Stallions, Mares and Geldings
Posted by Mikki on Mar 24 2008 at 09:31 pm | Tagged as: General
There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a horse, and one that people don’t always think of is gender. We have two geldings and a mare, and I’m happy to share our inexpert opinion with you. We love our mare, but I would say this: if you don’t want a lot of headaches, chose a gelding.
Stallions, of course, are notoriously difficult. Without doing a lot of research on why, I’m guessing it’s the testosterone. Having a stallion in your barn, especially if he will be around mares (either at home or at trails, shows, etc.), is a challenge for even an experienced horse owner. They can be aggressive, domineering and hard to control. It takes a firm hand to keep a stallion under control.
Mares…I know people who won’t own a mare because they are such a pain. What makes them such a pain? The months of March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October…longer if you live somewhere warm. Warm weather brings a mare into season. And if you think women can be moody and B I _ _ _ Y (well, this is a family show, let’s say “cranky”); a female horse can teach most women a thing or two about moody and cranky. Like women, mares vary in how they react to their “time of the month.” With some, you can hardly tell. With others (Moonshine!), you wonder where your sweet little horse went. Moonshine is irritable, doesn’t like to be touched and if there are male horses around, she has only one thing on her mind, and it’s not trail riding. Our poor geldings: when she met each of them, she had high hopes. She acted a coquette for days, being as sweet as could be. That is, until she figured out they weren’t going to be able to help her. Then she was just a witchy thing, snapping and kicking and bossing them around. Of course, she goes through the same thing whenever she encounters a new male. The last time we tried to ride her, she was in season and there was a new potential suitor in the vicinity; her mind was elsewhere. So mares can be very sweet, but sometimes not. Both in the same horse. Sometimes in the same day.
And that leaves geldings. Life is so much easier without all those hormones. (As the mother of a former teenager and one about to enter his teenage years, I know what I’m talking about.) That’s a very simplistic view, of course; all horses are different and they can have many, many issues separate from the chemicals that may or may not be racing through their bodies. But starting with a blank slate, so to speak, can sure make things easier.
That’s my two cents. What do you all think? Mares, geldings, stallions, no preference?
I feel I have to stick up for the mares, having had 3, 2 owned, 1 leased. My leased mare was 16 and never showed a sign of being in season. My 2nd Marshmellow flashed anyone & everyone, and other than being reluctant to leave her “boyfriend” (the stallion 3 stalls down), she was fine. My newest, Little Horse flashed a bit, but otherwise was just as sweet as always. My limited experience with geldings are that they don’t have the personality or lovingness that mares do. They are just there.
LOVE the mares!!!
For us it’s been the opposite. We have 3 mares (and one filly now) and one gelding. Our gelding gives us the most trouble. He is ALWAYS into something. Our mares may be moody, but they mind themselves. Our gelding, he’s worse then any troublesome toddler boy. Maybe he’ll grow out of that, but some how I doubt it. He’s four now.
Having just bought our first horse, a mare, a month ago, I don’t have a lot of experience to add. And because it’s just starting to warm up out here in the mountains, our mare probably hasn’t went into ’season’ yet.
So far, I can say that our mare is sweet, loving and obedient. She hasn’t shown us any moodiness as of yet either.
Time will tell, I suppose. But so far, my vote is with the mares.
I have a gelding and he’s got a great personality but I do wish he were a little lower on the spirit scale. He’s not bad, I’m just not very experienced. We are looking for a second horse now and I think we’ll stick with a gelding. I’ve heard the same bad things about mares and I know not ALL are badn just like not all of us women are bad!
Stallions are definitely out for the very reason I’m looking for a 2nd horse. My husband would like to ride now (yea!!!!!) and would like to ride Quincy, my TW. It’s amazing what time off with back surgery can do to the relationship between your horse and your husband! What I keep hearing is that quarter horses are good calm horses. I know you’ve had question over how many years old the horse is and where to draw the line. Id love to hear what else you might have learned. If anyone else has additional info they’d like to share Im all ears!
I vote for the geldings. I have never wanted a mare. I have friends who’ve had both good and bad (as you say). But even though a gelding can be just be just as challenging in many ways, at least you are dealing with aspects of his training and personality, rather than the mysterious chemical balances. To me the former is easier to work with. However, someone has to love the mares.
I’ve often wondered why there’s not a method of surgically altering female horses, like you do with dogs and cats. Surgery too risky maybe?
