No mares

[milliepops]

Lol at mares think too much. My disappointment with geldings has always been a sense that they think too little I grew up riding mares - the obligatory psychotic shetland, at the riding school and then my first pony, all were mares so i suppose it got ingrained in me.
Current gelding is a thinker, he is mare-like in some ways and I've found it easier to take to him as a result. I would rather an awkward thinker than the alternative, as it turns out

I have a strong preference for mares but i wouldn't write off another gelding, esp now i am trying to breed my future horses, I would always plan to keep whatever pops out and that's down to pure chance

 

[TheMule]

The politics of living arrangements are generally easier when you dont have mares in the equation. I'm trying to cut back on mares, and then my broodmare had a filly ??‍

 

[Goldenstar]

I love mares at one point we had ten horses they where all mares then we sort of slipped into geldings and now we are an all gelding yard.
I will stick with geldings now the turnout is just easier .

 

[Widgeon]

Everyone says that mares are grumpy yet the 2 grumpiest horses I've had have been geldings..

I'm with you here, I've never understood this really - it seems like a massive generalization. Out of my main riding horses in my life (loaned, owned etc), three were mares and three geldings. I had good relationships with all of them - they were just different. Maybe I've just been lucky? If I was looking again I'd probably have a slight preference for a gelding (I do think they're slightly more straightforward as characters) but given how difficult it is to find a good horse at all, I can't see why anyone would rule out 50% of them straight off!

 

[J&S]

I like mares. I have had several with attitude (opinionated?) but my old coloured mare is a complete softy.

 

[Auslander]

I am mostly a gelding person, but like mares as well, individually. My issue with mares is purely how they behave in the field. The ones who want to be in charge scrap constantly, the one who are further down the pecking order pick on the ones below them, and all of them have no problem wading in with teeth and heels if someone else in the herd annoys them.

The boys eat together, snooze together, play bitey face together - and if Alf flicks an ear at them, they instantly stop what he thinks they shouldnt be doing.

Yesterday, one new mare was grazing with another new mare - both adore each other to the point of sharing hard feed. For absolutely no reason, they suddenly went at each other hammer and tongs - squealing, kicking, the works. 20 seconds later, grazing nose to nose again.

 

[maya2008]

I love mares - I love their spark and their incredible loyalty. I love how they will help me with the kids and the younger ponies; how they will take the lead and make the decisions if needed. I can lead off our gelding, but he won’t actively help. The mares will discipline the young one I am leading if they try to go ahead of us, will calm them if they are scared and will canter/trot at exactly the right speed to help me while I am dealing with a ‘just learning to be led’ baby who stops and starts, whooshes and falls behind. We’re a team. The gelding just does as he is told. Thinking for himself might be a stretch too far!

My husband and son are gelding people - they quite like a horse who does NOT think for himself!

Mares can be quite possessive though - my TB never liked to share me, and my current riding mare gets extremely grumpy if I ride one of the others. Apparently, I belong to her! My daughter’s mare is the same - she chose my daughter to be hers long before she was even backed, and has proceeded to look after her ever since.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I've had 2 lovely mares my last one had the best temperament ever and was so loving never put her ears back at anything or anyone, I trusted her completely was so gutted when I lost her I've never got another mare since I just think I would compare my next one to her.

I had Arabi when I had her and they lived together quite happily when I retired her I was offered Louis and I've had them together now for 9 years, I do often think about another but having 2 geldings and not much land it just makes sense to get another gelding.

Although Louis can be a bit like a mare I think and my friend that rides him also has said the same.

 

[oldie48]

We've had mares and geldings and I have a preference for geldings. Although we've never had a hormonal mare, they can be different when in season and having mares and geldings together can become a problem. However, if a mare ticked all the boxes I would buy and work round the little issues they can create. fwiw I haven't found grumpiness, willingness or any of the attributes that people talk about to be gender related.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

See I've always had this thing where I'd never ever in a million years consider a mare, then a friend let me have her lovely girl on loan (she later gifted her to me).

So suddenly I had this very complex equine personage in my stable - all Welsh D of her!! - and we both looked at each other, she with her gorgeous dark eyes, and it was like, well so now what do we do about it?? LOL.

