Stallions, Mares, or Geldings?

[ArrowHBrand]

What does everyone prefer to ride? This includes in the show ring as well and on the ranch/farm. I have only ridden mares, but have two geldings and a stallion that will be started next summer. Right now they are knot heads, our mares have been easier to train. We'll have to wait and see how they turn out.

 

[lilmissfit]

I prefer geldings. Easy to handle. A lot of people will state that a gelding has no job...exactly...he only is interested in what the rider wants.

Mares are nightmares. LOL At least mine is anyways.

 

[msscamp]

I prefer geldings, although I always seem to end up with mares. :???: :lol: Geldings tend to be more predictable, steadier, don't cycle every month, and also tend to be less temperamental - at least in my experience. I wouldn't even consider a stallion!

 

[cattleluvr18]

my horse is a mare. but i've rode my friends gelding a few times. didnt really notice a difference in control and what not. my horse is usually pretty well behaved. she can have an attitude when things dont go her way and gets PO-ed. but when shes in heat she acts like she aint gotta brain. i dont even bother to ride her, its just not worth it when shes in.

 

[DrumRunner728]

I've never ridden a stallion for show or ranch work. I will say that the best horse I've ever owned was a mare. She was a once in a lifetime kinda horse. Actually, the top 3 horses I've ever owned were mares (one of them being an Appaloosa). They are followed, but not closely, by two geldings. One of the geldings is a horse I am riding now and I have to admit he's moving his way up the charts. ;-)

 

[chippie]

Our horses that are ridden and shown are mares. 3 are homebred so we didn't get a choice of sex.

We have a retired kids horse gelding, Bubba, that one daughter learned to ride on. Her older sister learned to ride on my mare.

When they were little I would hear them in their room fussing about which horse was best. Then at the peak of the argument I would hear in a sing song voice....

Mares are from Venus,
Stallions are from Mars,
and Geldings are from Heaven!

 

[Lone C Ranch]

All the horses I've owned have been geldings. I've ridden a few mares and they were alright, but I prefer geldings.

 

[flaboy?]

Growing up as a kid I had several that I grew out of. Geldings mostly and a couple mares. When I got older and actually started to use a horse for work I ended up with a QH mare. She was one fine horse and I rode her for 20 years. During that time I rode my dad's stud also. He was a Palamino and I rode him in parades, hunting, and pleasure with never a problem. My dad trained him well.

My next horse was also a Palamino stud. What a great and smart horse he was. He was golden when by himself but would fight anything that came around him including his mother. I had him cut when he was 7 and I buried him at 30 years old.

Current horses are all geldings and I plan to keep it that way.

 

[Horse Guy]

In general Mares seem to be more sensative, have more heart. On the other hand the "cycle" thing can be annoying.
My top horse right now is a mare. Haha Lots of fun giving her that flu or is it the rhino shot you have to blow up their nose. Haha Anyway thats always lots of fun with her. Haha Same thing almost even with deworming paste.
But in general, like others have said on here geldings will put up with a lot more than mares and im not just talking about flu shots or deworming paste.

 

[spinandslide]

I like my mares..most cowboys around here wont have diddly yo do with them..their loss..takes abit to get into a mare's head, but boy, when you do, you've got a partner for life, when the going gets tough, a mare grits her teeth, hunkers down and keeps going.

 

[pdfangus]

the answer to this is the same as what color horse is best

training and inteligence and natural ability and athleticism have way more to do with the animals suitability than the gender.

 

[flaboy?]

I like my mares..most cowboys around here wont have diddly yo do with them..their loss..takes abit to get into a mare's head, but boy, when you do, you've got a partner for life, when the going gets tough, a mare grits her teeth, hunkers down and keeps going.

I must have gotten into that mares head I had. She was the trooper. She was always the one that would do things when others wouldn't. She swam across a small stream with me on her back once at it was 27 degrees at the time. All the other horses balked and she just waded right in. We both had ice on us about 20 minutes later but we had to get across.

She was the one we hooked nasty cows to. She knew how to keep her balance with a cow on the end of the rope.

Basically she was the one to count on when it HAD to get done.

 

[msscamp]

...takes abit to get into a mare's head, but boy, when you do, you've got a partner for life, when the going gets tough, a mare grits her teeth, hunkers down and keeps going.

That is very true!

 

[spinandslide]

I like my mares..most cowboys around here wont have diddly yo do with them..their loss..takes abit to get into a mare's head, but boy, when you do, you've got a partner for life, when the going gets tough, a mare grits her teeth, hunkers down and keeps going.

I must have gotten into that mares head I had. She was the trooper. She was always the one that would do things when others wouldn't. She swam across a small stream with me on her back once at it was 27 degrees at the time. All the other horses balked and she just waded right in. We both had ice on us about 20 minutes later but we had to get across.