Lynda,
There’s marbling which fools a mare’s body into thinking it’s preggers, so she doesn’t go into heat. It sounds relatively safe and inexpensive. I read about it here: http://forum.horsetopia.com/showthread.php?t=37169&highlight=marble
Laura, that’s very interesting. I always wondered why there wasn’t some kind of “procedure” for the female horses too. There must be lots of people out there with mares who never intend to breed them (or shouldn’t!), like us. I’ll have to ask my vet about the marbling.
Pietra, don’t count on your gelding outgrowing his mischievousness. My Valentine is almost 8 and he’s the same way. Of the three of them, he’s the one most likely to stick his nose into something, drop water on your head, nudge you out of the way…
And Laura, I have to agree with you about mares being more loving. At least in our barn. Moonshine is downright cuddly - the other two just put up with the petting and all. But I can’t agree about personality - Valentine is definitely not “just there.” He has just as much personality as Moonshine, just not the snuggly kind.
From my experience most mares are actually pretty decent in it of themselves. My issue is when you put mares and geldings together. One of my geldings was a fine horse until he met a mare. And now he’s unbearable if she’s not out on the ride with us. Someone tell my gelding that he’s a GELDING!
I have to say I prefer geldings - I’ve had three. I’ve only had one mare - in fact, she’s one of the two horses I currently own - and I love her to death, but when I bought the other horse I now own, I got a gelding….
My experience has been that the geldings have been more loving, especially my two Morgans. Talk about “pocket ponies”!
My gelding will actively seek my attention while my mare couldn’t care less.
Having grown up with a mare and her filly, I have to say looking back some 20 years or so - even after Candy was breed and foaled, she was never and I mean never any trouble. We had a gelding at the time too and she didn’t even bother him. He was the squirrely one.
Now today I have 3 geldings(an 8yr old paint/ yearling wild mustang/ 2yr old wild mustang) - these boys each have such different personalities. The paint is pushy with me - loves snacks but is just as gentle under saddle. He has become very tolerant of the other 2 boys. The yearling - now he is trouble - he pushed the other 2 around “alot” - even though he is the smallest, he is the boss - ears back and look out. The 2 yr old is the least dominate of them all - he enjoys being touched, groomed and even ridden without much of a fuss. Although non of them like to be away from thier buddies.
For me either geldings or mares - it’s what “you” as a horse person prefers. Stallions - I have seen alot of really well behaved ones and others that need to be gelded asap. But if they are trained right with respect they can be as gentle as any other horse.
Have a great Spring - Happy riding everyone.
CA - Barnlady
www.California Horse Barns.com
Weeeell…I personally prefer geldings. I just get along with male animals better in general. We have 3 cats, and one dog, only one cat is female. The mares that I have ridden seem to be more complex in terms of communicating with them (hmmm…just like us women!) while the geldings are straightforward, a little more one dimensional. Again, it depends on the horse and I would NEVER turn down a great mare, but generally speaking I would rather stick with the geldings.
For myself, I don’t have a particular gender preference when it come to my own horse, though stallions present their own set of challenges, just in terms of housing if nothing else. But I definitely encourage first-time horse owners to start with a gelding. There certainly can be unsuitable geldings, but if you find the right one it is a blessing to know that what you have today is pretty much what you have. With mares and stallions, the hormones can cause a change of behavior that may catch a new horse owner by surprise, and they may not have the horsemanship skills to deal with the animal their horse has become.
Having been involved with horses off and on my entire life and a solid horse owner now for 8 years. It simply depends on the horse, the owner, the personalities. I’ve owned both geldings and mares and the mares have proven to be the best fit for me. All of my misbehavors have been geldings and the mares are the best horses and most trustworthy I’ve ever owned. I personally believe it’s down to the horse and owner. I too must stick up for mares. A first time horse owner, should not limit it to one sex over the other. A first time owner should look carefully for that right horse and take the time with a decent trainer, not one who just wants to sell. You should look carefully at all options and not be in a hurry. An older, more experienced horse with a lot of miles on him or her and a personality match should be a must.
LOL, I own perhaps the horniest mare on the planet, but when she is not cycling she’s better than any gelding I’ve owned. A friend and fellow mare owner once said to me “owning a mare is like being being a multiple horse owner, you just never know which horse you are going to be riding on any particular day”….so true. Thank god there is some medical intervention that helps for us mare owners!
