Do you think there are men's horses and women's horses?

[ThreeFigs]

I’ve known horses who liked certain human traits, not just the man/woman thing. For sure they have preferences. I used to check out all the horses we’d buy at auction for use on my cousin’s ranch.

There was one in particular, named “Vandal” who took an instant dislike to me. Instant. I rode him into the field about 20 yards, could feel him kind of “winding up” and brought him right back. Told Cousin Henry the horse did not like me.

A while later, the girlfriend of our hired guy picked Vandal for a ride. He bucked her off. Both she and I are good riders, so it wasn’t like we were rough on him. He was a misogynist horse! He was always fine for men.

My Arab started out as a ranch horse, The Hispanic guys were drawn to him because he was grey and flashy. However, Gallito had to be ridden with finesse, something our hired help lacked. I could get on him and do anything with him. After one such episode – Juan and I traded horses after Gallito refused to cooperate – and Juan gave me this questioning look. “Guy” went from a spinning, hopping fool to a quiet Ladies’ Horse. I told Juan “Guy” just liked women.

“Guy” took it a step further, though. He loved blondes. He especially loved blondes with a British accent. My instructor at the time was a diminuitive blonde British lady. He gravitated to her. At one point, I considered selling Guy. It so happened another blonde British lady came to try him. He was smitten! She, however, had her back thrown out by his uber-bouncy trot. No sale. I kept him. Considered dyeing my hair and affecting an accent.

[Pocket_Pony]

For sure there are men’s horses and ladies’ horses - and not only conformationally-related - just as there are pro horses and ammy horses.

My mustang likes some men but not all men. He really really likes my hoof trimmer guy. I think that he would be happy to go home with him. I don’t know what it is about him (hoof trimmer), but Mac just likes him. Mac doesn’t like other people who have come to work on him (most are all women), but this guy he likes. Even though I loved riding with Buck Brannaman, his super-mojo didn’t work on Mac. When I rode up to ask Buck a question and he reached out to Mac, Mac backed away from him and gave him the hairy eyeball. :eek:

Maybe he likes people who like him, I don’t know. But he has a bromance with my hoof trimmer.

[Real_Rush]

Malda– Many years ago when my beloved Rush was still alive, at one point in our time together we participated in Civil War re-enacting (and yes, I’m a girl). At one big event we were going to out of state, he ended riding up on a friend’s trailer instead of my then-boyfriend’s. We arrived a good 3-4 hours later, and I had changed into uniform first (and was now a “guy”), but even from over 50 yards away as I was walking toward the picket line, he immediately recognized me. And I’m tall, 5’11", and put a lot of effort into walking/standing more like a guy at events. So, I don’t think you can totally write off them not being able to tell the difference between men and women by sight.

[heronponie]

Frankly, no.

DH recently started working as an equine professional. Just about every client he has says some variation of, “Wow, I can’t believe Fluffy likes you! S/he normally hates men!!”

It happens often enough that we joke he’s an honourary woman by now. Tongue very much in cheek.

Horses are individuals and all have their preferences. But the blanket idea that men and women cannot be equally regarded by the horse is anthropomorphic at best, and fairly sexist at worst.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

I have an Arabian mare who despises me. She was pretty severely abused by a man before I bought her, and even now, 26 years later, won’t tolerate men other than my dad (because he sometimes feeds her) unless I’m with her. The larger a man is, the more she dislikes them. It took forever for her to respond remotely well to my farrier and vet (both are large guys - both also used to drive similar trucks, and she KNEW those trucks!).

OTOH, I also knew a half-draft gelding who was trained by a very small woman; he went perfectly fine for her, but preferred her husband, who didn’t ride or drive at all. When she sold him, the owner’s son rode him and they got along famously. I tried to ride him a few times. He HATED me. The feeling was mutual. He was a very strong horse who didn’t like to be finessed; he preferred a strong hand and strong contact.

