In Defense of Mares
If these or similar comments have prevented you from searching the female half of the horse world for your ideal mount, here are six reasons to reconsider.
1. A mare is more likely than geldings to bond with you. Admittedly this one can't be proven scientifically, but it's well known among horsemen who've owned many geldings and mares. My grizzled cowboy farrier is adamant on this point, and he has chosen mares for his personal mounts throughout his later life. Perhaps it's maternal instinct, but if a mare adopts you as "her person," it means loyalty for life. She'll take care of you.
2. A mare won't quit on you in a tight place. The service of mares in such challenging endeavors as the Pony Express is well-known. Reproductive drive is related to other sorts of drive, and geldings have been altered in this respect. Mares have all their natural motivation intact.
Yes, we're splitting hairs here, because the difference is probably slight, and the overlap huge between geldings and mares. There are lazy examples of each, just as there are motivated ones. But many knowledgeable horsemen (including my farrier) think mares have advantages when the going gets really tough. Note, too, that although stallions get the glory among bands of feral horses, the leader of the band (after breeding season), the horse the others follow toward water or better food or away from danger, is likely to be a mare.
3. Mares and geldings absolutely can coexist in the same pasture. I'd never heard it claimed otherwise until recently. We wouldn't dream of segregating the several bands of young horses we keep in paddocks for training. The pecking order will establish itself; sometimes a gelding will be on top of the heap, sometimes a mare.
The main consideration when pasturing any group of horses together is to structure pastures safely, avoiding tight places where an animal can be cornered and hurt. I've had a few herd leaders, both geldings and mares, that were downright nasty toward all other horses, but that's rare. If it occurs, you may have to place the leader in "solitary confinement."
4. You can breed a mare. If a mare turns out to be the horse of a lifetime, you have a chance to reproduce her genetics, which isn't the case with a gelding. True, in these days of equine overpopulation, this advantage should be evaluated closely. But it does exist, and it is an option.
5. The behavioral changes caused by mares' reproductive cycles have been exaggerated. In most case, these changes can be completely nullified by good training and consistent handling. The no-nonsense horsemen with whom I grew up simply ignored such changes - I rarely (if ever) heard them discussed. Once under saddle or in harness, mares were expected to perform whatever work lay in front of them, no excuses, and the mares performed accordingly.
When there's a job to do there's such a thing as being overly sensitive to every nuance in horse behavior. This can lead to changes in the handler's behavior so that something minor now becomes an "issue."
Some people say mares "get nasty" during estrus. I've supervised breedings for several hundred foals, handling mares "in heat," taking them to the stallion, dealing with them closely. I've found it the opposite - during actual estrus, mares are usually friendly and accommodating. What mare owners are observing is more likely to occur immediately prior to estrus and immediately afterward when any closeness of other horses, both geldings and mares, is interpreted as an unwanted advance. The mare sends out a "don't mess with me" signal. Note, too, that most mares in northern climates don't cycle during the colder half of the year.
In an attempt to nullify cyclical changes, some mare owners considering spaying their animals, but I'd advise against that. A truly nasty mare is probably that way because of bad training or an unpleasant disposition. She won't be changed by spaying, and it may make her worse. Spaying may be indicated in cases of extreme cyclical abnormalities, but spaying a mare is a permanent decision, one I'd be reluctant to make.
6. Consider why you ride horses in the first place. Aren't we attracted to horses because we want to own something other than a machine? Isn't the fact that a horse is a creature of flesh, blood, and emotion one of its major attractions? Yes, perhaps the average mare is indeed a little less machine-like than the average gelding. Isn't that all the more reason to own one?
Harsh as it sounds, if one's personality is really so extremely "Type A" that he or she can't put up with slight variations in behavior, perhaps one should ride an ATV rather than a horse. Well-maintained machines rarely break down, start when you turn the key, steer reliably, and shut down when you turn them off. But they also don't speak to you when you pass the corral, enjoy your touch on the withers, or feel warm against your shoulder on a frosty morning.
Mares have all the attributes any horse should have, but they also have a beautiful, feminine mystique that makes them all the more interesting. I've made few trips into the mountains without mares in my string.
See you on the trail - and I may be riding a mare!
Dan Aadland (http://my.montana.net/draa) raises mountain bred Tennessee Walking Horses and gaited mules on his ranch in Montana. His most recent books are The Best of All Seasons, The Complete Trail Horse, and 101 Trail Riding Tips. Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir is now available in a new Bison Books edition.
