You just have to find the right mare. Not all mares are equal, but neither
are all geldings and stallions. I had always ridden geldings as a jr. all the
way through college, so I had a preference for geldings. Until I rode my
appy mare; she is the sweetest horse I have ever owned. She opened up my mind to
mares. So when I went looking for a horse to replace my retired gelding I ended
up by a mare. She is the best horse. I've never really had any issues with mare
witchy-ness with her. She had one or two attempts at witchy behavior right
after I first got her but once I laid down the law and let her know I was alpha
mare she has been in line. She doesn?t really change temperament when she is in
heat. Most of the time I don't even know she is. In fact I did her first 100
over Labor Day and she rode the entire ride with a stallion. Both got along very
well with each other. I also rode one loop on the ride this past weekend with
another stallion and they also got along well. Even drinking out of the same
trough together. I'm not sure that I would say geldings do better than mares.
There are quite a few war mares that have proven how well they can do the sport.
I know personally that I think my mare is going to be more successful in the
long run than my gelding was. She's already proving that she can do very well
and she does take much better care of herself than he did. I did try
out one other mare before I tried the mare I bought and she and I did not
have compatible temperaments. She gets along with my cousin just fine but she
and I never clicked. So you really just have to find the right mare.
Have you ridden this mare yet, and if so did she have the witchy-ness
that you have had with other mares? She might not be temperamental at all. When
I went looking for my horse I looked for a temperament that was compatible
with mine first and foremost, then conformation and size, then the horse's
history. Sex of the horse wasn't really even on my list.
Katrina Mosshammer (AERC # 5763)
"Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity
killed the cat, I say only that the cat died nobly." - Arnold Edinborough
I am considering a mare for endurance and I must say I didn't like most of
the mares I've ridden to tempermentle. I much perfer geldings. But anyway is
there a way to keep them from the B@#$% ness
aside from spaying them? I did a search and it would seem they don't do as well
as geldings in endurance but she has all the right stuff OTHER then being a
mare. Any input would be appreciated .