[candyappy]

Truthfully, I think horses respond to the way a person handles them. Not based on their gender. My BO growing up was a trainer who could ride any horse. He just got on and they seemed to respond and it looked like he wasn’t doing anything.

Horses are so good at reading people and they react to what they perceive.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Not performance wise. Once at a great western resort, I was given a “lady’s horse” to ride (I’ve ridden all my life and lessoned all my life and owned all my life) while my farm boy good rider but not great equestrian was given a “man’s horse” to ride. His horse was more spirited and faster than mine was. He laughed the whole time www rode those horses.:mad:

But I have found that some horses do prefer men and some do prefer women. I have one horse who loves men and treats women like he treats mares. He does at least treat female girls OK but women adults, nope, he treats us all like his servants. I had a great mare, now deceased, who did not like many people but the few that she did like were women and female children. I got her because she selected me when I was looking at another horse. She preferred male horses to mares, but she loved a few women including me, from first sighting.

So yes, if it’s the decision of the horse, there are preferences.
If it’s the choice of spirited or dull, it’s not a good way to judge suitability. I love fast and spirited horses and have since I was a small child. But some horses do have preferences.

[Trakehner]

[QUOTE=Alagirl;8871076]
"he was simply a jerk…a chauvinist pig…[/QUOTE]

Phew, got some issues going on there. We are talking about a horse and who they like. What epithet would you call a mare who preferred men?

[Alagirl]

[QUOTE=Trakehner;8871541]
Phew, got some issues going on there. We are talking about a horse and who they like. What epithet would you call a mare who preferred men?[/QUOTE]

Trust me, even my dad did not disagree…the behavior of that gelding was pretty bad around women, not just mere preference for men…

Had a guy in stitches, an old family friend, lifelong horseman (like my dad and his brother), Hanoveranian aficionado, old style, with heads as big as barns…he laughed when I said it…
As long as the mare wasn’t a pill around women? Horse.
Being special? Well, rhymes with witch comes to mind…

[meupatdoes]

I’ve known one that I consider to be a man’s horse.

I am 6’ tall and can, if necessary, “make an 11 in the dirt” with pretty much any horse’s back legs but this one just flat out out powered me. He had a very “Oh yeah? You gonna make me?” attitude to every attempt at communication on my part.

He goes fine for a guy. The guy who rode him got in one or two brawls with him and came out the other side, and rides fairly but backs up his aids swiftly and with more power, if necessary. I think the horse associates “women” with people he can talk back to and “guys” as humans with whom that won’t fly.

However, pretty much no one who rode the horse found it to be a pleasant ride. I don’t get on horses to make them do stuff they don’t want to do, and while the guy COULD ride the horse, it wasn’t really his preferred ride either.

There’s plenty of horses who want to play, may as well ride those.

[SLW]

I bought a quarter horse mare once whom the very, very amateur woman owner wasn’t getting along with. The male trainer had done amazing things with the mare via those cowboy timed trail competition classes. After a year I threw in the towel with her, it just wasn’t a good fit- round peg, square hole. I sold her a guy friend and she is the cat’s meow for him. In hindsight she seems to do better carrying someone who weighs 250# and up.

[ReSomething]

The pony was described as a man’s horse when we bought him, but really all that means to me is that he has a high jerk quotient and isn’t suitable for someone who wants a safe kid’s horse. He nips, he steps on your feet on purpose, stuff like that. But riding wise he is a little Ferrari if he is ridden frequently. Very forward and athletic, really fun to ride, just takes work.

They know where they are, they have memories, he knows when he is in an arena that he is supposed to rack first and not trot, why can’t they have preferences? Like blondes,lol?

[Dreamwalker]

I’ve had horses that prefer children to adults. One mare was quite definite about when children had outgrown her, she became hard to catch to the point of charging at them. Yet she was the sweetest beginner pony who always carefully looked after her young charges and always, always brought them home. Which was high praise indeed as we had several others of the evil pony variety.

