Uncomplicated mares!

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Tangaroo

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I just wondered how many people have got uncomplicated mares! I am horse hunting and in the past ive always had to have geldings due to one of my boys not being able to live with mares. He has now departed this world so it doesnt matter what i buy.
I have had one mare in the past who was lovely and no trouble at all but i also know of people who have mares that are a pain, especially when in season
Do i stick with a gelding or do i risk a mare? What sort of problems have mare owners had?
 
I always go out thinking to buy a gelding and never have yet. I've got 5 mares just now and have had three others and none I would say caused me any problem whatsoever. They have all tried their hearts out for me and been very talented and clever at their jobs.
 
Any horse has the potential to give you problems!

I think my mare is pretty uncomplicated about most things. Easy to handle. Slots into most routines without a fuss. Travels well. I can do everything with her single handed.

She would have her sensitive moments under saddle at times, and I would probably attribute some of that to mare traits - but for me the good aspects of an intelligent, sensitive and reactive horse far outweigh the odd whoopsie.

Season wise for the bulk of the time it's a non issue. I'd say approx 3 days before she shows as in season there is a mild tightness/tension to her work beyond normal.

I've also noticed that around her first obvious season in the spring she is actually quite tricky for a few days.

I love mares. And the saying is true about the good ones
 
I've got three here. They are all immaculately behaved around people, but can be challenging to keep as a herd! I have to bear in mind that they are entire, and ruled by their hormones, and manage them accordingly. The older girl is fine, as long as the others respect that she's in charge. The two younger ones argue, charge around being all hysterical for no reason, and can be a bit wearing! One has to be kept well away from my gelding, who is a bit riggy - he loves dark bay mares, and she loves the idea of being ravished by him. The other younger mare has lived with him all winter with no issues, but she harasses him when she's in season, and he gets really cross, as he doesn't fancy her at all. He and the older girl are fine together all the time, as they don't fancy each other at all, even when she's in season!
 
I have a dream mare you could let a child handle her in most situations, under saddle she can be sharp and forward but I like that. She is definitely uncomplicated!
I have mostly had mares over the years and have never had one that was difficult as such and would personally prefer one to a gelding.
 
I always choose mares and the boys I have bred get sold.

Mine are all uncomplicated, never had a problem with seasons at all - well, apart from one who likes to show off her passage if she happens to pass a stallion :D

If you get a mare on side they really are the best :)
 
most of the issues i have had over the years have been with geldings! I much prefer mares and feel they are easier to read.
 
Auslander said:
I've got three here. They are all immaculately behaved around people, but can be challenging to keep as a herd! I have to bear in mind that they are entire, and ruled by their hormones, and manage them accordingly. The older girl is fine, as long as the others respect that she's in charge. The two younger ones argue, charge around being all hysterical for no reason, and can be a bit wearing! One has to be kept well away from my gelding, who is a bit riggy - he loves dark bay mares, and she loves the idea of being ravished by him. The other younger mare has lived with him all winter with no issues, but she harasses him when she's in season, and he gets really cross, as he doesn't fancy her at all. He and the older girl are fine together all the time, as they don't fancy each other at all, even when she's in season!
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Lol it sounds like you're running a dysfunctional equine dating agency !
 
My best pony and my best horse was/are chestnut mares. Both so easy to handle, amazing at their jobs and not at all mareish or nasty. However, I have owned a very nasty gelding, and currently own 2 mares and one gelding and the only one that is annoying and attached to the others/ hates being alone and shouts is the gelding! The mares totally ignore him but he is madly in love with Gracie!
 
Yep!

My rising 5yo is the most uncomplicated thing ever . . . Shes a doll to do anything with and happy as larry doing it, needs to be stabled for days because of the weather? yep, no problem. Want to turn her away for a few weeks? No problem. Ride every day or give her a week off and shes exactly the same.

My other mare is the same, i wouldn't let the stereotypical mare put you off buying one, because largely (not always) with 'marey' mares its the management that's causing the issue not the horse.

Both times i was looking for a horse i wanted gelding, but both times have ended up with a mare
 
My mare was lovely, not a moments bother, she was HanoxTB and beautiful. She was willing to please and a real lover of people. I prefer geldings but I would never turn down a good horse due to it being a mare.
 
FfionWinnie said:
I always go out thinking to buy a gelding and never have yet. I've got 5 mares just now and have had three others and none I would say caused me any problem whatsoever. They have all tried their hearts out for me and been very talented and clever at their jobs.
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Is titchy your only boy!?
 
I've got 2 mares and would choose another :) I also think a good mare is hard to beat.

One of mine is standoffish and generally only 'does' people on her terms but is not complicated, it's just how she is. She doesn't like to do flatwork when in season but was a jumping machine (when she was still allowed to leave the ground, ha!)

The other is the total opposite - loves fuss but is an odd person, but it's not related to her hormones etc, just her background. I think I'd have had the same weirdness with her if she was a gelding coming from the same circumstances as she's no different when she's in season.

