Sexism and horses.

Meowy Catkin

Meowy Catkin

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RE, the why do people want to own mares? thread.

A good horse is a good horse and colour, gender and breed do not stop that horse from being a good horse.

So many people seem to latch onto a random aspect of a difficult horse that they once owned/knew and then avoid that in the future. How can one horse put you off mares (or welsh cobs etc...) full stop? It's silly. ;)

It is not normal for mares to be dangerous when they are in season or moody all the time. Perhaps the horse needs to see the Vet as there could be an underlying cause and putting it down to mareishness will never help solve that.

Geldings shouldn't be slow, lazy, lethargic or 'dull'. Again maybe there is a medical reason for this.

I don't really need to go into stallions, because I think that it has all been covered in the Parelli video thread.

Treat each horse as an individual and if there is a problem, investigate it properly. :)

Thanks for reading.
 
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True and point well made. I have had the best of mares (and still own her) and the very worst (mare could completely lose the point). I still maintain the a good mare is more aware of you than a good gelding but the old bag that I sold means I look very carefully now when looking at mares now.
 
One horse that I knew was very difficult in the stable and was almost impossible to tack up. It turned out (having got in touch with previous owners) that the former owner's daughter had smacked him on the head (by accident apparently) with a mucking out fork.

It's amazing the difference that that bit of knowledge made. Instead of just putting it down to him being a bolshy cob, we made sure that the mucking out tools were kept out of sight from his stable. No-one ever tried to muck out with him in there either! He was alot calmer and easier to handle with the tools hidden away.
 
I think its a very good point, however individual people will prefer on thing to another, personally i'm a 'mare' person, I dont know why, and i dont care, however if i was looking to buy another horse i would happily look at a gelding.

I've found all these why buy a mare etc posts really interesting (also quietly pleased that i'm not completely mad for preferring mares!) My first horse horror of horrors was a mare, chestnut and a TB (see my sig!) - but she was definitely my horse of a lifetime! each to their own and all that!
 
A mare, like a stallion, is entire. From my experience they can be very loyal & will try their hearts out for you but they have minds of their own & not suffer fools gladly. I would never not buy a horse because it was a mare, yes some can be a problem but that applies to all horses.
 
I treat horses as I do people, some I like, some I don't and some really don't even register on my radar. Personally I like males, I like to hear male radio presenters, I prefer male singing voices, my closest best friends have been male, 5 out of 6 of my dogs are male, my cat is male and my horse is male. I bought a mare...I liked her alot but she wasn't ever 'my' horse and she went on loan and is now bought by her loanee. Didn't stop me buying her because she was a mare but there wasn't a connection...that most likely was her breeding not her gender.

When I buy my next horse it most likely will be a gelding, but if a filly draws my attention I won't discount her it's just more likely a gelding will attract me first.

And geldings being dull,lazy and quiet...well obviously my lad must have a strong hold on his female side cos he's certainly not dull, lazy or quiet!;)
 
Yes, i agree that every horse is its own individual and i always try to base my opinions on this. However, in all my years around horses (or maybe just the horses i have known) there are certainly some generic traits that can be picked up- cobs are very quiet, TB's are a bit mental, mares are moody and so on but i would be the first to admit that in no way can these be applied and grouped to every horse because you will always find something that bucks the trend and probably when you least expect it!

:) :) :)
 
I prefer mares simply because every pony or horse I have ever been drawn to in my life have been mares (You know, when you just click) Apart from our gelding who I was drawn to in an instant although he was for my daughter. He has turned out to be a superstar and all round good soul, very sensitive to things too and I have a very close bond with him, really trust him. My choice has never been deliberate, just purely that moment when you know that you like that horse :)
 
caterpillar said:
So people are not allowed personal preferences and opinions?
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Of course they are but it can be quite insulting when someone writes off all geldings as "dull" when they'd just have to meet my boys to know that's rubbish! Others write mares of as "moody" and "tricky" but horses are like people, all different. Of course you can prefer mares or geldings, or tbs or cobs, but it's silly to write something off completely.
 