I am going to stick up for the mares too… Mine is wonderful and besides being a total flirt with anything with hooves, she is awesome! She is super sweet, loving and attentive. Even when she’s in heat, she rides pretty much the same as when she’s not. She seems to be more sensitive and responsive if anything when she’s in heat. She is my barrel racing horse and I must say that I am looking into getting her implants though just so she’ll be a little more consistent. My new gelding is trying to breed her and he just can’t be convinced that he is a gelding. He seems a lot more moody than my mare. In the past, I have had more problems with geldings being “cranky” than mares. I have owned 1 mare that was “witchy” but I sold her pretty fast. I didn’t like dealing with it because she was like that ALL of the time and it started grating my nerves, lol.. The people that bought her got her implants and they say she has settled down alot.
Hey all just wanted to add my 2 cents
There actually is a surgery to alter mares. Though not used widely, it does exist. I have a mare who previously would just as soon kill someone when in season. I have found that, with me, consistent riding, firmness (not aggressive) in handling and sometimes just giving her just a few days off have been key. I know I wouldn’t want anyone on my back during my time of the month! All that said - I love my mare. She is more loyal and loving than the geldings I have been associated with. I love all horses, but I think if you can win over a mare you’ve got a friend for life! BTW even my best friend would contradict me with her relationship with her 32 year old gelding - the man of her dreams 
Was just looking up any info on stallions and found these comments. I ride with my neighbors who train arabian show horses and other types. I ride a 13 yr old mare who is absolutely persnikity, spoiled and very tolerant and kind. If she’s gone into heat this year I have not had any clues. I am now working on riding a new, young stallion (andalusian). He is young, but more mature for his age. He is very well trained and a real cupcake, but he also has a bit of push now and then. Unfortunately, I think stallions are given a bad rap and thus people start out in fear before they even give the horse a chance. My trainers say if they had to choose, a stallion hands down is the best responding horse, for the most part are more level headed than a mare. So the jury is out for me, however, after communicating with about 80 horses over the last year thanks to my neighbors, I say it’s not gender, it’s personality driven. Every horse is just his own horse and I believe you need to do at least several weeks of ground work to acquaint yourself with a potential riding buddy.
Happy Trails!
I have a 4 yr. old QH, a 1 yr. old Medicine Cap paint pony and have been training on a 7 yr old Arab mare. I’ve been given the chance to take her home as a trial period. Green broke she’s a sweetie. Loves to be loved on. But no experience with mares. Everyone around me tells me NO! Don’t even think of purchasing her. Get another gelding. But our personalities really match up good. Too soon really to tell. I’ve been around her for 2 weeks and really like her responsiveness and attitude. So far I have nothing bad to say. I love my 4 year old gelding. He’s a huge love and has the biggest doe eyes. My Medicine Cap is sweet but really sassy when he wants to be. But still a baby.
I have been kicked for the first time in my life by a jealous gelding. My mare tries to stay by me and protect me from this gelding, which is not mine but our neighbor’s horse. Their other gelding is a dream! Thankfully he did not break my leg, just a 2 week muscle trauma. This has instilled a fear in me I cannot communicate, however, I share a loving relationship with my mare and I have not noticed any change in her during estus cycles. She likes her anti-fly mask and grooming during the fly season and looks forward to grooming. She is happier being alone than with the geldings. The one who kicked me also tried to kick at her as he is jealous. Like humans two is company and three is a crowd, especially with 2 “boys” and one “girl”! I always preferred riding mares because they respond to the feminine whisper, aleast in my experience! Wish me luck getting back in the saddle, my leg is still sore and my spirit is low from that gelding’s kick! But I still love the geldings for the most part. Whatever works with personalities is the best choice. My dogs and cats are males (neutered) but my choice for a horse is usually the mare as I have had good luck with them. HAPPY TRAILS and HORSE LOVE
I trained a gelding for a couple. You could not do anything with this horse. He would tear the barn down without another horse around. He would rear if the other horses left him. He was a big baby, and he was by far worse than any mare I have ever owned. Mares are pretty much all I have, and I have never had problems out of mares. My opionon on geldings is they can be even worse than mares. I learned from this four yr old black quarter horse gelding. It all depends on the horse it self not the sex.
I still insist that the mares are the best choice if you are experienced with understanding the difference between hormonal activity between mares and geldings during those warm months! I love all horses and had both mares and geldings together. The mares, in my experience, have been the most loving and responsive in all training, maybe because I am female and understand the horse “talk” between us girls! All horses deserve the best we can give them, no matter what sex they are.
