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Re: [RC] understanding mares - Barbara McCraryI rode a mare for a few rides and discovered she was head and shoulders smarter than any gelding I had ever ridden. On the other hand, I am now riding a gelding that is the smartest and fastest learner I have ever ridden. But I agree with Truman, the female of any species is programmed by Nature to take care of herself. Who else would take care of the young if the mother was gone and how else would the species perpetuate itself? Barbara ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Sofen" <msofen@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2004 5:45 PM Subject: [RC] understanding mares I saw Truman's post about riding the ROC on a mare and realized I had a blank spot in my understanding, specifically about mares. I just bought my first mare and just did my first ride on her (other than my riding eval before purchase) and we were also by ourselves out on the trail. She did really well, was forward, climbed hills like they were flat, was non-spooky, mostly listened, and...I can tell I don't yet understand her psychology. I asked Truman if he felt like sharing some wisdom about what makes them tick. With his permission, I have pasted his wonderful response below, it opened my eyes. Anyone else have ideas/comments on this topic? Mike Sofen Santa Cruz, CA Truman's reply: Mike, Mine got on the trail and she was all business. She got to the point that she would go out of heat when she got on a trailer - which was a pain in the butt when I wanted to breed her. At the OD in 93 or 94 ( the mind seems to be going these days) we come out of the woods going into the 70 mile check. It was very dry that year with no trail water. At that point she stopped. I got off and led her and at about 1/2 mile later she stopped again. She would not move. We were about a mile from the check. I was in a panic. We stood there for hour to the next rider came along and I told him to send out my crew. She didn't seem to be in any distress, no tight muscles, ears up, etc. In 15 minutes the head vet (Jim Bryant) and my crew show up. Jim checked her ( I thought I was killing her) and said to give her some water. She drink 7 gallons, walked over to a big patch of grass and started to graze. I told them to send out a trailer I wasn't going on. When she got off the trailer she squated and peed (clear) and drug me back to my trailer so she could eat more. She was fine. The next morning I asked Jim what happened out there. He said - it's a mare. She felt something was not right (she was getting dehydrated) and went into a self preservation mode. Thinking back I remember times when she would slow down - independent of what the horses we were with would do - for a while an then on her own pick it up again. Jim said that is something he sees in mares that he doesn't see in geldings. They seem to be pre programmed to take care of themselves. I really like mares. They seem to be less spooky and more business. However, the other side of that is they tend to be opinionated. They are different than geldings and maybe more of a challenge. I always refered to a ride with her as a 50 (or 100) mile negotiation. Enjoy your mare. I sure enjoyed her. I got another one I'm ready to break and I look forward to that - er at least I think I do ;-). Regards, Truman =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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