Faracat said:
RE, the why do people want to own mares? thread.

A good horse is a good horse and colour, gender and breed do not stop that horse from being a good horse.

So many people seem to latch onto a random aspect of a difficult horse that they once owned/knew and then avoid that in the future. How can one horse put you off mares (or welsh cobs etc...) full stop? It's silly. ;)

It is not normal for mares to be dangerous when they are in season or moody all the time. Perhaps the horse needs to see the Vet as there could be an underlying cause and putting it down to mareishness will never help solve that.

Geldings shouldn't be slow, lazy, lethargic or 'dull'. Again maybe there is a medical reason for this.

I don't really need to go into stallions, because I think that it has all been covered in the Parelli video thread.

Treat each horse as an individual and if there is a problem, investigate it properly. :)

Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...

i dont think there are anything wrong with stallions, geldings or mares i have a few of each sex and all of them are completely fine and i could never pick a favourite even when the mares are in season.
 
yeah that thread really annoyed me too, here's what i wrote in reply..

Doesn't this discussion just show there is more diversity within the sexes than there is difference between them? I've ridden mares like geldings, geldings like mares, etc. etc. My favourite horses to ride have been a mix of both. Every time I think of a gelding/mare characteristic I immediately think of a horse that bucks the trend!
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Good reply KJ. :)

No, I'm not saying that people aren't allowed personal preferences and opinions.

I love bright chestnut horses, it's my favourite horse colour. Even so, I wouldn't not buy a horse that was wonderful in every other way, but was bay, just because I prefer chestnut.

Also I wouldn't refuse to ever buy a grey because I once (upon a time, many moons ago... ;) ) met a grey that was grumpy and bit me. If I'd held a grudge against greys, I'd have missed out on owning my super grey filly.
 
I too think its very silly.
I own a gelding. He is fiesty, clever and likes to push his luck! He is brilliant, and had some of my best ever rides with him.
I used to own a mare, and I loved her to bits. She is gone forever now, and when I start the search for another, I am not fussed on gender. If its my sort of pony, then it doesnt matter about the sex.
 
I had the physio round for my arab gelding who had a very sore back and was messing around. I said it must be difficult being an arab or a TB because people just put any shows of temperament down to the hot blood rather than pain/problem etc. She said, imagine how much worse it is being an arab/TB mare esp Chestnut and she gets worried about how many less mares she sees, because people just put behaviour down to their hormones.

I am really shocked about the amount of disaproval of mares that goes on. Fair enough, they may get a bit sharper etc but my gelding has very many marish moments and so do many others i have met...
 
I know of a chestnut mare who ticks every box on the list of 'chestnut mare' bad points, and more. She is a deeply unhappy, stressy, angry mare and has been for the years I've known her. Nobody ever thinks to investigate the reasons why, it's always attributed to the fact she's a chestnut mare. I think her problems are possibly hormonal or related to her ovaries, which obviously is directly due to the fact she's a mare, but nothing is ever done because it's 'how she is'. It is a shame because I'm sure there is a nice horse there somewhere, she just needs help instead of being dismissed as a stereotype. (and no, before I get jumped on, she is nothing to do with me, I offer my opinion if it is asked for but that is all.)
 
She said, imagine how much worse it is being an arab/TB mare esp Chestnut and she gets worried about how many less mares she sees, because people just put behaviour down to their hormones.
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That's very sad, when you think about it. :(
 
I think a lot of it is cultural. I've been working with horses abroad for 5 years now and people's opinions/stereotypes/preferences of gender have varied wildly from one place ot another. For example, this "thing" the Brits have about chestnut mares - well, here in France, that reputation belongs not to chestnut mares but to BAY GELDINGS ;) And as for mares being hormonal, opinionated lunatics - while living in Portugal, I learned that people who compete at high-level/championship Working Equitation nearly always prefer to use MARES as they find them to be the most LEVEL-HEADED and trainable gender :)
 
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