Requesting reality check: reasons teen girls like horse-riding

[Hello_Again]

@Sunrazor

. Nobody seems to really have any statistics to prove or disprove that girls prefer to own, ride and care for male horses (most of which are gelded, which puts an interesting twist in the conversation) over female horses.

No great mystery there. In most disciplines, children are not permitted to show stallions. In most states, you have to have special facilities to even keep a stallion on the property.

Like dogs, the majority of male horses are neutered at a young age for the safety of the average handler. Unlike dogs, spaying a mare is a complex and expensive procedure. Therefor, most female horses encountered by the average rider are intact and most male horses are gelded.

I would not say most “young girls” prefer geldings. I would say most people prefer geldings. As intact mares compete for “alpha” status and go into heat several times a year, most recreational riders (men and women) prefer geldings because they are less likely to challenge the authority of the handler. The majority of riding school “lesson horses” are geldings (I would be surprised if you could find a riding school with more than 20% mares in its school string).

As you move out of the beginner ranks you find an increasing preference for mares as the skill of the rider increases – many people think a mare has more “fire” and intelligence in her performance, where a gelding is dependable but dull.

[StGermain]

Sunrazor - Many people prefer geldings because they say that mares act “marey” - touchy, tempermental - like they have PMS. I’ve had both and have never noticed it in my mare, but then, she was a good old girl.

StG

[Ruffian]

My observation of the female fascination with horses isn’t that the equine is some sort of subconscious attraction to an “exaggerated male,” but rather an adopted child and the instinct to nurture it. I know many childless (or empty nest) women with horses, and these equines are their children. Take a look at an equine-themed catalog and note the ridiculous outfits we love to dress our cute little horsies in. Look at the insane minutiae of care you can provide a horse. Look at all the ways we can baby our big babies and ensure they are taken care of.

Then listen to conversations around the barn. If it weren’t for the obsessing over manure, you’d think you were at a Little League game.

I find it odd and questionable that some people suggest there must be a man-rooted reason women like horsies. It’s as though some men are intimidated by a woman’s affection for a horse. Golly, there must be a desire for a penis in there SOMEWHERE! Otherwise, you mean…you mean…they don’t want my penis?

I find it more about being horse “mommies” than anything else.

[Khadaji]

Is it possible that we are overreacting to the question a little? We men, especially as teens, are told so many many stupid things about women. It is unfortunate that we believe them. But hell, we don’t know.

I have heard this girl/horse myth very often.

I think it is good that ignorance is fought, but he may just be badly misinformed and not creepy.

[Swallowed_My_Cellphone]

@Ruffian

My observation of the female fascination with horses isn’t that the equine is some sort of subconscious attraction to an “exaggerated male,” but rather an adopted child and the instinct to nurture it. I know many childless (or empty nest) women with horses, and these equines are their children. Take a look at an equine-themed catalog and note the ridiculous outfits we love to dress our cute little horsies in.

No, no, you’re thinking of chihuahuas.

[Ruffian]

@Swallowed My Cellphone

No, no, you’re thinking of chihuahuas.

Well, yes, it is essentially the same thing…although you can’t quite put a horse in your purse and carry it around in ribbons, bows, and dresses. But I see it as the same sort of root mommy-ing desire manifesting itself in a much larger animal.

Take a look through StateLineTack.com, or SmartPak.com, or DoverSaddlery.com, and you’ll see blankets, boots, hoods, saddle pads, leg wraps, tail wraps, tail bags, (less common) mane bags, fly sheets, fly masks, ear bonnets, shipping boots, and the like all offered in a variety of colors and patterns. When I bought my first horse, people asked what colors she would have. Erm…wha? But apparently, the thing to do in horses is to have one color that your horse wears. This also transcends to supplies. I resisted at first, but confess my Arab’s color is royal blue (halter, lead rope, feed bucket, polo wraps, fly sheet, blanket, saddle pad) and the mini’s is black. You see, those are the colors they look best in. I’m not even a girly-girl, and I’ve fallen into that one.

Some girls go really crazy with their colors, making sure everything matches and braiding the color into the mane and/or tail for shows. But you know, it makes sense–when there are multiple people at a barn, it makes it easier when you come across a stray bucket or whatnot. “Ah, royal blue…this is Ferrana’s.”

We like to dress up our horsies in cutesy little clothes.

[Sunrazor]

Yes, I know all about why horses are gelded. Grandad explained it to me when I was five, about the time he taught me to ride. The only stallion he ever owned was a palomino named Togo, and he always said Togo was a helluvalot more trouble than his other horses, but worth every bit of it because he was the only horse he could work bulls with.

