Sorry, this might be a very silly question. Every barn I’ve boarded at has had substantially more geldings than mares, like an 8:2 ratio or higher most of the time. Some of the mixed discipline barns seem to have slightly higher mare ratios than the pure h/j focused barns, in my experience. If this is typical across most barns, where do all the mares go? Or do I just board at gelding friendly establishments, and there are mare heavy barns elsewhere?
#wheretheladiesat?
My barn is pretty close to, if not 50/50. IME most lesson barns and new horse owners look for geldings as they are supposedly more beginner friendly (a misnomer IMO). I myself only buy mares - it’s a personal preference I think!
Yes, the lesson barns of my childhood definitely seemed to prefer geldings. The barn I am currently at, which has a mix of retirees, H/Js, Dressage, and a handful of western horses, has 4 mares and 25 geldings. My previous barn had 3-6 mares and 15ish geldings at any given time. My college barn had a dedicated mare field, with maybe 8 mares, and then 30ish geldings? And those were both school owned and boarded horses. I can’t think of a single barn I’ve been at with an even 50:50 ratio, although I have a good friend out east who loves her mares and does have about 10 mares and 2 geldings at her barn.
I think back to the lesson barns I have been associated with and it seems like they were pretty close to 50/50.
I have a lopsided barn right now, with more mares than geldings. Does that help the numbers balance out?
I’m at a boarding barn and I think it’s 17 geldings and 7 mares if I’m counting right. It’s definitely lopsided and has been for a while.
I agree that some newbies prefer to purchase a gelding. I don’t mind, means my mare is out in a smaller group!
If I look at amateur or non pro ISO ads in the western performance world I see a major preference for mares, due to the value in breeding after a career. If I wanted to buy a gelding, I probably wouldn’t be shopping still since there’s been more options in my budget there.
Beginners and amateurs tend to prefer geldings, so it makes sense that there’s usually more geldings at boarding barns. Mares would be concentrated at breeding facilities, obviously; maybe there’s a more even distribution at upper level competition barns.
I have a fairly new belief that as people grow in their riding endeavors a lot of times they eventually switch over to preferring mares. Not always, but often. And I imagine there’s a correlation to experience/length of time in the industry and buying your own property to have your horses at home.
I’ve always had a preference for mares. I currently own two, but I have my own farm.
The boarding barn I just left was six mares (including my two) and three geldings. All experienced long-time riders/owners. Since I left, she got a new boarder in - gelding, beginner-intermediate rider. So, now she has four mares and four geldings.
as a h/j and dressage rider - mares are more expensive tbh (talking Warmbloods of various types and some sporthorse bred TBs) … due to their broodmare potential if injured or retired from competition / riding.
i am a self proclaimed mare person - my 2 heart horses were mares. I RARELY feel a connection to a gelding… 1 out of 10 geldings do I feel connected to. My biggest confidence knocks were from geldings. My biggest confidence boosts were from mares.
Current horse of my trainer’s that I am riding consistently is coined the “most mareish gelding to ever exist” – he suits me.
Honestly, I’ve wondered the same. I’ve never been at a barn that had more mares than geldings. It was typically 70/30 or 60/40. I guess maybe a lot are out in broodmare herds?
I have eight mares and have only had two geldings over the last couple of years. I find geldings to be a bit more steady, but I prefer mares because most of them have the sense to protect you, and I believe they are very loyal to their owners and riders.
I appreciate knowing that if I fall off, my horse is less likely to step on me and won’t leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere. Just recently, I was riding a younger mare who got spooked. She was quite a big horse, and when I fell off, her hoof landed on my hip. Fortunately, I only walked away with a bruise instead of being crushed.
#teammare
I have had more mares than geldings for at least the last 30 years.
But, for overall statistics, more mares end up at breeding farms than geldings and stallions.
Think about breeding for a minute… each stallion can cover multiple mares per year, sometimes into the hundreds. You need way fewer stallions than mares for breeding. The rest of the boys become geldings and go on to other jobs, and that’s where the proportions get skewed.
I think private farms have a lot more mares. We have three and only one gelding. Geldings can stay in competition without much interference from hormones.
Six mares and no geldings where Feronia is boarded. Everyone is happy. Last summer, there was 1 gelding and 5 mares, and a bit more muss and fuss.
I’m a lifelong mare person, at least partially because the person I really learned to ride from, her best school horses were all mares. She had about a 50-50 split. Maybe it’s sexist, but I do believe that a mare is more likely to take care of her rider.
Of all the horses I’ve tried out (to buy or lease) only 2 were geldings.
I have six mares and one gelding on my property. 
A lot of breeding homes keep mares and not geldings. Novice competitors who utilizing boarding barns are more likely to be steered towards geldings in their early ownership years, IME.
Mares beat geldings/colt by one at the moment where I board.
Is there a 50/50 of fillies born to colts?. It seems my breeding friends get endless colts and very few fillies, especially if they’re hoping for a filly to keep their program going. .
The nice mares tend to stay with breeders or sell to breeding homes. The geldings go to riding homes.
I enjoy mares. All my favorite horses to take care of have been mares. Don’t tell my gelding!
I prefer mares. I have one gelding because my mare had a colt. The mares are easier. My colt is intent on destroying everything he can reach. Today he put his foot through the gate and proceeded to rip it down. I was running to him but he yanked the gate down before I could reach him. I swear if there is a hole somewhere he will either stick his head in it or his foot. He thinks he is part goat and if he can climb on it, he will!
The gate will be getting a makeover so he can no longer stick any feet in it, no matter how high up he reaches with his legs.
If I buy another horse I will be looking for a mare. Mares take life much more seriously.
I’m really hoping my next foal is a filly. If it’s a boy I might be tempted to put up a for sale sign! Lol. Of course, my property already is going to have all these improvements, so what is one more trouble maker?
Great discussion! For some reason I didn’t think of the breeding farms, or at least that they were numerous enough to even out the gelding heavy boarding barns. I guess geldings are also much easier to import, and a lot of these barns are pretty import heavy.
On a side note- you guys are really making me want a mare!
I’d consider hobble breaking your trouble maker, lest he injure himself finding the next best thing to stick a foot through. What a stinker.
I don’t get the whole “mareish” thing.
There is this belief that mares are temperamental, difficult, mean, etc. That is just not true. A horse is no more likely to be any of those things because she’s a mare.
To me, the only noticeable difference between neutered male animals and unaltered female animals is that sometimes, the geldings are more “what you see is what you get” with their reactions. Mares sometimes have a wider range of reactions, which does not make them automatically inconsistent or difficult. I actually prefer that variability in a riding horse; I feel like they can be more tuned in to the situation.
Sorry for the derail, it just bugs the heck out of me when one of my mares exhibits an undesirable behavior that all horses are capable of exhibiting, yet someone responds with a snide, “well what do you expect from a mare?” She didn’t do that because she’s a mare, she did that because she’s a horse. Almost like remnants of a strongly misogynist society.
As for the occasional mares who are a pain in the butt when they are in season with incessant squatting and peeing, I’ve had just as many geldings who are horn dogs, unaware that they are missing critical hardware to get the job done. Mares don’t hold the market on that, and I’d much rather only deal with it every few weeks when than year round. Although I’d prefer not to deal with any overly hormonal animal— mare, gelding, or stallion (or person for that matter).
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