No mares

[Annagain]

Any chance we could stop the gelding bashing please? There are plenty of lovely intelligent geldings with personality and a great bond with their people, just like there are plenty of mares the same.

Absolutely. Archie and I have an incredible bond. He is 100% my horse and I am 100% his person. I struggle to get out of the field without him as he wants to come with me wherever I go. I don't have to lead him anywhere, he just follows me. He may not be Oxbridge material but he'd certainly make it to a Polytechnic. He's sensible but with enough of a mind of his own to be interesting. I think that's partly why I struggled with Charlie as he was more aloof and I never felt he wanted to be with me like Archie does.

 

[skint1]

Ah, I loved my geldings to the moon and back, I miss them each day- I miss the mare I lost as well. I don't really have a preference, my main criteria has always been temperament above all else. Although, as much as I love my mare, if I am honest but sometimes I wonder if a gelding might have been easier in a lot of ways.

On my yard recently it has become a slight "thing" because one of the liveries has an older gelding that has suddenly become quite reactive toward the mares (even ones he's been near for years) and particularly so toward 2 of the mares, one of which is my mare's field mate. Ironically, though mine wins the the most mare-ish badge, he's not overly interested in her but this has led to a lot of angst about who gets turned out where.

I am actually quite worried for my mare. Last year around this time she turned into a total she-devil, it went on for a couple of months like that. Since then, I have worked really hard on our relationship so whilst she is not as bad I can tell she isn't herself, she is low key stressing all the time, you can feel it emanating from her. She becomes obsessed with her field mate (another mare) and other mares around her. If it follows the same pattern as last year, it will ramp up from about now til August then she will get ulcers. So, I have an appointment to talk to the vet and see what we can do to help her. I don't want to change who she is, but it's sad to see her like this as well.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I can't be dealing with seasons or witchy behaviour so prefer a gelding.

 

[exracehorse]

I love mares! I’ve been looking for a youngster and would only consider mares! My complete pony of a lifetime is my 14.2 Ginger very whizzy 20 year old so actually Ginger mares are the best! ?

I have five. Three boys. Two girls. But my favourite is my ginger witch mare. Very clever. Opinionated. Sassy. And loyal.

 

[rara007]

We’re a private yard of boys. It’s much easier to manage the herd(s) without girls involved to be honest.

 

[marmalade76]

I've had a couple of lovely mares that I bonded with, the others seemed to be more interested in tarting & flirting with other horses (yes, one would flirt with other mares!) than bonding with me. Mares can also be more aggressive to other horses and more protective of their equine pals than geldings. I wouldn't rule out mares when looking to buy.

My horse of a lifetime who appeared to want nothing more than to please me was a gelding.

 

[millitiger]

I like mares.
I've had no issues riding or handling them and have owned a few.

However as my boys now live at home, I wouldn't have a mare as I think same sex living is much easier to manage and less screaming... from all!

I also think if you compete a lot, mares can be a little annoying as can come into season and while I've never had any screaming loonies, it can be messy and they can get a bit tight through the back- completely understandable but not something I want to need to consider.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Funny this, if asked I would say I prefer mares, but then I look back over my life and realise actually all my favourites have been geldings or stallions. 4 at the RS I used to work at, one of which I took with me when I left, then my welsh boy and finally two stallions. Current pasture ornament is a mare and the easiest creature imaginable. If I could have just one back it would be my welsh boy.

 

[Leandy]

Too many people make too many adverse assumptions about mares. Thoroughly sexist and somewhat odd given most riders are in fact women. No women job adverts went out with the ark and rightly so. I have had several mares and have no issues with them but every horse is different, just assess the horse in front of you. I don't see the point in a purchaser eliminating half the possibly suitable horses out there for them before they have even seen them.

 

[dorsetladette]

My old boy hates mares. He absolutely can not stand them. I couldn't hack with my friends mare as not only is she female, but she is also a piebald (another of his pet hates). He's been out on shared grazing with several mares over the years and has never got on with any of them. Last year we bought a colt to keep him company and gelded him at xmas so last summer was definitely a 'girl free zone' and now we have Reggie who wont be gelded until the autumn so again we are definitely a 'girl free zone' again.
I find running our place much more straight forward with only boys to worry about.

