Mares vs Geldings

[Lucie Hancock <lbhbhnck@ftc-i.net>]

I have always ridden mares. Up until recently I hadn't owned one. I have
always enjoyed my mares. When they are young, I had to ride them through
some sillines connected to their hormonal changes when they cycled
through their heats. But they worked through all that and became very
good trail horses. Now I use my mares to teach my grandchildren to ride.
The mares seem to have an affection for youngsters of any kind, equine
and human. They nurture and care for the little humans. They like
children. I am now taking my five year old grandchildren for trail
rides. (Now rest assured that I prepared my grandchildren first, and
they learned to take the horses throught varied patterns around poles
and barrels and piles of dirt in the pasture before ever going on the
trail.) The mares walk very slowly. I have to slow mine down to maintain
the same pace the mares carrying the youngsters maintain. These two have
wonderful walks when carrying experienced riders, but with a child on
board they are very careful. The gelding I ride does not seem to care
the age of the rider, and although he has become a good trail horse, the
mares have something special. That something special may be what makes
them difficult for some people, and their recoveries at endurance rides
are sometimes affected my their "time of month" but not enough to leave
them at home. Mares are wonderful to ride, just work them through their
"sillyness" and the more miles the better the horse.
Lucie