I’ve gotten two schools of thought from barrel racers concerning the sex of their horses. Some prefer mares because the women believe they’re more nimble and less apt to drift too far outside the barrel on approach. Other barrel racers perfer big geldings because of their incredible power in the home stretch. Men who train horses tell me it has everything to do with the build, agility and intelligence of the individual horse, and gender has nothing to do with it.

I have two nieces who ride gymkhana competitions; one prefers geldings because, as **StGermain ** said, she’s among those who believe they’re less temperamental. The other prefers mares because she believes they’re more intelligent. Both girls have a dresser-drawer full of belt buckles from their competitions, so I’m thinking it’s all a matter of personal preference.

I tend to agree with Ruffian, except that the fascination with horses is so widespread (maybe it seems that way to me because of where I grew up and still live); if it really was a mommy/nurturing thing, why wouldn’t there be an equal number of girls fascinated with dogs, cats, birds, etc.?

One other thing I forgot about while posting earlier: The romance that a horse represents. Maybe this is the girl-horse connection. Teen-age girls are awash in a culture focused on romance, and not all of that is sexual, though it’s certainly gender-based. Their fascinations with teen-age boys, exotic places, romantic fiction, fashion and so on are all symptoms of the obsession with romance. Perhaps the horse is a romantic figure, rather than a sexual symbol – the girl identifies with the horse in a way a boy doesn’t.

[Spoke]

Comedian Pam Stone used to have a routine about the sexual joy derived from horseback riding. But judging from her description, the thrill came more from the sensation of having a powerful, muscular presence between her legs rather than from direct physical stimulation of the girly parts.

[Freudian_Slit]

@KGS

The horse = sex idea was first put forward in The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris. Unfortunately I don’t have the book handy so I have to paraphrase from memory:

• Boys & girls are equally interested in horses until puberty, when girls suddenly become much more interested in horseback riding, at a ratio of three to one over boys.

• Girls are more likely to be terrified of snakes & big hairy spiders, because hairy spiders remind them of pubic hair (fear of the onset of womanhood) and snakes, naturally, remind them of a big scary penis.

I’ve heard it, too.

And I’ve read Naked Ape. I have the book, but at home. When I get back home, I’ll take a look at that section. I remember he also said that very young children liked big animals but slightly older kids started liking the smaller cute animals (like bush babies, apparently) because they’re closer to being parents. I’m not sure how true any of this is, but he definitely had quite the imagination, didn’t he?

[Swallowed_My_Cellphone]

@Ruffian

Well, yes, it is essentially the same thing…although you can’t quite put a horse in your purse and carry it around in ribbons, bows, and dresses. But I see it as the same sort of root mommy-ing desire manifesting itself in a much larger animal.

My fiancee thinks your post is a hoot, because she definitely, definitely disagrees with you. She never had any interest in playing dolls with a horse. It was all about how well you could ride, and whether you could get this other being to defer to your wishes and jump over stuff when it didn’t particularly want to. She said, like the rush of downhill skiing, riding at a full gallop was awesome and quite a power high.

[Ruffian]

@Swallowed My Cellphone

My fiancee thinks your post is a hoot, because she definitely, definitely disagrees with you. She never had any interest in playing dolls with a horse. It was all about how well you could ride, and whether you could get this other being to defer to your wishes and jump over stuff when it didn’t particularly want to. She said, like the rush of downhill skiing, riding at a full gallop was awesome and quite a power high.

And I definitely, definitely agree with her. The synergy between my mare and me, the physical workout itself, perfecting (well, improving) my riding, improving my mare as an athlete–that’s what I love. Of course, I also love grooming, turning out, and even mucking…horses are my therapy and my retreat.

And I, too, never had interest in playing dolls with a horse (bleh). I am NOT a doll-playing kind of girl, and never was. I never braided ribbons or flowers into their manes and tails, and never was into “dressing them” them in the SmartPink patterns or whatever else is “in” in equine fashion. I do have certain colors for my horses, but I don’t take it to the degree I see others doing. (Lime green is big right now.)

But, that said…now that I am a mother, I see a lot of parallels of behavior in the horse and parenting world. Those parallels are what I was attempting to convey, however poorly. It isn’t just dress-me-up pony, it’s the fawning over them and what not.

It’s just one aspect, though; Sunrazor brings up others that are pretty accurate too, I believe.

[Swallowed_My_Cellphone]

I think my girlfriend likes the “partnership” aspect as well. Both she and my sister have said that some of their favourite “athletic moments” were memories from rowing, particularly when they were double sculls (not necessarily rowing with each other) and they ended up perfectly synchronized with their rowing partners so everything was in perfect rhythm, timing, etc.

[AskNott]

I’m not a horse-savvy guy. About once a year, a stranger will hear my greeting of “howdy,” and mistake me for a cowboy. I don’t encourage that; I don’t claim to be anything I’m not. Not since that owl-trainer thing.