I quickly discovered her sheer intelligence - formidable intelligence in fact - and the way her brain worked! Totally different from a gelding. The rhyme IS true about you have to "discuss" with a mare....... very true!! But somehow we worked each other out and she was just this incredibly loyal, beautiful girl with a big heart, who looked after her rider incredibly well even when we somehow got the wrong side of rising floodwaters on the way home on a cold dusky winters evening, and she slowed right down and picked her way through it, going very carefully indeed. When the waters had subsided a few days later, it was easy to see just why she'd taken such care; the road had been completely washed away in places and was basically like a ploughed field underneath it all, this is why mare was soooh very careful. She knew. Clever girl.

My current pony is a mare; she has a helluva fight in her, I know that, but she chooses to not exercise her "right" to express it. She found me, not the other way around, and made it very obvious she wanted me to be her person! If I was looking for a horse and the right one came up and it was a gelding, yep I'd go for it; ditto a mare. But I think my preference would have to be a mare.... if I'm honest.

 

[HeresHoping]

Funny, isn't it. I don't get on that well with geldings. The 'bonds' I've had with all the mares I have had have been far stronger. And funnily enough, for two of them they have been so much 'my horses' that other people just haven't been able to get a tune out of them. With my mares it has been a partnership. With the odd gelding, it has been a ride.

 

[Alibear]

So far, I've clicked so much better with my mares than geldings. But as Daisy has just had a colt, I will have to learn how to click with a gelding in a few years. I'm determined to make it work. I find mares easier to understand, and also, once they're on your side, they'll do anything for you.
Any tips with geldings? I have to say telling them has never worked for me so far. They just use their strength and obstinence, and I get nowhere. Asking them has me going earth to gelding, is there anyone in there

 

[Ceriann]

I’ve had 5 mares (never a gelding). All bar one have been pretty easy and one is a complete superstar. Took my shattered confidence and rubbish riding and got me to love riding again, develop a passion for flat work and got me to compete (we even did ok). She’s super sweet but not soppy, independent thinking so thinks through issues rather than reacting, clever, has so much personality and challenges you as a rider without being challenging (you ride her right and she delivers - if you don’t she just gives you less). I adore her and would clone her if I could.

 

[scruffyponies]

I accidentally took on a monorchid colt years ago and have had several entires in with the geldings ever since.
As things stand we have a quiet, sociable easy herd, and I'd like to keep it that way. Hence, no mares.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I'm a gelding person, I wouldn't discount an otherwise perfect horse if they were a mare but all of my horses so far have been boys. I like big 17hh+ horses, and I don't think I could deal with a mare one of those, with a gelding you set and reinforce boundaries and then life is good. With most of the mares I have known, the owners have never 100% known what they're going to bring in from the field (generalisation I know, I haven't met all mares).

 

[Horseysheepy]

I always assumed it was a turnout issue rather than special preference.

Yes i thought this too.

Hence some yards having mares and geldings seperate. It could be a couple of geldings have left, so it's opened up vacancies in that paddock, hence geldings only in the advert. Just guessing! It's not always an anti mare situation!

 

[Goldie's mum]

Ridden/borrowed all sorts, but have never owned a horse that wasn't a chestnut mare with some welsh D blood. One person's "fighting with a contrary, opinionated nightmare" is another person's "forming a team with an intelligent colleague that's more than just a yes-man" .

 

[stormox]

Theres a lot of blinkered livery yard owners that won't have mares on their yard..unfair sexism IMO

 

[smolmaus]

I've only ever been on mixed yards so maybe all-geldings and all-mares are very different but from skimming my memory the most neurotic horses who need "management" are all geldings. Anxious, doesn't play well with others, riggy and dominant with other boys, resource guarding, unpredictably bitey etc etc obvs the rescue yard is included here so you have to make allowances but not only that yard! The geldings I like the most are usually the ones causing problems ?

I've mostly had female animals as pets, and been more strongly bonded to the girls. No doubt whatsoever that a lot of that is anthropomorphism, it would be basically impossible to detangle what I'm projecting and what said animal is actually giving in return emotionally (if anything, I'm including rodents here like). Maybe the girls did/do all just have bigger personalities, with opinions or maybe I'm just seeing what I want or expect to see!

