Red mare - is temper/sensitivity a myth?

QueenT

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Yard talk… we’re discussing whether red mares actually - scientifically proven - are more prone to mood swings, bad temper, skin sensitivity etc, than other colour mares. Or if it’s all just a myth, and just a poor excuse for poor training. Any ideas?
 

Auslander

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I have 3 chestnut mares, 1 grey, 1 bright bay, and 1 dark bay.
The bright bay is the most temperamental with other horses, the grey is the sharpest and most reactive, one of the chestnuts is the most likely to kick my head in if I don't treat her with the respect she deserves, and the dark bay is the most sensitive, skin wise. I don't really believe in the chestnut mare thing
 

9tails

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IME, they're allowed to get away with more bad behaviour than others because "she's a ginger mare, what do you expect?". It's a bit like BMW drivers, if they do something stupid it's because they're a BMW driver. But if the same manoeuvre was done by a Toyota Aygo driver, you wouldn't even notice.
 

ycbm

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All my most characterful horses and cats have been bright red. It's now a researched fact that many red headed people have diffeent responses to anaesthetics and analgesics. I do think a lot of excuses are made for bad training but I also think there is something different in the character/physiology of any bright red mammal.
.
 

blitznbobs

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The studies have been done And it showed if I remember correctly that black mares are the most temperamental (i will see if I can find it)
 

ycbm

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ETA. I've owned over 50 horses and the only one I could not get shod without sedation was a bright chestnut mare. The only one who was so irritated by flies that he kicked off his back shoes stamping his feet was bright chestnut. The only one I've ever had any big trouble catching was bright chestnut. The only one who had to be tied down to teach to travel was ..... you get the picture 😁
 

TheMule

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My last chestnut mare was the very definition of chestnut mares 🫣
I do generally got on well with them though, I'm very calm and patient!
 

Blanche

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Re the ginger in people I can attest that it is a real. I am strawberry blonde, though it looks slightly weird now the grey is starting to kick in. I have trouble with analgesics and anaesthetics and have incredibly sensitive skin, my son who is redder than me has trouble with analgesics and anaesthetics too but doesn’t have very sensitive skin like me. It is bound to affect horses I would have thought. If I was a mare I am sure I would be labelled as a ‘typical chestnut mare’. I really dislike people putting ‘typical’ in front of another word, eg. tb feet, chestnut mares, Welsh, mare etc. It seems to me most of the time that people use it as a cop out. I love mares, especially ginger ones. Someone above mentioned black mares in a study being more temperamental, I remember reading that. I had a black rpm at the time who I would class as very sharp but very kind and sweet. I wonder whether what I would class as sharp or quirky, others would say were temperamental.
 

OrangeAndLemon

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My chesnut gelding had super sensitive skin. He got a rash when some fairy liquid suds landed on his leg (I had run out of the Johnsons baby sensitive shampoo so was doing his tail with fairy liquid, some of the bubbles blew off onto his hock). I always had to be careful with any shampoos etc.
 

meleeka

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Re the ginger in people I can attest that it is a real. I am strawberry blonde, though it looks slightly weird now the grey is starting to kick in. I have trouble with analgesics and anaesthetics and have incredibly sensitive skin, my son who is redder than me has trouble with analgesics and anaesthetics too but doesn’t have very sensitive skin like me. It is bound to affect horses I would have thought. If I was a mare I am sure I would be labelled as a ‘typical chestnut mare’. I really dislike people putting ‘typical’ in front of another word, eg. tb feet, chestnut mares, Welsh, mare etc. It seems to me most of the time that people use it as a cop out. I love mares, especially ginger ones. Someone above mentioned black mares in a study being more temperamental, I remember reading that. I had a black rpm at the time who I would class as very sharp but very kind and sweet. I wonder whether what I would class as sharp or quirky, others would say were temperamental.

I don’t think you can beat a chestnut mare. I have one and I think there’s probably only room for one of her in the field, but if not I’d have a herd of them! OH says she’s the equine equivalent of me, so perhaps why we get on so well 😂. I’m not ginger though.
 

criso

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My old pony mare was chestnut and part bred Arab but defied the stereotypes for both breed and colour.

Re the ginger in humans, I have incredibly sensitive skin and react badly to anaesthetics so you could be describing me except I was blonde as a child darkening to mouse brown as an adult and the only red in my hair comes out of a bottle.
 

blitznbobs

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I have had some fab gingers in my time… i actually love a ginger and have only ever had trouble with one - but i never thought that had anything to do with her colour
 

LegOn

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Stereotypes are just that - stereotypes! They come about due to long ideas or stories being accumulated and its usually only stories worth telling so you dont actually hear about the other side about the very quiet chestnut mares.