I have been riding a 14-year old gelding & I love him dearly. Sometimes, he just “plods” along, but other times he is very anxious and does not seem to want to be ridden. He is in a pasture with 2-female horses and a female donkey. I was just wondering if one of the females is in heat, would this cause him to be anxious & uncooperative when I am riding him? He just seems that he really wants to go back with the other horses instead of being ridden. Thanks!!
I volunteer at a horse rescue and am looking to get a horse in about 6 months. I take regular lessons, which have been on geldings mostly. I too love all horses and think it’s sort of like the chemistry thing we share with a best friend or lover. It’s either there or it isn’t. My favorite horse there is actually a mid 20’s gelding, but he was ridden into the ground as a school horse and as a result is now very sore. He needs to be more of a pasture buddy nowadays as he has definitely put his time in in the riding arena. My second favorite horse there is a 5 year-old mare and she’s a sweetie. Even last summer I don’t recall her acting moody or difficult. She’s a real good girl and loves being groomed and fussed over. As much as I love them both, the gelding has been far more moody (most likely due to being sore especially with the bitterly cold weather we have had this past winter) than I have ever witnessed with the mare. I think it’s really a case by case assessment. How fortunate we are to be able to spend time with our lovely friends!!! Have fun!!
Well… I ride two quarter horse mares and let me say one thing… ATTITUDE!!!!!!! One of them (she is actually “FIXED” so to speak) is grouchy, lazy, stubborn and a royal pain in the neck. The other is sweet, sensitive and very easy to cooperate with. My friend rides a paint gelding and he is quite the character! He always makes me laugh!! He likes to give kisses and will follow you around like a puppy dog and likes to be around people more than the two mares. But I guess it all depends on the horse!! But if you want a horse that you can ride whenever, get a gelding. Because with mares it is better to give them a couple days off when they are in heat.
yeah, I don’t think you can classify it into mares - mad, geldings - easy and calm and stallions - crazy or whatever. Every horse is completely different. I’ve know mares who just go by everyday the same not bothered at all when in season but also I’ve known mares that if they were in season no -one could go near them at al. I have only ever owned geldings, not because I don’t like mares as we’re looking for our next horse to be, but because the boys I’ve owned have always been sort of level headed although I know geldings who are mad, buck, rear, bronc, bite, kick and are very aggressive sometimes all the time in others it temperamental. Stallions, I think all stallions need to be treated with care and sensitivity - they are all powerful animals who could turn against you but I have only known one or two stallys to be like this, many stallions that I have been around you wouldn’t even know they still had their bits. Its mainly a personality trait, also breeding as well as training - I’ve you don’t treat a horse with respect whether it be a mare, gelding or stallion then they are not going to treat you with respect and will play up, be moody or bargy.
It really all depends on the horse!!! My friend has a mare who acts like a gelding and a gelding who acts like a mare! So I guess it really all depends on the horse!
This was very helpful. I’ve got a six-year riding experience and my dream is to buy a couple of horses, hopefully in a few years from now. I’ve ridden geldings for the most part. I’ve also ridden a few mares (the number must be 4, relatively small in comparison to the other 26 horses I’ve ridden) and I must say it does depend on the horse’s character. I’ve been in love only with 2 horses so far and one of them was a mare (former racing horse). I must say she was ultra cuddly (she used to give me hugs when I took her to the stable) and quite tempered and fearless.
Age does play a key role in a horse’s behaviour but it should not be a rider’s priority. I used to ride a 25-year old gelding who was a real pain in the…! Very stubborn and always wanted to be the leader of the herd. It is very important to know a lot about a horse before you buy one and more importantly, to be able to ride it yourself and trust the person who sells it.
A friend from Greece
I have to reply, I own a mare and a gelding. I first purchased my mare as my first horse, not knowing a lot. She scared me to death, due to inexperience. I could not even go into the stall, she would lunge at me ears flat to her head and teeth beared. We worked thru this, I would walk towards her food in hand and when I was treated like that I simply walked away repeatedly and only came closer when she treated me with respect,(she never missed a meal). Mares you must out-think, they are cleaver. My gelding is not so bright and is too attached to her and unattentive to me. My mare proved her worth ten times over, my friend went into the group of horses was attacked by two of them. My mare ran over and chased them away. The attackers then went and blocked the exit for my friend. My mare ran over chased them away went back to my friend and escorted her to the door. We’ve had many years of showing, winning, trail riding, team penning. She will take 3 yr olds for rides in the ring, she is BOMBPROOF and is the best horse on the farm. To this day i do not know where she originally came from, but I WILL TAKE 100 MORE JUST LIKE HER. No more geldings for me!!!!
