora09

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I used to be happy either way- mare or gelding, although I've seemed to always have geldings. But then I had a mare, who was a complete nutter! She was generally very fizzy, spooky, nappy, reary, fussy etc etc. In the winter I could handle it and she was fine but as soon as she came into season during the summer months she was a living nightmare! I took her to a PC team SJ competition near beginning of summer and she just went loopy, rearing, napping, running out, then we tied her to lorry while we ate out lunch and she was rearing so much I had to try and get on her but couldnt because of the rearing and it was all sooo stressful and awful!! I'd competed her in winter and she was absolutely fine. From then on it got worse and worse, I couldn't even manage to get on her before she started spinning round the mounting block and going up and up and up.... whenever i asked her to stand!!

So yeah... we didnt click! Luckily by then my trusty old gelding had come sound so we gave mare back to owner and carried on with Bramble!
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May start looking for new horsie at end of this summer, and basing my experiance of mares on the complete nutter i had before really would prefer a gelding! Am i being a bit biased though? Are there any real differences between them? Thankss!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
i find mares are more moody in general, but geldings always seem to be messier and cheekier, in my experience they're the ones that trash the stables, rugs and fencing most. i prefer geldings though, we just tend to click more! x
 
mares do tend to be more moody due to hormones.

however, out of all of the horses i have had the worst behaved by a long, long way was a gelding.

and because it wasn't caused by mood swings he was a barsteward 24/7!

i think you have to judge it on the horse in front of you- i have had plenty of mares who you can't even tell when they are in season!
 
Personally I don't think you can generalise like that. The best horses I've had have been mares (incl current horse) and I have felt that if you get a good one, they will do anything for you.
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If I was looking for another horse I'd prefer a mare - mainly because of being able to breed from it if it turns out to be really special - but I wouldn't turn down a good gelding either.
 
i do think some people are *mare people* and some are *gelding people*.
i had two very quirky chestnut mares in sucession, and its put me off for life TBH, so when i went horse shopping i only looked at geldings, didnt care how much of a bargin, how good she was, i wasnt even going to look at a mare!!!
 
I like both really
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Retired mare could be stroppy at times but she was kind and bombproof, though she was pretty stubborn and couldn't be hacked out alone as she'd just refuse to go places! However she wasn't spooky when out and never napped really, except with the hacking alone.

I agree that geldings tend to be cheekier and can sometimes be a bit pushy but I like both, just depends on the individual horse.
 
My mare is very straightforward and sweet. Her next door neighbour, another mare, is a grumpy sour old boot all year round, and their field mate, a gelding, is very nervy, silly and spooky. I don't think it makes much difference what gender they are!
 
I deffo prefur geldings. Mares I find can be very hit and miss. One day, a mare can be brilliant, and the next she is a stubborn as sh1t. I can't deal with that, I like consistancy. The only mare I used to like riding was very geldingish, no hormones, very dependable.
 
I've always found there are two types of mares - those that are very moody, bulshy and downright rude (one on the yard springs to mind) or those that will test you sometimes but will try their hearts out. (I hope Lace will turn out like this)
I've had 3 geldings and 2 mares and can't decide which I prefer.
 
Personally, I like mares. I don't really know why, I just always had/ridden mares. My last mare was never really mareish, she was lovely
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She was so kind and interested in me (and my pockets
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My sisters mare is a nightmare, she bites, bucks, bolts, stamps her feet and is generally moody, she's a lovely pony when she wants to be.

I'm in the middle of buying a gelding (can't get trailer up there due to weather - its been 3 weeks now!!) and it'll be the first gelding I've had, ridden or looked after so I'm pretty excited
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I still think I'd prefere a mares but I wouldnt completely rule out geldings

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D isn't mareish at all, you can't tell when she's in season and I wouldn't say she is any more stroppy than a gelding can be.

She is, however, the most intelligent horse I've ever met and I've put that down to being a mare. She seems much more intelligent than the average gelding.
 
We have a hermaphrodite horse, who has mare outsides and semi male insides/hormones with miniature shrunken ovaries, 'she' is VERY fiesty/hormonal in the summer when 'she' goes into a summer long season! When in work its no issue, but we have to balance hormone suppliments very carefully!
 
i've always always had mares, no particular reason, just like them some have been amazing, a couple have been bags. however my new horse is a gelding, my first one since a child, and he's brill! you tell him to do something, he does it, no afters!! taking a bit of getting used to!
 
mares for me! and i have a chestnut mare to make it even more unbelieveable lol shes great tho.... she has got a real personality and sometimes can fall out with herself lol shes so funny tho. my older mare is also quite quirky but i love it!

never really clicked with a gelding? and i like that you can breed from a mare if you have got a good one!
 
for me I get much better results wokring with geldings, mares attitudes and mine 9/10 don't combine very well! (two stubborn b*tches working together doesn't generally go down well!
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I've only owned one horse, George who I have now, but I always found at the riding school that I just clicked better with the cheekiness and character of the geldings, but I think it's def a personal thing.
 
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geldings always seem to be messier and cheekier, in my experience they're the ones that trash the stables, rugs and fencing most

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i have the other way round! my gelding is one of the cleanest horses i have ever dealt with! his poos are all stacked neatly at the front of his stable off of the bedding and he only very rarely gets stable stains (he's dapple grey!!
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) in my experience i have always found mares to be rather hormonal and grumpy and im always careful around their back legs! However, i think if you get a good mare they can outshine geldings competitively any day
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I would have always said geldings until recently when I have totally fallen in love with a mare that I help out with. Obviously it depends on the individual horse but looking back my favourite horses and horses I have "clicked" with have always been geldings until this one.
 
i have always been a gelding person going on the fact quite a few mares i know are right stroppy devils! however i ended up coming home with a mare last year and have completely changed my mind!
love my old boy to death but agree with HollyWoozle! i like the feistyness mares have, they have some thing about them that gelding dont!
 
I personally love mares! Once you win a mare over I think your in her heart forever. A mare will give everything if you ask it. Geldings are generally a bit thick and aslong as you feed them they love you. I agree with some of the other posts as well. gelding are much messier and if they are grumpy they are grumpy 24/7
 


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i have the other way round! my gelding is one of the cleanest horses i have ever dealt with! his poos are all stacked neatly at the front of his stable off of the bedding and he only very rarely gets stable stains (he's dapple grey!!
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) in my experience i have always found mares to be rather hormonal and grumpy and im always careful around their back legs! However, i think if you get a good mare they can outshine geldings competitively any day
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wow, you're lucky! nearly every gelding i've ever helped take care of completely trashes their stable! my friend's welshie gelding once ripped his rug off the rack, pooed all over it and then kicked it in the corner! luck of the drawer i guess! x
 
Geldings every time. I know lots of people with really good mares but as soon as I get on them they turn into loons - think I'm just not a mare person (probably too hormonal myself!!) Saying that all the geldings I've had have probably been more "mareish" than most mares...
 
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