I like my geldings! I have also had some very likeable mares! However If I had to choose it would be geldings from here on out!
I also have a chesnut mare and truth be told in all the years of riding and training I have never had the relationship with any like I do with my girl. She is so smart( not always a good thing because she will get impatient with the attitude of “I got this-move on!”) and so very brave. From day one there has been a trust in me that I try so hard not to “abuse” but knowing that if I get us in trouble -she will get us out.
Yes there has been some hormonal issues but when she is “on” she is brillant giving more than 100%.
In my case instead of “ask” or “tell” I always think of it being more of “let her think it was her idea all along”!!!
[QUOTE=carolprudm;6485329]
LOL, LOFF my mares. I’ll take Lenamore please[/QUOTE]
Lenamore isn’t a mare, he’s a gelding.
It is wonderful to see more mares out and competing at the top levels. I love my mare, and when she’s on, she’s ON 
You just have to work with her to get there. I think this is very, very true:
Most people don’t want mares because mares are smarter than most people. You have to appreciate that intelligence and work with mares.
[QUOTE=JenEM;6485819]
Lenamore isn’t a mare, he’s a gelding.
It is wonderful to see more mares out and competing at the top levels. I love my mare, and when she’s on, she’s ON You just have to work with her to get there. I think this is very, very true:[/QUOTE]
LOL, I know, love my mares but would make an exception in his case
Oh… and mares give you big floppy mare ears! (That is Dorothee Schneider on Diva Royal.) Or at least it’s more likely to get them with a mare 
But seriously, I’ve always been a mare person and love seeing a good mare out there competing at the highest levels.
When I was a kid, I always heard that mares made better show jumpers than the boys… and I do know some very catty SJ and eventing mares. Does anyone know the source of this bit of wisdom?
I have a love hate relationship with my mare and I think its because of the quote someone else posted about the 110%, 75% of the time being SO TRUE. Also, my mare only gives as good as she gets. So if I’m riding like a buffon, she doesn’t feel like she has to put in the effort either. But…when I’m riding well, we just get into that sweet spot where it feels like I could do anything (we just have to work on getting there more often, lol).
So I agree, definitely happy to see so many mares right now at the top! When they work with you its like riding magic.
[QUOTE=scheherazadetbmare;6484238]
Most people don’t want mares because mares are smarter than most people. You have to appreciate that intelligence and work with mares.[/QUOTE]
Hah! This is absolutely true, and the polo people will tell you so–most of the great ponies are mares. They’re like the warhorses of old; show them the job and they’ll “kill and die” for you without hesitation! I’m of the opinion that the best players are the ones who let the ponies play their best game . . . geez, polo should be in the Olympics!
Growing up I always heard, “You ASK a mare, TELL a gelding, and DISCUSS it with a stallion!” and I have found it to be true. Except for a few geldings with whom things went to binding arbitration . . .
Started learning to ride on mares. Love them soooo much- always bonded more with them. First horse I got really attached to as a share was a girlie. The day she first shouted for me I nearly cried I was so proud!
I have my own mare now. She’s fiesty at times but such a sweetheart.
I do think you don’t just get really good mares, you get GREAT mares. If they trust and like you, they’ll do just about anything.
My lifetime TB mare was the best horse I ever rode. She never, ever behaved like she was “hormonal”. She gave her very best every time I rode. Her only quirk was that she was very “opinionated”. If she knew the way it should be done she would give a pretty good argument for doing it that way, but, would relent if I insisted.
I had her for 21 years, until she was 30 years old and riding has never been the same for me after her, I was so spoiled. We got to the point where all I had to do was think and she did whatever I wanted. Such heaven. She was so sensitive it was like telepathy.
I miss her every day.
Please remove this thread!!!
Please take it down immediately! Mares have been a well-kept secret until now and here you all are spilling the beans:lol:.
Lifetime mare lover here, and I came to eventing from polo where I quickly saw that the mares understood the game well and played their hearts out.
I’ve gotten some great deals when people refused to look at a mare, especially a chestnut model. Threads like this are going to make those deals things of the past, my friends!
I appreciated how often the commentators mentioned them:cool:
Current horse is a gelding, but the last three I had (one own, two leases) were mares. I love my boy and he is super talented but he definitely is a boy - blockhead tendencies and all.
I’ve found that once a mare decides you are hers, there is nothing more loyal - but you really have to earn that trust and affection and with some mares, that can be difficult. With my boy, I often feel like so long as I keep doling out the treats and head rubs he’s happy to - more or less - do what I want.
When I worked at the track, those fillies had some “filli-tude” that put colts to shame! I will always bet on a good filly/mare over a colt/gelding/stallion any day of the week.
I had 2 fillies that knew, just KNEW, if you did not like them, turned into royal beyotches, kicking, rearing, striking… you name it, they did it. Heck, they both reared, as if on cue, the trainer referred to them as “oh that b!tch…” But if you were soft and quiet, they acted like absolute dolls <-- How they got to be two of my string of 13, 9 of which were fillies/mares.
I love my Goober of a gelding, I’ve yet to find “my” mare. I usually was a mare girl until I bought him, he is a ladies man does that count?
Heliodoro, I concur with your mare experiences. The daughter of my best mare was exactly like that. One day, there was a huge show at the barn and strangers from all over were all over the grounds. I had my filly tied and was grooming her when a drunk man came over and kind of fell all over her trying to pet her without permission.
I finally got him off her and he staggered off somewhere.
Later, she was on the hotwalker when this jerk decided to walk through it. He began walking past her, she caught sight of him and let loose with both hind legs, missed his head by about 4 inches. Had to run to grab her to keep her from trying again.
I bred her and had her from birth until she was put to sleep at the age of 31 recently, and never saw her let fly with her hooves like that, except that one time. She HATED that guy. With most people she was sweet, gentle, and affectionate.
I can really tell you some gelding stories about them holding grudges…
Love my mares.
I’ve had three geldings that were absolutely terrific, but one mare was the love of my life. With her I actually felt like she loved me too. My boys were solid citizens, talented and brave, but they didn’t love me. With her, I always felt that if anything bad happened she would die trying to protect me. It was an awesome feeling, a feeling that I don’t know that I’ll ever find again.
And yes! She had the big floppy ears An OTTB that should have belonged to a queen instead of a blue collar working girl. sniff
Love my mares! Saying that all mares are a hormonal mess is like saying all women are. Some may be but that certainly doesn’t mean they all are. Sounds like an out dated idea to me!
I love a good mare! I was very happy to see so many doing so well! I fell in love with a grey Arab mare (I know, I know) when I was younger, and I was “her person” at the barn. She would do anything for me. I was so sad when I heard she passed recently. I have to say I feel the same way about my gelding that I did for her - like he would do anything for me. He has so much try. I think the 110%/75% rule is really just dependent upon the horse.
Jam ?
Speaking of awesome little mares, what ever happened to Jam ? Seems like Greenwich would have been just her type of course…
