RE: Re: Mares Idiosycratic Behavior/Riding Mares

["Maryanne @Stroud Gabbani" <maryanne@ratbusters.net>]

I have two mares, three geldings and one stallion colt. My mares were my
first horses and my first loves. One of the geldings and the colt are
the result of hoping for fillies...the other two are a rescue and a
purchase respectively. I like my geldings just fine, but I love my mares
and can't count the number of times that their decency and sense have
protected me and my kids/friends. They say that the Arabs rode mares to
war because they were quiet, but my experience with my two girls (! 26
and 14 yrs) is that they also will protect their owner from harm. This
has meant facing down dog packs, going through creepy areas with weird
animals and even snapping at someone who wanted to grab a
bridle...something never ordinarily done, but the circumstances weren't
very ordinary either. I'll vote for mares anytime. As for "mareishness",
well, I have my days too, so I understand.

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
Cairo, Egypt
Maryanne@ratbusters.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Dabney Finch [mailto:dabneyesq@cs.com] 
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 6:20 AM
Cc: ridecamp@endurance.net
Subject: RC: Re: Mares Idiosycratic Behavior/Riding Mares

Suzy Kelley, probably the most winningest endurance rider ever, thinks
mares
are "tougher," and she competes (invariably on mares) for "position"--so
it
seems they can be fast, too.

I met a guy once (NOT an endurance rider!) who got so drunk after one of
those social trail riding outings he passed out right under his mare,
between her legs.  She stayed in place without moving for two hours
until
the bozo came to.

And, I've noticed it seems almost all the stories I've heard of horses
that
have run off from a spook and the come back for their rider are either
mares
or stallions.  I wonder if this might be because their hormones give
them
greater protective instincts?

--Dabney (whose geldings have never come back for her when they run
off!)



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