I’ve read the girl-horse-sex theory before, but I didn’t believe it. I know a few randy horsemen, and they would have talked about it, if true. The theory I do sorta believe is about control. A young girl, the theory says, has been powerless most of her life, until she learned how to ride a horse. She can make a massive animal do what she wants. She never could control the second largest animal in her life (Daddy,) so it opens up a new chapter.

[samm]

I love my horses but have never found them sexy and never gotten a charge out of controlling them either. That seems weird. So do teenage boys love riding motorcycles because they can control them when they can’t control their mother? Doesn’t that seem like an odd statement?

[Argent_Towers]

@Der Trihs

The way I’ve heard it claimed, is that girls are naturally drawn to something that’s larger, stronger, and hairier than they are, those being male quantities; in essence, that horses are exaggeratedly male in some ways. Just as big eyed round headed animals look cute to humans because they look babyish.

Someone might be able to make a lot of money opening up a gorilla stable and teaching ape-handling lessons to girls.

[MaddyStrut]

I have to add to the chorus of female riders who say there’s nothing sexual about riding.

Recently, my riding instructor and I were discussing why the sport has so many girls compared to boys. We were particularly wondering why more boys don’t keep up with riding. After all, riding is a lot of fun, but many boys start only to give it up when they reach early adolescence.

She mentioned that back when she started riding as a girl (late 1950’s) many girls took up riding for the athletic activity and competition. There weren’t as many athletic options for girls back then, so many flocked to riding.

As more female riders become successful at the highest levels, more were encouraged to start up until, at some point, riding (particularly the English disciplines) became considered a “girlie” activity.

These days, many girls ride because a lot of other girls ride, and you see marketers appealing to their female base with the dress up clothes, etc. that Ruffian described. At the same time, fewer boys ride because there aren’t as many boy riders and riding is now considered “girlie” (though it hasn’t always been so). Kind of self perpetuating.

[Hello_Again]

@MaddyStrut

I have to add to the chorus of female riders who say there’s nothing sexual about riding.

Recently, my riding instructor and I were discussing why the sport has so many girls compared to boys. We were particularly wondering why more boys don’t keep up with riding. After all, riding is a lot of fun, but many boys start only to give it up when they reach early adolescence.

We talk about this periodically on a horse-related message board I belong to. One thing that emerged from the discussion is that boys appear resistant to sports where there is subjectivity in the judging. In areas of horse sport where “winning” is objectively measured (such as jumpers, barrel racing and polo) quite a lot of men participate. In contrast, in horse sport where winning is subjectively measured by expert judges, such as dressage, hunters, and western pleasure, there are few men.

Now we were not sure WHY this is so but it seems to parallel other sports where “form” is judged subjectively, such as ice skating, and gymnastics. Sure they have their male participants but women are the large majority.

[Der_Trihs]

@Ruffian

My observation of the female fascination with horses isn’t that the equine is some sort of subconscious attraction to an “exaggerated male,” but rather an adopted child and the instinct to nurture it. I know many childless (or empty nest) women with horses, and these equines are their children.

< snip >

I find it odd and questionable that some people suggest there must be a man-rooted reason women like horsies. It’s as though some men are intimidated by a woman’s affection for a horse. Golly, there must be a desire for a penis in there SOMEWHERE! Otherwise, you mean…you mean…they don’t want my penis?

I find it more about being horse “mommies” than anything else.

But as pointed out, far fewer women than girls have that level of interest in horses. Perhaps that’s because women and girls tend to have different reasons.

[MaddyStrut]

@Der Trihs

But as pointed out, far fewer women than girls have that level of interest in horses. Perhaps that’s because women and girls tend to have different reasons.

I’m not sure what you mean by “that level” of interest. Do you mean far fewer women than girls are seriously into horses? If so, I’m not sure that’s true. It’s not for serious competitors.

Most equestrian competitors are members of the USEF, and they report that their average member is approximately 40 years old and over 75% are female.

USEF link (warning pdf)

[fisha]

@Der Trihs

But as pointed out, far fewer women than girls have that level of interest in horses. Perhaps that’s because women and girls tend to have different reasons.

As a former horsewoman (Is there actually such a thing?!) I know for me personally it was more a problem with time. With running a business, 5 kids, volunteering, chores, etc, it’s a matter of having enough time. Girls have a lot more free time to devote themselves to horsing.

It was a hard day when I sold my last horse about 2 years ago, my favorite mare, the one who I’d had for about 13 years. But I never had time for her.

Maybe again someday.

As to the OP, no, nothing sexual about riding. And I can find something sexual in just about anything. Although it does make for some strong thigh muscles that can be applied in different situations…