I have two mares, two geldings, and two stallions (soon to be geldings). The biggest reason I prefer geldings over stallions is I don’t want to get into breeding. Behaviorally, they all have their good sides and bad sides. The important thing with any of them is to make sure they’re paying attention to you. One of my mares has a quirk where she’ll decide she doesn’t want to make right turns. She has a cataract in her right eye which is a major factor in this, but I’m the one calling the shots and she has to trust me. She don’t want to go right? Fine, we’re turning left then. No, don’t stop, keep turning. Ok, let’s turn that circle to the left into a spin. Keep going, ya dizzy yet? Now that I have your attention, let’s go my way now. My youngest gelding was just started under saddle so he hasn’t graduated from the round pen yet until he gets better at stopping when asked. So we’re in the round pen , doing starts, stops, figure eights, and he notices that the rest of the herd is nowhere in sight. He thinks, I’ve got to run and rejoin the herd, and there we go, full gallop in circles while he’s trying to find the end of that fence. We haven’t quite mastered the one rein stop yet, so if I get too aggressive with the reins, there’ll be a wreck. How do I get his attention back? Keep him running. Make it my idea instead of his. Three laps after he finally wanted to stop, I let him stop. The rest of the session went really well, he was even backing up pretty It doesn’t matter, mare, gelding, or stallion, you have to have their attention. If you don’t have their attention on you, you’ll have problems.
I have owned 2 mares and competed mares and geldings. i would have to say general breed and temperament are just as big a factor as anything. my first mare was lovely to handle and ride most of the time though would buck when ask for canter but think stong legs hurt her. she was tbx and very laid back nature and did like people.
The next gelding i rode was kind and sweet most of time but did bite if stuck in. he was so laid back it was amazing. once he respected u he showed affection dutch warmblood
my mare echo who i have just lost at 6yo.now she was fantastic. she was so affectonate,constantly wanted people attention. she was interesting to ride not laid back and would spook. she was fantastic to ride untill she thought u were asking more than she could give then she would throw a tantrum and i would have to back off. however it did get to the point i knew when this was going to happen and stopped its all just about being firm but fair.she was dutch warmblood.
the other 2 geldings were good but one was not always great in stable but would do anything you asked when ridden.he is dutch warmblood.
the other he was fantastic in stable but again push him to the point he thought was unfair he would have a major tantrum.hanoverian.
each horse is an individual and as such much be treated as such no matter what gender. i do like my mares though thinking about stallion now.
Contemplating first horse!
I have met whom I think to be the new love in my life, she is between 5-6yrs old and is 3quarters TW and 1 quarter Morgan, she is a red and white paint and absolutely gorgeous with her long mane and tail.
Thanks for any imput!
Having never owned a horse before and working at stables that primarily housed geldings I am nervous as Mares do come with a rep, right wrong or in between.
She did great on the brief ride we took yesterday and I plan to ride her again this weekend. Some of my primary concerns are my fiance will be purchasing a horse soon too, he has his eyes set on a gelding but doesn’t rule out a mare. When matching up two pasture mate horses what do we need to look for? The person we are buying from raised the paint from birth, he knows her and swears by her. She and I really clicked yesterday and I am highly entertaining the idea. My boyfriend is in the air, hasn’t found one the same man has that is large enough for him, he’s 6 foot and 200lbs just doesn’t look right on a smaller horse. What do we need to keep in mind and if I do commit to the mare and he is still undecided, I don’t want to limit his options and I want to have two happy horses when together
I was reading an article that Bob Avila wrote in my Horse and Rider magazine. He said that if you are looking for a nice riding horse, get a gelding! Just because they don’t have to deal with horomones and are good riding horses! Mares do have to deal with the horomones. I have only ridden mares and I have had quite a few fights with them. One is very lazy and if she doesn’t want to do something, she won’t do it…. even if it means bucking the rider off. Another mare will bite and strike or kick another horse and is a very cranky old thing. The best thing to do when looking for your first horse is to get an experienced horse-persons help. Don’t listen to people when they tell you that geldings are dull and boring. They really aren’t! Mares and geldings do have their differences… but the way they act… it just depends on the horse!