Would you ride or show a mare?
Last year all I had was fillies. I have one filly that is truly an exceptional moving baby, and yet I wonder if I should market her towards jumpers due to the feedback I have had from people around here about mares and dressage.
What do you think? Would you look at a mare if you were buying a new horse? Or are you already showing one and would do so again?
I like geldings… but I have had two really great mares… not mare-ish at all. I think that mares are more strong willed… If you can get a good one that will work with you, there isn’t anything she won’t do… but, if they’re working against you,…they’re twice as stubborn and muleish as their male counterparts. (Frankly, I think the mare/gelding thing has alot of similarities to the female/male human dynamic).
In my humble opinion I think mares bond more and are willing to do that bit extra IF you spend a lot of time affirming and reaffirming your relationship with them
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Mares just seem to have more heart <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Totally agree. But I think the reason why mares are more likely to be do the impossible for you is because they have come to respect/trust you, as you have them. Mares are more sensitive than geldings and I think this is the reason why they can be so moody and cankerous. This said, I think there are some incredible sensitive geldings that follow this rule AND there are some insensitive mares that are docile and quiet.
I think horses should be treated and considered as individuals. It is so difficult to get a match anyway on temperament, soundness, conformation, type, experience, manners etc that gender comes right at the end as far as I am concerned.
When I was horse shopping I didn’t mind if I looked at geldings or mares. Stallions were out because of the boarding problems and you do need to be much more aware with them, as do people who look after them for you.
I ended up with a mare and am very pleased with her. She has a great, bold temperament, is friendly and sweet natured, but can be a determined so-and-so at times. She is no different to ride and handle when in season. I only know when she is in season because she shows to the geldings in the field. Possibly it has taken me a little longer to bond with her than with a gelding, although I have ridden a couple of mares where we had an immediate rapport, so again that could be very much down to the individual than the gender.
Having said all that, I would never buy a grey, so I can be just as prejudiced as the next person!
I have worked with about an equal number of mares and geldings, and there is a LOT more variation between individual horses than between the genders. Yes, one was a crazy mare. But there was an almost-as crazy gelding.
I claim I don’t have a preference, but when I am doing a mental “pros and cons” of a particular horse, some how “mare” comes up in the pro column and “gelding” comes up in the con column, though I have no idea why.
You can breed a mare if she is good enough, but I never have, and probably won’t.
Okay, so I’m not a dressage rider, but hey, we ride mares in the hunter/jumper world as well…right? 
I currently own a off the track Thoroughbred mare. At times, I get along with her great, but at other times, I have one of those rides where no matter what I ask of her I get the “no, I don’t wanna do it” response. This is how it usually goes with mares and me. Now my mom on the other hand, can ride Sweets (our horse) and no matter what time of the month, everything is perfect. So basically, I think a lot of it depends on the rider and their personality.
When I show Sweets, she’s on fire. She’s definitely a performer and we get along great. She knows when were at a competition and she gets to be all business. I love this about her and that’s why I’ve kept her for this long (6 years and counting) even though we don’t get along very well for about 25% of our rides.
I’m also working with a Thoroughbred gelding, who is not your typical “dumb gelding” but I love him to pieces. I haven’t had a time with him yet where he hasn’t tried 110% for me. Maybe this isn’t your typical gelding, but oh how I love him. 
Sorry this has been so long…
the last poster touched on what i was going to add. i bought a mare because i wanted to option to breed. maybe i never will. but if your horse is crippled or becomes unrideable for some reason that would not make her unfit to breed, then she’s not dogmeat the way a gelding would be.
i think some mares definitely do have the ‘mare’ attitude. and all are mares, even if they don’t show it as much. that’s why i love them though!
i have to admit, one reason i bought my girl, aside from her being a mare, is that she’s not a bitchy mare. i saw some fillies who were great, but had that ‘bulldozer’ mare attitude. that can be okay, not saying those horses wouldn’t be great, but i wanted something a little more easygoing. not all mares are difficult, that’s for sure, but they are different from geldings.
I would take either to ride and compete with. I don’t buy into that mare moodiness thing; really it’s the individual. Most amatuers want geldings though, and geldings have a tendency to sell a little easier for that reason. A local DQ I know won’t have mares at all because of the possibility of them developing cysts in their uterus. She has some weird logic about alot of things, and she says this makes them difficult to ride. <shrug; I sometimes wonder about her.>
But for me, it also depends on the mare. I had one mare who became basically unridable…well, sure, you could ride her, but her attitude was so terrible we let her go to be a broodmare (go figure…awful attitude and she is a broodmare- well I didn’t own her, see my post on Nasty horses on H/J).
