"You can tell a gelding, ask a mare, but you must discuss it with a Stallion" - Anonymous

Someone once said to me that you could tell a gelding what to do, but with a mare it must be a compromise. I also agree with the title quote. It is true, you do have to ask a mare. Many people avoid mares like the plague, generally because they are considered to be too temperamental. Yes, they can be, but there's no sense in putting aside a good horse if you can find a way to make things work. 

I have often found that my beautiful adopted mare, Tara, requires a compromise. Sometimes she does throw a minor temper tantrum when I try to get her to do something she doesn't like, but the worst she does is hop up and down on the spot or get really strong. She is never nasty but she can wind herself up. You see, Tara likes to go fast. If its not cantering, galloping or jumping, its dead boring. Why trot nicely when you can canter everywhere? I have to say trotting round and round in circles in a school is not always my idea of fun either but sometimes it is necessary! 

Some would say I let Tara get away with things, due to the way I ride her. Perhaps I do, but it's what works for us. Where jumping is concerned, she is strong. Sometimes I lose trot. I can ask for it, which doesn't mean I'll get it, but I'll be given the most beautiful collected canter to compensate. There are days where I just have to say "Okay, well at least you slowed down and if I keep this pace eventually you'll get there when you are ready." However, there are times when she seems to understand me when I say "No, I really mean it, we're going to get into trouble if you don't listen," providing I don't panic and I do it gently. At one show we stumbled after a fence and ended up with a disunited canter. After a small strop, she did listen, broke into trot and immediately hopped back into canter to fix the problem. She knew her job and she let me have my way on that one! 

I must admit, sometimes its nice to ride a horse who is as bonkers as you are and knows her own mind. These days I get told off by her when if I turn up at Tye Lane in the morning and don't do anything with her until the afternoon! I definitely think it works when we compromise! :) 

Photo by LRG Photography