mares or geldings

I personnally don’t have preference…but have a late gelded gelding who will become difficult when you add a mare to the mix. Because of his tendency, I have never really had the chance to work with a mare on my own farm.

I’ve been told by many a polo player that mares have more ‘heart’ than geldings and they are preferred on the polo field. I rode a mare playing polo one season and have never since had a better time on a horse…:D

I have always had a mare/gelding team, and I have found mares to be quicker, balkier, more anxious, and just generally more all around. In otherwords, the same, only different, just enhanced for some reason…..hmmm… hormones?

I did have two geldings and two mares for a while and worked the mares together, and they were a dream… moved easily together and generally were a very nice team..

My geldings on the other hand have all been methodical, and generally un-rattled. I have found that my geldings were much better WORK horses, responding with enthusiasm to heavy pulls, and having better energy management ie. stamina.

An old time told me once that “mares don’t go til they want to go, and when they want to go, they go like hell”. I have found that to be true across the board. My mares have all been good work horses, smart, sound, and full of heart, but they always seem to be questioning my guidance…. wait not quite ready… need to go much faster… wasting energy.

My geldings don’t do this, which can make working mares and geldings together kind of interesting sometimes. Most of the time I am driving both horses at the same time, where as when I drove the team of mares, I still drove them individually, but there was more of a sense of driving them together as one. They seemed to communicate better and accept each other’s presence better.

All said, I expect and receive the same level of response from either gender, but they obviously have associated differences.

I have never had so much fun as working a gelding single in the woods… maybe it’s a guy thing.

Carl

I WORK 3 HORSRES 1GELDING 2MARES MIX AND MATCH ALL THE TIME THE GELDING BY FAR IS THE BETTER SINGLE IN THE WOODS OR FIELD DO NOT KNOW IF THIS IS BECAUSE I CHOOSE IM MORE OFTEN FOR SINGLE but they all work and they all can act up at times
Bill

I personally have never got along well with geldings and have never had one, although I have driven a number of them. Some because I was interested in buying them, and some because they were friends horses. In my hands, geldings usually seemed either asleep, or interested in goofing around. I like a responsive horse and just wants to get the job done and doesn’t have to be told to “go” very often. While, it is true that the mares I have had will give 110% some days and try to give 80% on others, the vast majority of the days are 110%. Also, being “up” on most days lets me see what they are really capable of and let’s me know how hard I can push on “down” days. Honestly, I love to watch the mare that I have now buckle down and pull and know that it’s her own desire that is making her work that hard. She’s no record making pulling horse, but I admire the effort nonetheless. Also (and this might just be me) I have an easier time reading a mares emotional state. Maybe this is more because I am more used to how mares express themselves, but I think it’s probably because they have a little stronger emotions. It is true that I do on rare occasions have to deal with a balk, be strict about slowing down, or lead her through a rare patch of “scary” brush. I look at it that I make a few very small concessions to her emotional state and get paid back with 110% effort whenever I ask for it (and sometimes when I don’t). I think ultimately it’s a personal choice and there really isn’t a better horse, but I like mares.

I’ve only ever drove a team of geldigs but I rode mares for years.
The geldings belonged to the man I worked for – they were the get of his favorite mare who was injured and on permanint pasture rest.

that is one plus for mares; if you really like one, you can make more from the same. Geldings are end of the line unless you are connected to the breeder.

sorry there, i think its just my “bumbling”way of showing affection. i had a pair of bay mares. morgan percherons. morons? they had some life. 3400# team. Had them so long i stopped learning about horses. they never left this farm, new each peice of equipment, just how to use it. didn’t need me at all. they are buried side by side at the end of our garden. i’m not going to live long enough to get that same relatioship with another pair of hosses. sure do miss them.

I have had two geldings one was a draft and the other was a saddle horse. My draft would get on his knees and crawl to get the load out and he was paired up with one of my mares. My favorite horse to work was my big belgian Stallion. He was a real power house and a great horse to deal with. He was another horse that didn’t know when to quit.

My preference is to not have geldings any more. They are terminal so they can never reproduce, like mares. They don’t have quite the drive a good mare or stallion will exert for you. Plus with a good mare and a good stallion you won’t have to buy in a working horse for a while, and you can have foals for sale to offset the costs of having working teams.

Joshua