BATTLE OF THE SEXES

The white mare, Pearl, was behaving oddly, even for Pearl. This was probably the tenth time she had just wandered off the trail and hid in the brush while the main group of riders and pack horses continued happily down the trail. Jamie, the wrangler, whose job it was to follow behind and keep things tight and in line, was at his wits end, his yells and screams now part of the wilderness ambience. There was no question in my mind that Pearl was in heat.
That evening when the chores were done Jamie sat silent and solemn, the flickering orange campfire light suggesting a spiteful glow on his face. When he finally spoke, he said, “Will you sell me that horse, I want to buy that horse.” Well, that was a surprise. But then, the more I looked at Jamie the more suspicious I became, did he want to buy Pearl then take her over the hill and knock her on the noggin with his axe? I declined to sell Pearl.
I too had dealt with cranky mares and mares in heat since the beginning of horse time. It seems to me that most of the odd and obstinate behavior from mares comes when the mare may be cycling, say from late April until August, not that mares cannot be mare-ish any time of the year. I have also noted that of my horses that have been persistent with poor behavior, say biting, kicking dents into the wall of a horse trailer, playing hard to catch, the per capita numbers nod would have to go to the mares.
Mares can be sneakier than geldings, that one eye watching for the best moment to give a nip, kick at the dog, slink off when you appear with the halter. And like mules, I believe once they make up their minds about something or someone they do not like, then it may be more difficult to change their mind then the mind of a gelding. And, I believe, there is a reason for this - like mules, the average mare is somewhat smarter and more aware than the average gelding.
Speaking of slinking off when you appear, with or without a halter, being hard to catch is like a disease and if a dominant mare has this disease she can slowly or quickly turn honest horses away from you, good horses who would otherwise have stood and accepted your kindness. This is probably the one thing that I will tolerate for a very short time before the mare, or gelding, if not showing notable signs of improvement, is sold.
So, back in 1980 when I befriended the 92-year-old living legend, Felix Plante from Entrance, Alberta, I was surprised when he said, “what’s wrong with mares, lots of my horses is mares. Nothing wrong with a mare.” Later, I heard a story about Felix, who had upwards of 200 head at one time - what the witness saw was a string of packed horses all nicely lined out kept spilling out of remote big timber side valley, on to the open gravel flat of the Athabasca River valley near Jasper, Alberta. One after the other like sausages linked together in mind, but not body. A dozen or more horses later, out rides Felix, last in line and all alone. Of course, the lead horse was a mare. And that is testament to the value of a good ‘bell’ mare.
First, none of your trail horses, male or female, should have issues like biting, kicking, pulling, bucking, and ‘hard to catch’. Remember that you live with your trail horse daily and you will discover soon enough that you cannot tolerate these issues. They need to be corrected, or you need a different horse. So, the fact that mares may be more prone to some of this poor behavior is, for us, a reasonable point because if it was a mare with perennial bad habits she would be gone, which partly explains why we have more geldings than mares.
The heat period is something else and I have not found the wand that I can wave to get rid of it, but you can be smart enough to know that some mares show it regularly and strongly while others display so little that you literally do not even know it exists. Truly, of the six or seven mares we have on our trail string only a few times a year will someone say, ‘that horse is acting like a mare.” Several mares that we had were indistinguishable from geldings in their behavior. I believe with a mare the idea of you being alpha or dominant is more important than a gelding and once you are they will put a lid on a lot of that liberal behavior.
The intelligence that mares show is linked to not only having to survive as a male, would but also nurturing and protecting foals in a hostile, predatory environment. This awareness and bond with the young can be in your favor if the mare both likes people and is calm and forgiving by nature. Many times, I have seen young horses act foolish, act overly afraid when I go to catch them, wander out of position while on a trail ride, or think of wandering off from camp, only to observe the mare give them the evil eye, or a bite, or some threatening posture, that instantly sets the young horse to better behavior. I truly appreciate this help from a good mare, particularly because if they are good camp horses then all the horses tend to stay close and friendly.
I believe that mares can be particularly good with children as they may be better than some geldings at sensing the innocence of youth. My wife is a female and a teacher and by golly if she was a mare she would be a good one, showing the way with firmness and fairness, although her leg bone is a too light and shoes too thin to be a good trail horse.
So for the record, let it be said that all things being equal I would choose the gelding over a mare, but if I have a good mare I would not part with her for the reasons above. It seems that the constant with us is that of our top five or six horses, two or three are mares.
Stallions on the trail require special consideration. Again and again we are reminded by performance horses and European practice that stallions can make very good or excellent riding horses. Certainly, they have a vitality beyond the gelding. Riding a stallion at home may be a very rewarding experience. Likely the best trained horse I have ever trained was a Morgan stallion whose foundation was the lunge line at a time before round pens were commonplace.
On the trail things are different because it is not about the stallion present, but that because he is a stallion does, he will affect the mares and geldings around him, and their behavior can become more restless and testier, exactly what you do not want on the trail. Also, it seems about once each year or so someone wanders into our camp looking for their horse. First thing I ask is, “Is that horse a stallion?” And often, it is. But it does not just ‘happen’ to be a stallion as that stallion was looking elsewhere for his entertainment and that desire was enough to send him off wandering with his owner at a loss. Not to mention that he likely did find the mares he sought - someone else’s mares.
One more positive for mares is that they can be bred, and the result can be a great trail horse. By a great trail horse, I mean friendly, an even temperament, willing attitude, good bone and foot. And the young horse will keep these qualities, forever, because that mare raises the foal status quo. This is not a hundred percent guarantee, but at least eighty percent. If your mare does not have these qualities a trail horse needs, then don’t breed her!
Well, as I say goodbye I am looking out the window and I see in my herd seven mares, and I must get outside today to trim feet. I know that those mares who stood nicely last year will stand well again this year. No surprise, they have made up their mind about having feet trimmed and that is that. And I am glad for it!

Can you tell which horses in this photo are mares?
Neither can I.
We have had several mares over a 40-year period that did not show their heat period, not that I could notice. A mare that likes people and tends to stay close to camp is a great asset when camped out, she helps keep horses closer. And helps to keep young idiot horses in line when trailing out. Young horses recognize the ‘evil eye’, a snarl, and sharp hooves, as well as we do. At any given time during those years, I would say an average of 2 out of our 5 best trail horses were mares. Again, unless you looked, you would not know they were mares by their behavior.
On the other hand, a sour mare that does not like people, one who goes into heat with a big fuss and stirs up behavior of all your horses, who heads out of camp the moment her pack is off and hobbles on, who hangs on to a bad habit like brown stuff on a horse barn shovel, is not worth having.
Here is the thing. Many trail riders buying a trail horse just do not know and cannot know what the moods and the behavior of that mare will be, and so they use the blanket comment, “I don’t want a mare.” And they should not be blamed for it. If you have a truly good mare, she is an asset to a trail string, if not, well, look for someone who likes mares – they are out there, and for good reason!