Both are trainable and generally lovely to have around. I would say there are some people who just don't get on with mares though, though they are probably few and far between ;)
 
My little JimJams is, on occasion, a little opinionated. For example, if I am late I will find all rugs on the floor. Or she will knock the wheelbarrow over, or something. And she has strong things to say about the cat that keeps wanting to ride her. But other than that, she's perfect in every way. She's ladylike. She's tolerant. She lets my children drag her around everywhere. My daughter, who until Jams came on the scene showed no interest ponies whatsoever and therefore in L plates and on the leading rein, rides her up from the field off the leading rein sometimes. If the instructions coming from the small, irritating peanut on her back are confusing in anyway, she just stands still. She could so easily drag the daughter under a bush or towards a tasty clump of grass. The daughter yells for assistance in aids and their application, and I swear Jams listens in, because she'll invariably do what's wanted, even if not asked properly.

She does get a little tight over her back when coming into season, but that's only for a day or so, and it doesn't make her nappy at all.
 
I have the most uncomplicated mare you could ask for. Aside from her health issues (she has spavin and is a headshaker) which I don't count in the 'being a mare' pool, she is a dream both on the ground and under saddle. I have been told by previous owners she's always been that way, so there are exceptions to every rule :)

I do think that hormones can play a part, but also management is very important - her diet and exercise regime is very carefully managed, and she gets lots of turnout (as she goes bananas without it!). I give her Global Herbs Restore tonic around this time every year as a detox and touch wood I have had no issues with her being in season!
 
My last mare was a bit high maintenance (understatement of the century, she was a complete diva). She was just hyper sensitive and generally a pain in the.... However I had her 4.5years and I never fell off her. She always went above and beyond to look after me. As much of a diva as she was to take care of she loved me and the moment I was on board she was 100% on my side. Only horse I've had who I could imagine riding into battle.
I always find it takes a long time to bond with a mare but once you do its unbreakable. My current gelding is the easiest horse in the world. So low maintenance and chilled yet I still don't get the 'he would die for me' feeling like I got off my mare. He's a little too much of a bloke to take some things seriously!
 
ester said:
Is titchy your only boy!?
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Yes. I've only had 3 geldings and all have been Shetlands. Two minis (one called Titch and one called Titchy!) and a standard on loan called Barney.

Titchy has been by far the best one the other two were little rat bags.

Oh I did once have an ISH gelding on loan when I was 15 but also rode several highland mares so that cancels him out lol.
 
Firewell said:
My She always went above and beyond to look after me. As much of a diva as she was to take care of she loved me and the moment I was on board she was 100% on my side. Only horse I've had who I could imagine riding into battle.
QUOTE]

Yes!! I have thought what you have said above many times over the years.
I am currently horse hunting and nearly every wanted advert I see as I browse the ads states "gelding only" Well these people do not know what they are missing out on IMO!
Thinking back, the worst incidents I have had on horses has been on geldings, I just find them very dishonest and you just never get that feeling that they are 'with you'.
Mares are brave and gritty creatures. they do like to chose their human though, so ask rather than tell; love them and nuture them and they will do ANYTHING for you in return.
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I've had two geldings and two mares, all of them have been/ are sound in nature and kind. My last mare was the only horse I've ever fallen from, who came back to pick me up though ��
 
i wouldnt say lola is uncomplicated, but i dont think any of her issues are surrounding her being a mare, at all! the only reason i know shes in season is the mess she makes on her back legs and tail!
She becomes a little more soppy when shes in season, and a bit tighter through the back, but nothing that a nice hack doesnt sort out and its only for a day if you ride her the way she needs x
shes not really a people person, but will stand all day to do whatever (other than her face being washed or her ears trimmed!) not even the slightest bit nappy, even to her adoring roo who lives and dies for her...

shes as bold as brass, will take any thing on and i feel like we have a mutual understanding of each other now and really feel a team, ive never had that with my geldings as they have always just done as told, they have never answered back and are just a little too "yes ma'am" but roo specifically is an absolute wuss and needs his hand holding a lot, which is a bit of a bind!!
the last horse i had join us was a horrid git of a gelding that had no personal space, anger issues and no willingness to try to do anything... although he would do the minimum you made him do... its such a relief to have a horse that wants to work! (i mean, she doesnt jump into her bridle, but you get on and she has her ears pricked and has a jolly whatever you ask and thinks she can do anything!! )
 
I absolutely adore my mare, she makes my heart sing, a XC round with her is a dream come true. I barely notice when she's in season, she tries her little heart out and is generally a darling. She's not very cuddly on the ground but when she goes away can get insecure, whinnies when she sees me etc! I have a 2 year old gelding, he likes cuddles but he's a bit too babyish to be a direct comparison as she's 8 and he's only 2, so very immature.
 
I have two mares and they are both uncomplicated, I love them. I've had geldings too but I find mares become great friends and I think the word that best describes them is 'knowing'. They seem to have a way of working things out, deciding if they like it and then just getting on with it..I've never had one I haven't got on well with.
 
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