 

[Fransurrey]

Theres a lot of blinkered livery yard owners that won't have mares on their yard..unfair sexism IMO

Agreed. Then the same people are up in arms at the inherent misogyny in our patriarchal society. I've had mares and geldings of all personalities. By far the most intelligent was my Exmoor gelding. My current mare isn't mareish at all and my gelding is opinionated. I like to encourage that in any horse I ride as I'm just not good enough to always get myself out of trouble, so I need something with its own brain engaged!!

 

[Sealine]

The livery yard I'm on only has geldings now. I moved there with a mare originally although I now have a gelding. There were always more mares than geldings - 1 herd of mares to 3 herds of geldings. There were a few issues with the mares. We had a couple who ended up needing individual turnout after some nasty kicks and they became a bit of a PIA as the yard never offered individual turnout as an option. As the number of mares dwindled they weren't replaced and we no longer have them.

 

[MagicMelon]

Ive always classed myself as a gelding person, just always liked how no-hassle they are. I always worried with mares that I might get a mareish one and as I compete I didnt want that stress. However Im now onto my 4th mare and apart from the very first one who was your typical very mareish stroppy thing, the others have been the sweetest horses, none mareish. The mare I have now is lovely, extremely sweet natured and super safe to ride, yes she does have that slight side to her so I need to ask the right way but thats fine. Nowadays I wouldnt look for one or the other, I consider them pretty equal and am happily a mare or gelding person now. I'll admit though - if I had to keep at livery, I would worry more with a mare. Ive ridden horses for people at livery yards and absolutely hated having to go to the mare field - they were all horrible to each other and it was a nightmare getting a horse out. The gelding field was totally different, so chilled! I actually think mares might be happier amongst geldings, I doubt they'd be much worse... Ive always kept mares and geldings together and never had any issues at all.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Boys for me all the way. I've had a couple of mares but only one that really wasn't mareish and was an absolute diamond. Friend has a mare that would take your teeth out if you looked at her wrong whilst in season!

 

[stangs]

I continue to think that if you don’t want a horse that can think for itself and make decisions, buy a motorbike. Otherwise, what’s the point of working with a living, thinking being?

 

[JGC]

I love mares. I was viewing both mares and geldings at the end of last year, but I did have a personal preference for a mare, plus it makes my life much easier when they're in the same herd. I can go get one to ride and check over the other at the same time. Plus, as they're in the same herd, I often ride and lead to save time.

 

[Hallo2012]

boys only here.

really just don't click with mares but have 2 stallions, so zero chance we will ever have mares as not enough turnout to safely have both.

 

[Annagain]

I'm looking at the moment and would have "no mares" on a wanted ad, not because I don't want one but because my yard is geldings only. It wasn't when I first went there 20 years ago but over time the mares left or died and got replaced by geldings, it's just how it worked out. There was always a mares' field and a geldings' field and the YO decided to have two geldings' fields instead. My old boy has been there 17 years and I'm not planning on moving him anywhere else at the age of 28. I work full time and don't have enough time to have two in two different places unless one is on full livery and I can't afford that. It is limiting but it's out of my hands. I keep seeing an ad for a mare just down the road from me who seems perfect on paper but I can't even go to look at her. It's so frustrating but it is what it is.

 

[Pippity]

I had a preference for a mare when I was looking, but that didn't put me off viewing a couple of geldings. As it happened, I ended up with a mare. She's extremely sensible, verging on placid, but there's still that extra spark of intelligence in there that I've never had with a gelding. She gets a little grumpy during her first season of the year but, other than that, she's completely unbothered by hormones. She lives happily in a mixed herd of around ten, fairly equal mix between mares and geldings.

I'm not saying I'd never have a gelding, but I'd definitely prefer another mare. (Conversely, I'm never having another female cat, and certainly not an intelligent one. My next cat will be an absolute himbo lump.)

At the end of the day, mares are entire and geldings are neutered, so there's going to be a difference just from that.

 

[smolmaus]

My next cat will be an absolute himbo lump

This phrasing is sublime. I do love my huge ginger himbo lump but I need my conniving little tortie gremlin for balance ?

 

[Auslander]

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.