My current gelding was described to me as a man’s horse. He packed many pigs and deer out of the bush and was as tough as old boots. This guy has changed his tune big time. His hurry up and get on with it attitude has mellowed and he has discovered treats and scratches. I don’t think he was ever really a man’s horse but that he had just never experinced anything else and it wouldn’t matter if it was a man or a women who gave him these new experiences.

[rosegold]

Horses’ individual personality-crafted preferences aside:

I’ve always heard the term “man’s horse” or “lady’s horse” to mean that the horse in question, when ridden by two otherwise-identical riders (except for sex), would better suit a man if it was a strong horse, or a lady if it was a quiet ride.

I’ve only ever heard like, two people in real life use this term (both elderly white men with a history in showjumping and foxhunting), but it always made me feel like a “lady’s horse” is a finished horse who goes calmly and who is fairly trustworthy, and a “man’s horse” is a “finished” horse who somehow still requires a lot of brute strength and control on the rider’s part to do his job well.

And it always just seemed like a way to excuse bad manners or a hot temperament on a horse, to me, or like a way to imply that women will never be able to handle that stronger horse. I don’t like the term when it’s used this way.

As far as some horses just naturally preferring (or having been conditioned to prefer) men or women, that I’m totally on board with. It’s like dogs, or people even. My dog, who I raised since he was weaned, consistently prefers the company of my stepfather (who he met as an adult dog) to either mine or my mother’s. Gravitates to new men rather than new women, too. He just… prefers to hang out with dudes. :lol: But if he were a horse, I’m pretty certain he wouldn’t be a “man’s horse” as I’ve heard that term used.

[TheHunterKid90]

We had one mare that bucked off every man that swung a leg over her. Including multiple trainers and her owner/breeder. Her owners daughter however, won two world titles with her and she was a gem for women. Her first filly is also very much like her, preferring women although she has not unloaded any men yet.

I had a mare I showed last year that was a one person horse. She generally didn’t like to be loved on, pet or groomed. And generally despised being social. We call her Crackpot because her eyes bug out of her head and she looks like she’s cracked out of her mind most of the time. ???
I got a huge chuckle out of her when one lady at the barn would relentlessly try to make friends and she would snap her teeth and pin her ears at her. ???

[Vindicated]

I have a Thoroughbred that will freak out over tall men in cowboy hats. Tall women, fine. Short or lean men are fine-with or without hats. Tall burly men-no go. I had to get a new farrier because of it. And the old farrier was soft spoken and gentle-just tall and broad with a taste for western wear.
Another horse of mine gravitates to Men-goes fine for either but if given a choice will try to suck up to a man.

[Malda]

This would make an interesting study. You would have to dress men and women the same, only showing the face, and see if horses can tell the difference. Using horses that people claim prefer men/women would be good, too. Heck, it’d be interesting to see how horses who preferred men responded to transvestites. Would they be able to tell the difference?

[Curly_Feather]

My gelding just goes better for strong riders, which are mostly men. My one girlfriend who is a strength training fanatic also gets a lovely ride out of him.

He is a proper dude of a horse. Not really sensitive or fazed by anything, and hugely strong and forward when jumping. I am quite tall, but slim, with naturally very poor upper body strength, and weak grip strength as well. I jump him once a week, but it’s never as easy for me as for my male coach or for my strong lady friend.

[Hulk]

Some do have preferences. DHs huge Perch loved him so. I am talking the horse lived for DH. He was fine with me, very obedient, never a foot out of place, but when he did anything for DH, it was done with a love and devotion that was simply unbelievable.

I wouldn’t have called him a mans horse so much, I would more so call him a DHs horse.

[MsM]

A bit of a tangent but… I remember many years ago a study was done on the difference between male and female riders. It found that ON AVERAGE, new male riders, when they erred, tended to punish too much or at inappropriate times and not reward enough and females tended to reward inappropriately and not discipline when needed. But when they studied accomplished riders, the distinctions pretty much disappeared!