She was the one we hooked nasty cows to. She knew how to keep her balance with a cow on the end of the rope.

Basically she was the one to count on when it HAD to get
done.

Your mare sounds like a good one. I had one afew years back and I will regret selling her til I die. She was a 90% white paint mare as well..two "sins" among the cowboys..a paint and a mare! Oh No :roll:

I convinced my husband, after much pleading, to take her to a practice roping..he came home with a grin from ear to ear that she was the center of attention, guys did not beleive she was a mare. When they saw what a wonderful horse she was, it made them look past her wild coloring at a really good solid horse who got her job done. Her name was Pie and I sure wish I still had her for my son to ride.

Ive got two mares now that I love dearly. I dont use the word love around horses alot, but these two I do, epc. the older of the two, Lena. Shes known around here as "sarah's black mare"...shes graced the pages of many a magazine, has carted my son around on numerous "trotting circles", trail rides out, is an immediate attention getter anywhere and has given me 200% every time Ive asked her for it, shes never said no or just given me enough to squeeze by, its all or nothing. If I could never ride again, she'd still be in my yard, the kinship is unfathomable, truly. Im not mushy, but Lena is the absolute bomb! Go mares!

 

[ArrowHBrand]

the answer to this is the same as what color horse is best

training and inteligence and natural ability and athleticism have way more to do with the animals suitability than the gender.

I didn't ask which was the best just what everyone preferred to ride. The only two geldings we have we foaled and the oldest will be started next spring if we still have him, but with ground work he just hasn't seemed to pick it up as easy as our mares have. Another reason we haven't had geldings is that we prefer to tain our own ranch mounts and are building our herd so right now we just can't justify buying a gelding since it doesn't have any reproductive worth. Our saddle mares will eventually go into the brood band. We only have a problem with the younger mares who haven't learned that no matter what time of their cycle it is they still have to work. We bought a stallion this spring to start breeding next spring after being started under saddle so we will have to see how that goes. I've seen stallions be just as calm and gentle as geldings and I've seen stallions wild and crazy. We had a first calf heifer get into the east pasture this spring, actually this happened twice with two different heifers, and Lacey hadn't worked cattle before. She's my three year TB Paint old mare that I'm training and I caught her and rode her out there. I got the heifer on the fence, she was really worked up, and Lacey rated her perfectly until the heifer spun once and got back the other way. Lacey came around and we cantered and headed off the heifer and got her turned back on the fence going in the right direction when she tried the spin move again. Lacey didn't fall for it and cut her off as soon as the heifer turned her butt to us. That put the quit in her and Lacey and I moved her along the fence to the gate and got her back where she belongs. I had her side passing after the second lesson, luckily she's got her father's mindset because her mother was a game horse and really highstrung. I really have high hopes for her and my wife's three year old sorrel QH mare she is training. Unitl we get saddles on our two young geldings the next couple of years, I'm going to stick to the mares.

 

[bward]

I prefer geldings BUT I did have a Stallion that I rode exclusively for several years. He was strong and powerful to ride, and brave about everything. It helped that he was well mannered and a perfect gentleman. If he had attracted more mares to his shedrow I would have kept him a stallion. He was also good to ride as a gelding but was much stronger and indefatigible as a Stallion.

 

[smart_slider]

well...i'll say geldings have the best all around temperment(for the most part). but i prefer mares...some do get nasty when in heat, but just another 'fun' thing to break out of them

 

[Horse Guy]

This is just a general statement and there are exceptions but on average I find if your careful that you can really get a mare lighter, more refined, more resposive. Treat/handle them right and they will give you more. Mares just seem to tend to be more sensative.
You know there was a time when I was ashamed to be seen riding a mare. Example a cowboy wouldnt ride a mare. Then I started training outside horses and everybody brought me mares. Haha This really annoyed me at the time.
Anyway I have different thoughts on mares now.

 

[cowgirl08]

mares can be bossy, moody and temperamental
stallions are entirely too full of themselves and are hard to keep focused
and geldings can be a little of everything, but are usually easier to handle

 

[ArrowHBrand]

This is just a general statement and there are exceptions but on average I find if your careful that you can really get a mare lighter, more refined, more resposive. Treat/handle them right and they will give you more. Mares just seem to tend to be more sensative.

I think maybe mares are more sensitive because that's how I act towards them. It's easier for me to love up on my three year old mare than it is for me to love up on my yearling gelding or weanling stud colt or yearling stallion. Maybe because they are mares we have more patience with them and tend to be softer towards them. I completely agree with you Horse Guy, all of our mares have been fantastic to train and ride.