I have been blessed with TWO mares: Harmony, 21 yo Arabian Mare, and just a month ago, my husband bought me ShyAnne, 12 yo Paint Stock mare.
When I was a kid we always had geldings, and the first horse I bought as an adult was also a gelding. One day when I was horseless I read an ad in the local paper for a 20 year old Arabian mare. I went to see her, she broke my heart, and then filled it. I bought her and brought her to the barn I worked at, where she has been confounding me since.
Harmony has been a relevation to me–she is much more emotive and emotional than any gelding could be, and has challenged me in ways that I’d never been by the geldings. I can’t say if it’s the breed or the sex, but she can be extremely frustrating unless you are able and willing to treat her with due respect for her intelligence. You cannot ‘cowboy’ this mare nor push her into obedience. She learns quickly, but rushing doesn’t get you an inch. She has taught me more about horsewomanship than every book Parelli every wrote!
ShyAnne was a distress sale–the owner was horribly behind in board, was having to move from her (free) home, and desparately needed money. She offered me her mare for cash. My hubby, however, officially bought her and handed me the leadrope. She’s mine now.
ShyAnne’s former owner is not abusive, exactly, but tended to be pretty rough in her handling. She preferred to bully instead of lead, and generally terrorized ShyAnne when she rode her. Therefore ShyAnne tends to get anxious when voices are raised or rough hands used. She can be very distrustful, dislikes girthing, having her ears handled, and is restive when you are not standing immediately at her head.
I have spent the past month ‘gentling’ ShyAnne, using lots of Frank Bell techniques, working with her face and ears. She also had a phobia about her feet–I can now just ask and she unweights the leg and brings her foot into my waiting hand. I’ve ridden her twice–and both times she was clueless, but very quiet.
ShyAnne has changed enough in the past weeks that I know she really wants to do what I ask, as long as I take the time to show her. She is very uncomplicated, compared to Harmony, yet still is emotive, very loving once she feels comfortable with you, and ADORES praise. She practically glows when you praise her! She arches her neck, gives you a wide-eyed look as if to say “What? Little ole’ me?” She’s become very social and comes out to ‘talk’ when I am in the barn working on maintenance, or cleaning tack.
I’ve tried very hard not to become too horribly attached to ShyAnne. The former owner still comes out to see ‘her girl’, and I find myself puffing up like a threatened housecat–I mean, WHO does this mare belong to? Former owner sez that someday she’s going to pay my hubby back plus interest. Hubby states he’s not selling.
… and I LOFF your pictures!!!
up with Joz on the paint mare fence
