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I love all of these posts. So many times when we get into a gender 
discussion, it is an all or nothing thing - Mares are perfect or crazy, 
Geldings are stupid or saints, Stallions are insane or the best thing since 
sliced bread. Each gender has its pros and cons.

My mare has put me through hell sometimes with her attitude (especially when 
I first got her - things are MUCH better now, but it took me some time to 
figure out I couldn't treat her like all the geldings I had handled before). 
I think opinionated is a little bit of an understatement. My husband has a 
scar on his knee from where she nailed him (I guess I'm quicker to get out 
of the way).  BUT... she never strikes out without warning. She always lets 
you know when she's pissed off before she tries something. And, in time, she 
has become much more respectful.

My vet adores her - he says the problems I have from the ground are typical 
when you get two boss mares together! And I adore her too. We are slowing 
coming to an understanding on the ground, and we have always understood each 
other under saddle. From the moment I first tried her out, I knew she was 
the horse for me. And she's proved it time and time again. On one early ride 
at a state park, she refused to go through what looked like a typical muddy 
spot to me. She can be a bit of a princess about mud - likes to find the 
dryest away around to keep her pretty legs clean - so I really got after 
her. After a split second, we sunk down to her hocks. I had no idea how to 
get out of there, so I apolized profusely, dropped the reins and kicked my 
feet out of her stirrups, grabbed a handful of mane, and let her save my 
ass. Not five minutes later, we encountered more mud on the trail, and she 
went straight through out without a fuss. I've since learned that if she 
feels strongly about something, I better listen.

In October of 2002, I suffered a broken neck in an absolutely terrifying 
accident (on another horse, not my Mazzie). In April of 2003, I was finally 
cleared for light riding. Mazzie had not been ridden once the entire time. 
My husband insisted that my first ride back be a glorified pony ride, so I 
got on and he led Mazzie around. She tried to bite him, as if saying "hey 
bud, this is MY human, and I can take care of her just fine". She didn't let 
out one of her very typical yahoo bucks with me in the saddle until about 
five later, when she figured I was finally ready for more of a challenge.

We went for my first trail ride since the accident in late summer. I was 
nervous, but excited. I wasn't sure how Mazzie OR I would react to the 
trail. But the minute we got to the state park, her ears were perked forward 
(not her usual stance - they are usually ALWAYS pinned), she stood stock 
still for mounting, and as soon as I swung my leg over she filled me with 
confidence. She marched straight down that trail with the greatest sense of 
purpose. "Finally," she seemed to say to me, "we are back doing what we both 
love. What took you so long?" This was also the first trail ride for my 
husband's 4 YO gelding, and she let that boy basically stick his nose right 
under her tail and led him past every spooky thing without a problem (and 
this is a horse who will be definitely wearing a red ribbon in her tail). In 
fact, she seems to enjoy helping out the less experienced horses.

I am really looking forward to my first competitive season with her. I 
cannot think of anyone else I'd rather share the miles with. I think it was 
Truman (not sure) who said with a mare, you have come to an agreement about 
things. So true. With my first horse, a gelding, I felt somewhat maternal 
towards him. With Mazzie, we are more like sisters. We certainly disagree 
about a lot of stupid stuff, but way down deep we both love and respect each 
other and work together for the important stuff.

And my husband's gelding is perfect for him. We'll probably always have a 
balanced set of hormones around our place, a mare for me and a gelding for 
him. I figure it's like dogs and cats - everyone should have at least one of 
each. Once makes you feel like the king of the world, and the other keeps 
you humble and puts you in your place!

Love my mare, love my husband's gelding,

Karen and Mazzie

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