Its like the stereotype that the Irish love drinking - because the stories are more interesting, not that there isnt truth in it, its just because it gets heard or told more than the 'did you hear about the quiet, non-drinking Irish person' story! 🤷‍♀️ 😅
 

Squidge_94

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Had my chestnut tb mare for 17 years, best horse I've ever owned! Very tough little mare, never had a skin issue, lovely temperament, can do anything with her! Completely trust her around kids etc.
She is currently "babysitting" my 4yo bay gelding and has taught him some much needed manners... now he is a sensitive little soul with a fiery temper at times 🥴
 

daffy44

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I've had several chestnut mares and a couple of black mares. When I bought my first black mare, someone said in horror to me "black mare, black heart". My black mares have been the gentlest, sweetest mares imaginable, I worshipped them. The chestnut mares did have quite sensitive skin, and one was fiesty, but she was by a stallion known for throwing quite fiesty horses, my friend has a chestnut gelding by the same stallion and he was very similar in character to my mare, so I think that was more to do with the bloodline than being "a typical chestnut mare". But otherwise I do think its a bit of a myth, I totally accept the sensitive skin/some intolerances to medications, but in terms of training, I think people often use it as an excuse.
 

Abacus

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I've mostly had geldings and do believe that the red ones are more sensitive on average (skin and general reactivity). Several of these I have had from very young, so I don't believe they've just got away with manners that you wouldn't tolerate from another colour. And mostly they were Irish, so it wasn't a product of being a particular breed (Welsh, arab, etc). Currently have one chestnut mare and she's a total dude - not in any way spooky or silly and doesn't seem sensitive particularly. The bays, greys and duns I have had were less skin sensitive and probably on the whole less spooky. And the skewbalds have been the easiest of the lot. Not scientifically proven, sorry...
 

Ratface

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We have three chestnut Arabians on our yard. One is my 29yr old gelding - a sharp, opinionated, successful ex-Grade B showjumper. His nephew is an anxious little wimp, who has won at low-ish level British Dressage, and the 31yr old retired in-hand show mare. She has the most exotic old lines, and won everything there was to win in Europe in her day. All of them require tactful handling, which they invariably receive. They are never dangerous, but can be a shade temperamental if rushed.
Thinking about it, the big grey Dressage Diva gelding, and the fabulous bay stallion are more dramatic than all the chestnuts put together.
 

LadyGascoyne

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I think it’s absolutely possible that there is some kind of ‘omics’ reason behind the myth. Something about hormone receptor differences, or maybe pain receptors. I’ve also wondered if regulating their stress is an issue, and in hindsight, I would have scoped for ulcers in more of mine.

If I win the lottery, I think we should start a research project and sequence all the HHO horses 🤣

My chestnuts have been (including geldings and dilutes):

Palomino mare (welsh) - nappy pony but not hot
Chestnut gelding (welsh x arab) - a bit hot but fantastic
Chestnut mare (American saddler) - mad
Chestnut gelding (Thoroughbred) - forward-going but an absolute gentleman
Chestnut mare (Thoroughbred) - catastrophically awful
Chestnut mare (warmblood) - a bit hot but mainly grumpy and mareish
Palomino mare (partbred Arab) - ray of sunshine but forward with it
Palomino mare (partbred Arab) - a bit daft, very forward but not completely mad

I describe my pally mares as ‘chestnut mares with a shot of cream’.

For interests though, the most difficult mare I have had was black. And the easiest was bay.

ETA, I love chestnut mares, hence having a few 🤣 my dilutes are a more grown up, responsible version.
 

Prancerpoos

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I have had 3 chestnut mares, an Anglo Arab, warm blood of some sort and a Trakehner. All 3 were pretty temperamental compared to the bays I have owned / ridden. I have noticed that chestnut horses smell different when they get hot. Not unpleasant, but different.
 

maya2008

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Owned two - one was the best, most loyal horse ever, who would look after anyone. The other was sharp as anything and the very definition of chestnut mare. My son backed one for a friend and his instructor at the time said she had never seen a meaner pony - it had a truly interesting temperament. He got it going well in the end, handed it over and its behaviour deteriorated over time. It would only respect you if you proved you could win any argument it threw at you.

All had very sensitive skin, needed vet and antibiotics for the slightest cut.

I have a black filly (2yo) who is the very definition of stubborn! Sweetest little one, loves attention, always kind, but if she doesn’t want to do something you have a real argument to win!
 

FitzyFitz

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Probably just down to stereotypes and confirmation bias. Someone has a stroppy red mare and it gets seen as proof, but the dozens of perfectly sensible ones don't get noticed.
Out of my lot the 3 chestnut mares have all been lovely calm friendly horses, although one did have very sensitive skin. The awkward ones in the current herd are both geldings!
 

Jenko109

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I've had two.

One was rancid. No other word to describe her. She just was not a nice animal.

The other was a liver chestnut if that makes any difference as was the safest, most amenable, perfect mare to ever grace this earth.
 
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