As far back as I can remember, the taboo of riding a mare – much less owning a mare – has always been around. I worked and rode at some professional hunter jumper barns that simply refused to board mares. Another facility that specialized in eventing made only one exception in my tenure there to accept a mare – on consignment – provided the mare was placed on Regumate prior to her arrival. Mares have always received a bad wrap…and yet, some of my favorite projects thru the years were mares.
While it is true that the last 4 equine acquisitions have been mares, I did not intentionally set out to look for prospects of the unpredictable, moody and hormonal nature.
Although the horses I owned earlier in my riding career were geldings, I will confess that my mares are the rare exception and are every bit as sweet and talented as my geldings were…if not more so. So how did this transformation of the mind come about?
After I retired Hoover (Second Childhood), I set out to find a young suitable replacement for him. After inquiring about an ad and viewing photos/videos of a young prospect, who happened to be a mare, I continued to question whether a mare would be the right candidate.
After all, I would eventually learn that Hoover was gelded late and therefore, presented all of the typical challenges of having a Stallion on your hands. He had to be turned out solo, difficult to find a next door neighbor he would not seek out to destroy, would have to trailer solo, etc. To make matters worse, he could survive on air alone due to his Warmblood Hanoverian stature and weight. He would only get a handful of grain and you would hold your breath that his neighboring victim finished dinner before he did…or the walls would come tumbling down.
Eventually, a tree came down during a storm one night and wiped out the entire outside barn with the exception of Hoover’s stall. BINGO, the now stand-alone stall solved the neighboring issue. Next, we finally found that Hoover would get along with Herschel (Susan Linton’s Junior horse) in the trailer adequately enough to survive a round trip to a show. This turned out to be perfect since Susan and I attended the same shows and could save on taking an additional vehicle/trailer. She would compete Herschel in Large Juniors while I competed Hoover in Ami-Owners. The lingering question remained, did I want to place myself in a position of potentially dealing with another strong personality…one in which mares were often notorious for.
Back to the female contender that remained the strongest candidate for Hoover’s replacement, I flew to Virginia to try her out. Not only was she a beautiful Black/White 3 year old Perch/TB but proved to be extremely sweet. After a considerable amount of contemplation, I decided to move forward with her purchase. As luck had it, she was perfect! I would have trainers tell me that they needed at least 10 of her in their barn. I would later discover that the only draw back was that it was an exhausting effort for Princess to get down the 3’6″ lines. Don’t get me wrong, she could jump 3’6″ singles all day long. My “little engine that could’ was tiring from the continuous efforts of galloping down the 12′ lines with only a 10′ step. Therefore, I took her back down to Adults 3′ where she successfully competed the remainder of her show career…at her naturally slower pace.
Anxious to get back to Ami-Owners, I set out to look for another young contender. I happened upon an intriguing ad of a prospect, also from Virginia. The only photo that came with the ad, showed a palomino in a snaffle bit standing quietly in the back of the line at a Fox Hunt, after only two weeks under saddle. And you guessed it…this contender happened to be a mare! Rose was a 3 year old Belgian/TB. I happen to know this seller from her days of riding ponies. Her dad also had a vet practice in Ocala during my time in Florida. Knowing the honesty and integrity involved in this scenario, I purchased Rose sight unseen. After all, Princess had totally reformed me in regards to mares. Unlike Princess, Rose had more than enough step to get down the 3’6′ lines. In fact, the best tactic with Rose was to take her straight into the show ring without having seen the jumps or surroundings. Lines would always ride perfect first time around; second time around would require a little more contact…and if you were planning a third trip in that same ring on that given day, you may as well plan on trotting over to the jumper ring…lol. Well then, congratulations, I am now the proud owner of two mares of two extremes…a Whoa and a Go.
Fast forward, after successfully competing “P” & “R” thru their prime years, my daughters were at the age where they showed interest in riding. Therefore, after some time passed with the designated pairs in place, I set out to find a horse that I could ride along, with my daughters, when they rode. I had no specifications in mind, simply a sound “third wheel” if you will. I had mentally and physically retired from the tireless competition world by this time. I learned about a candidate in Massachusetts that would be perfect for the situation at hand. This contender was a HUGE Liver/White 3 year old Clyde/Gypsy…and you guessed it…a MARE! At this juncture, the term “mare” no longer intimidated me.
I will admit that I have been extremely lucky living in the world of mares for the last 21 years. They have never required any hormone regulators and they are constant day in and day out, whether on or off property. As a matter of fact, I could never tell you when each of them were in cycle if it were not for hosing sweat off from under their tail! That is truly a good thing since one mare has a tendency to throw the other mares into cycle, especially when they are all turned out together. Otherwise, I would have dug my grave years earlier!
Another point worth mentioning is that I rode Princess and Rose (Godiva had not, yet, entered into the picture) right up to the day I delivered each of my two human girls.
As most of you know, I was recently involved in trying to find a horse for my niece. If you have not already, you need to read A NEW ERA regarding the comical recap of this journey. Now, this would be the only time, you would catch me telling anyone, “you ought to really consider getting a mare”. What did I just say? Pinch me! My brother said, “I have always heard people speak ill of mares”. I replied by saying, “with the barn at maximum capacity, you can simply toss the mare out with mine at night instead of being on the wait list for the right turn-out companion and paddock rotation”. Before this statement really took hold, our shopping journey produced a candidate that all three of us were smitten with. That’s right…another mare…Calliope…a Bay 6 year old Canadian Warmblood. Although it has only been a month since Cali arrived – and perhaps too early to tell – she seems to possess the same sweet, reliable and dependable nature as the other “girls”.
What is the moral of this blog? I am not really certain except that it was pure fate that I would end up with consecutive mares…when I was perfectly willing to remain in my comfort zone of having geldings. I guess the creator of these magnificent creatures thought I would be the perfect “sucker” for proving the age old adage and taboo of mares – is simply that…just a cliché that once again reminds us to always keep our minds open so as to not miss out on the endless possibilities and opportunities that life has to offer us. While certainly not Damsels in Distress, I would not trade the last 21 years of my life with these “Leading Ladies” for anything…they have taught me more than a lifetime membership of lessons and tutorials.
Homestead Memoirs 