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Re: [RC] Returning to competition after foaling - heidiThanks so much for sharing that story about your mare, Heidi. I "needed" to read that, because I've always had a prejudice against mares and older horses starting endurance. I've been told that mares excel at multi-days, and after my experience riding Suzy Kelley's mare at Turkey Trot I now believe they can do 50's awesomely. But what about 100s? Any differences in style of doing 100s? Females are the survivors of any species. They are the ones who have to have the metabolic efficiency and the survivor instinct to survive tough winters, to know where there is danger, etc. in order for the species to survive. Males have to be bigger and stronger and more aggressive in order to pass on their genetic makeup, but once they impregnate the females, they can die off. The females have to survive the tough times, bear the young, and nurture the young long enough for the next generation to become established. In endurance terms, mares in general are more savvy, tend to eat and drink better, tend to make survivalist choices (let's NOT jump off that cliff!), etc., which translates into them being biologically actually better suited to 100s and multidays than their male counterparts, gelded or not. Certainly there are LOTS of individual differences, and a good gelding will outperform a poor mare. The trade-off is that mares (in their biological role of being survivors) also can be somewhat opinionated--they don't survive without having some definite thoughts about what is and isn't good for them. Many people find this objectionable--I personally find it rather fun to deal with. I've not had the opportunity to campaign many mares, as I've usually been busy riding the stallions, but I've found the ones I've ridden to be a real delight. I've become a bit spoiled the past couple of years riding some of Michael Bowling's geldings--it IS nice to be able to take three geldings out of the portable corral at a ride and lead them all to water at the same time <g> which can be "iffy" with some mares, and simply isn't an option with most stallions. But that aside, for sheer heart and guts and metabolic capability, mares are a very much overlooked resource for endurance riders. In the out-and-out sprint on the track, bet on the boys. But the longer the distance and the tougher the course, the more the mares shine. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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