ridecamp@endurance.net: Mares & Geldings (was Horse/Rider Compatibility/Mismatch?

Mares & Geldings (was Horse/Rider Compatibility/Mismatch?

K S Swigart (katswig@deltanet.com)
Sun, 2 Feb 1997 06:04:48 -0800 (PST)

On Sat, 1 Feb 1997, William F. Madill wrote:

> Just try to be herd boss -- you might enjoy the results!
>
> Any comments from the rest of the group?

Being a person who has only ever owned stallions and mares (my first 2
horses were stallions) and only ever will...I must confess to feeling
differently about this questions. This is not because I want to breed
horses, but just because I find them to be more interesting riding partners.

Yes, geldings are more consistent performers.
Yes, geldings are more predictable.

However, I find that with mares and stallions you are required to build a
one-to-one partnership before they will give you their all...and it is
the building of that relationship that I find most rewarding about
working with horses.

As to trying to be the herd boss...well...sometimes that doesn't work
(especially if your full grown mare is already an "alpha" mare). I have
watched in pasture what it is that horses do to determine who is herd
boss, and believe me...you don't want to get into that kind of discussion
with an animal that outweighs you (what?? on average 5 to 1) by as much
as a horse does.

I am very clear with all my horses, from the day that we meet (sometimes
at birth) that _I_ am NOT a horse, and do NOT expect to be treated as
such. Alpha mares and stallions are not particularly willing to be
"dominated" to build a partnership with these animals requires much more
subtlety than domination.

And partnerships are not about domination anyway, they are about mutual
give and take. And mutual trust is the essential ingredient, with an
emphasis on mutual. Not only must you teach your horse to trust you, you
much also learn to trust your horse. Mares, being by nature rather
upredictable, can be difficult to trust.

The time to give up on a partnership is when you determine that you will
never trust your horse or that your horse will never trust you. That's
when the relationship has failed, and, as much as I hate to say it, you
probably need to move on.

kat
Orange County, Calif.

p.s. I am not saying that everybody should go out an get a mare or a
stallion; geldings are indeed, in general, much safer mounts.

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