Personally, I also don’t want to spend $$$$ on hormonal supplements etc. I know a few mares who are even spayed.
But it’s true, of the ones that are good, they can be very very good.
My current horse is a mare, I have no qualms about the horse’s sex either way, there is + and - to both.
Would you ride or show a mare?
Last year all I had was fillies. I have one filly that is truly an exceptional moving baby, and yet I wonder if I should market her towards jumpers due to the feedback I have had from people around here about mares and dressage.
What do you think? Would you look at a mare if you were buying a new horse? Or are you already showing one and would do so again?
Thanks everyone. It’s so hard for me not to be biased because I love my “girls” although they are broodmares. It’s good to know that many of you would not discount a horse based on gender and it gives me a little more direction for marketing this filly. A big time trainer on the coast would not even look at a mare as she said that she could not handle their lack of predictability. She encouraged her students to think this way also. I think you cut the horses you can look at in half with this attitude.
I’ve ridden both mares and geldings, but own a mare. I love her dearly, but we are also currently going through the tough spring heat cycles that just seem to send her mood/bitchiness through the roof. When she’s in heat the last two months, she’s nearly impossible under saddle. When she’s not in heat, she’s quite willing. If things follow their routine from last year (I’ve had her 5 years; she’s 10), by summer, she will be a joy to be around again and I’ll nearly forget the pain of spring. She can be a pain around horses she doesn’t know…or doesn’t like. She has her opinions. She’s also TB and very sensitive and schooling usually goes slowly because pressure sends her through the roof. Slow is okay, though. We do show First level…when she’s on, she’s lovely…when she’s tense, we don’t have fun, but I get extra points for sticking with her <grin>. Would I do it again? She has a home for life…but my next horse probably will not be a TB. A mare? Possibly. I’ve seen geldings as weird as she is. I wouldn’t rule out a mare anyway. Might be nice to have a bombproof gelding though.
i was shopping for a filly, wouldn’t even look at a colt/gelding. i love my filly, she’s got the greatest personality. i don’t know what dressage people have against them, and i know some hunter people prefer geldings, but i think most people will buy a filly or mare if she’s a nice horse with a nice temperament who will get the job done.
I’ve never ridden a mare for any duration since my first pony club horse, not for any reason in particular, just been the way it seems to have worked out.
From watching videos (Olympics, Stuttgart, etc.) I’ve noticed that the mares noticably swish their tales more. I’m not saying this applies to all mares, especially your perfect girl who never swishes her tail. Just some of the ladies on the video looked a little crabby.
Also, I’m a firm believer that mares get cramps too. Never mind the inconvenient attitude when they’re lookin for love, I think some of them go thru a lot of pain. I know there’s hormonal treatment (regumate), but it’s not cheap.
Having said that, I would not refuse to look at a mare for the reason that she’s a mare. But if there were two equal horses in all regards, one a gelding, one a mare, I’d pick the gelding.
My keepers are always mares. I have one who is the ultra stereotypical mare, and my other is more easy-going. Even though she’s laid-back, she still has more attitude than my project, a gelding. I chose to buy geldings as projects knowing that 1. more buyers are looking for geldings and 2. since I prefer mares, it’d be more likely they wouldn’t join the “permanent herd.”
My once in a lifetime horse was a mare. Exceptional movement, exceptional mind and you didn’t even know when she was in season. I think it all depends on the individual animal.
I may be a little biased here, since my first pony was a mare and I love her more than anything, but I’m one of the rare few that prefers a mare. Funny that I have two gelding right now, but there you go. I would never buy a horse based on gender, mare or gelding, and I do h/j and dresage and event (A stallion is out for the obvious reasons of course)
To quote Ian Millar
“If you have a good mare, you have the best horse of all. She can do the impossible for you, and a good one will never give up, whereas a gelding might. But mares can be cantankerous and moody, and this is why there are so few of them in show jumping.”
My sentiments exactly. Mares just seem to have more heart. Just remember the old saying “Tell a gelding, ask a mare.”
I do own a mare and I would own another, even though the current one most definitely has her mare-ish days. I am bonded with my mare and I do feel that she sometimes gives me more than she would a stranger. It will be interesting to me to see if, after 3 years, our bond has strengthened and I feel like she will go the distance for me, as I did with my gelding.
would / do
I much prefer geldings. I feel I have enough raging hormones for ALL of us.
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