 

[Bluewaves]

I like them both - girls and boys!

I have boys though just cause they were the ones that suited at the time i bought. Both of them have strong opionions about things which they are usually keen to share with me.

 

[JBM]

I learned a lot! Never even heard of gelding and mare turnout or gelding only livery!
Thanks for all the responses! I have one of each now so we will see if I end up with a preference

 

[AntiPuck]

I've never previously had a preference, but now having a mare, I can see why someone may not want to deal with the seasons and the occasional "random" acts of violence towards herd mates (not that this is exclusive to mares, but at least at my yard, seems to happen more often in the girls' field!).

I'm sure it can all be managed once you know the individual horse well, but it is a whole other category of thing to have to think about.

 

[Auslander]

Amusing feed time tonight! The girls (2 adjoining paddocks with 5 in one and 2 in the other- for safety reasons!) had a pile of hay each, plus 2 extra piles in each paddock. One pile of hay blew partially under the electric fence, and all 7 mares decided they wanted that one - handbags at dawn all round, combined with some of them getting a hefty zap from the fence led to me beating a hasty retreat and leaving them to it. Left to the sound of squealing...
Boy field. Alf quietly eating his dinner, when his fieldmate tried to help him. He stopped chewing, swivelled an ear, and fieldmate ran for his life! Then Alf looked at me, and I swear he winked!

 

[Skib]

We were talking about this yesterday out hacking. I was on a mare who was rushing and wanted to lead. I have always ridden mares (both RS and shares) and always ridden first. I dont know if that was due to my low status as a new rider who was given the horses other clients didnt want. But I have loved mares and loved the rides they gave me.

 

[eahotson]

The newbie is my first mare.I didn't want a mare but hey ho.She is very opinionated and very vocal about said opinions.
I said to her that I wasn't used to mares and guess I would have to adapt.She said yes I would and be quick about it!! I do love her though.

 

[Fieldlife]

Too many people make too many adverse assumptions about mares. Thoroughly sexist and somewhat odd given most riders are in fact women. No women job adverts went out with the ark and rightly so. I have had several mares and have no issues with them but every horse is different, just assess the horse in front of you. I don't see the point in a purchaser eliminating half the possibly suitable horses out there for them before they have even seen them.

I like an easy life and prefer geldings. All of mine have had strong personalities and opinions, but are more easy going than most mares I have owned / ridden.

I am female, most of my friends are female. I prefer working for male bosses and working with geldings. I can work with either to a decent level. But generalising based on over 30 years of experience. I find geldings and male bosses less complicated, less highly strung and variable and emotional and easier to work with.

I do realise this is a non politically correct statement. ;-)

I also recognise I have fluctuating female hormones and think one set of hormones between horse and rider is enough, at least for me.

 

[Fieldlife]

My old boy hates mares. He absolutely can not stand them. I couldn't hack with my friends mare as not only is she female, but she is also a piebald (another of his pet hates). He's been out on shared grazing with several mares over the years and has never got on with any of them. Last year we bought a colt to keep him company and gelded him at xmas so last summer was definitely a 'girl free zone' and now we have Reggie who wont be gelded until the autumn so again we are definitely a 'girl free zone' again.
I find running our place much more straight forward with only boys to worry about.

Reminds me when I turned my old gelding out with a mare! Usually ran two neighbouring herds. He was horrified, what was this strange creature, and how to interact! We knew neither kicked but they werent sure either was good company. He was comical.

 

[BSL2]

We have two mares and two geldings who live together in perfect harmony. They are all individuals, and we wouldn't change a thing about any of them. The one thing they all have in common, is they drink alot of water and poo constantly.?

 

[chaps89]

I was always a geldings only kind of person until I bought a mare (by mistake, she was supposed to stay 6 months tops but stayed 7 years in the end) my newest ride is a mare and I just love the extra spark she has.

