The Cob Company Archived Newsletter - Mares Versus Geldings
Hello and Welcome to the second Safecobs Newsletter.
Lia and myself were out riding this week, when the conversation came round to mares. We were mounted on Jolie and Beau at the time, and we were reminiscing about our best horses over a lifetime, and in each case it was a mare that we had owned.
What is just as interesting is that now mares are getting a much better press, or at least the discrimination is not as obvious, which has to be good for everyone, owners and breeders alike.
In fact it's a different story in Europe. Over there mares are invariably more expensive, which always brings the question ,"How come this mare's more expensive when the other horse is a gelding?"
The continentals look at us in amazement and reply, "But ziss ‘orse is a MARE!"
So there you have it, they see the possibility of breeding potential, and further investment from the initial purchase, whereas for us, possibly the chance to experience moody mare syndrome.
Then we started to outline all the attributes mares have over geldings.
"They are more intuitive", said Lia.
"They are quicker to train", I added.
"A good mare will give you her heart", said Lia.
"I find I can form a special bond", I replied.
f course we could also think of a string of geldings which the above applied to just as much. We could also think of some mares that we would rather forget if we were honest with ourselves.
These observations were a bit of fun as we rode through the farm on a designated Bridlepath, gently meandering through a bunch of cows, letting the horses have experience with different livestock, when wait............. What is that black cow, hang on that's no cow, it's a bull!
I have to confess to a deep fear and prejudice of bulls, and I can reveal I was not alone with my fear. Although there didn't seem to be a danger of a Taurean Offensive, we made a hasty exit, although the horses didn't seem to care less.
Later on, when we had regained our composure, we lightly touched on the subject of stallions, but that reminded us too much of bulls, so I think I can speak for both of us when I say that a good mare is preferable to a good gelding, in our opinion anyway.
If you can tell us about your amazing mare, then we would love to read about it.
Finally if you have had an encounter with a bull whilst out hacking, don't keep the experience to yourself, it's much better to share!
Lastly, is it legal to keep a bull on a Bridlepath.? I put this question to WPC local livery member, who regularly uses this route. She was quite surprised to learn the gender of the black cow, and certainly hadn't noticed the shape of vital appendages. One can only hope for increased attention when observing crime, and no she couldn't tell me the Law on that one.