I also ride two utterly lovely geldings (both not plods!) but the mare would get my preference to ride even though she is the least straight forwards of them all!
But one of my favourite horses ever was a Welsh d gelding, I just hacked him and mostly in walk but my goodness I loved that horse.

So it’s definitley down to the individual, I think I’d lean to preferring a mare next time round but would consider both.

Funny though how you often see geldings only yards but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mares only yard?!

 

[Cob Life]

I love mares and always have done however a lot of yards in my area are geldings only so unless there was a mare I really liked I’d head towards gelding for that reason only

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Any chance we could stop the gelding bashing please? There are plenty of lovely intelligent geldings with personality and a great bond with their people, just like there are plenty of mares the same.

Thank you for putting this!!! So many people go on about how sexist some are about mares while giving poor geldings a bad rep. Mares aren't the only ones that will work their heart out for you, or develop a brilliant relationship....geldings can be just as hard working, intelligent and motivated, they just do it differently ?‍?‍

 

[Lois Lame]

2 yards near me only allow geldings, i assume due to turnout? Very annoying as i prefer mares.
The grumpiest horses i know are geldings, also the easiest offended horses i know are geldings ?

But what's wrong with a grumpy gelding? I love a dependent, only-thinking-of-his-stomach gelding, preferably chestnut with long hair over his eyes.

 

[Lois Lame]

Lol at mares think too much. My disappointment with geldings has always been a sense that they think too little ...

Yes but what's wrong with geldings thinking too little? I love a gelding who has no plans, no opinion, no idea really, and for some reason leaves all the decisions to me. (I've met very few with the last trait though.)

 

[GinaGeo]

I have a gang of four boys at home. When I look, I specifically look for geldings. One mare would cause chaos and I haven’t the space to have multiple herds.

My geldings also range from aloof to soppy. Uber intelligent to nice but dim. Needs telling to top negotiation skills required. Will adjust to whomever is riding them to being very much my horse. But they are all fab in their own individual ways.

I have worked with and ridden plenty of mares, always got on with them just fine. It's logistics that really means we can't have any here.

 

[milliepops]

Yes but what's wrong with geldings thinking too little? I love a gelding who has no plans, no opinion, no idea really, and for some reason leaves all the decisions to me. (I've met very few with the last trait though.)

Nothing if that's the kind of horse you like ?

 

[Peglo]

Any chance we could stop the gelding bashing please? There are plenty of lovely intelligent geldings with personality and a great bond with their people, just like there are plenty of mares the same.

I agree totally. The tiny white gelding in our field loves his owner and has a big personality and knows exactly what to do to get the reaction he wants out of me. (Never does it to his person!) He also knows how to annoy the mares and just how far to push it. There’s never been a dull moment with him, or the mares. He’s certainly clever, cheeky, affectionate and full of personality.

I like to surround myself with girls as I work with men and live with one. ? I did get a male cat for OH so he wasn’t so outnumbered and Loki is just a big sook who loves cuddles.

 

[Zoeypxo]

But what's wrong with a grumpy gelding? I love a dependent, only-thinking-of-his-stomach gelding, preferably chestnut with long hair over his eyes.

i was just referring to the saying that mares are grumpy and hormonal, when im my experience the grumpiest was a 16.3 ish gelding. One day he would want love and cuddles, next day he would want to bite your face off. Nice to ride though!
Yes i know its not gender specific and just a saying ?

my mare actually is turned out with 7 geldings, it works really well as they only want to graze and sleep all day whereas when she was with a group of mares she was more inclined to charging around the field and getting attatchment issues ?

 

[little_critter]

I have one of each. They turn out together no problem (that might be partially to do with the age difference). The vast majority of horses on the yard are geldings and the presence of my mare doesn’t appear to cause any issues at all. She’s been in paddocks next to all the other horses.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I say no mares because I already have geldings and it’s just always been that way.
We had a mare temporarily here for a while and it was awful!
I wouldn’t be adverse to having one if I was going to a livery or something.
There have been several over the years at work that became favourite’s.