At 09:30:41 on 11.01.10, Mouse wrote:
Why does every one else think that first as kids and then as adults women are more attracted to horses than men are? I work with men in the Army with horses (Household Cavalry Moutnted Regiment), only men are allowed in the regiment (apart from in the band). Some of the lads join to go to the armoured side & end up on horses, but many of them do join for the mounted side. They work hard but some of them lack the empathy that a woman would show to horses, especially when they are tired! Interesting that at the high level competition the industry is dominated by men, but at the lower levels the men a scarce in comparison to women. Why?

At 10:16:35 on 11.01.10, plodalong wrote:
could it be that at high levels men can afford to pay females to do all the work and they can then just ride and compete,Can i join the cavalry and ride the big drum horse Sparticus? just once, where is the fairy when you want her.lol.

At 13:53:04 on 11.01.10, RRomashka wrote:
Men like to keep everything in total contol. So, it is often difficult for them to trust the animal. As one of my male friend commented: "I can't just ride a wild animal, without even knowing what's in its mind. It's very dangerous, you know.".

At 22:06:04 on 11.01.10, NMH wrote:
It varies in different countries think, in Spain more men ride. In the past anyway, the % of men in the hunting field was always higher than in, say, RCs, PCs. Horses are girls' Porsches!! Seriously, empathy is important for females, & riding has a lot of opportunities for that. Men hate brushing ! Boys at PC mostly leave their ponies filthy!

At 22:30:13 on 11.01.10, Em28 wrote:
If you look back in history when horses were used for transport it is men associated with horses mainly. I guess the women were assigned to the home and too busy having large families. I was watching the higlights from Olympia on Horse and Country the other night and it's interesting how the showjumping was so male dominated still. I guess that's how it is with most things men still dominate at higher levels! Females are generally more in touch with their emotions and have better social skills (or at least they develop these skills earlier than males), maybe this means they are able to form deeper attachments to horses. Also, horse riding is not generally considered a popular sport amongst young men, more like speedway or football.

At 05:51:09 on 12.01.10, FIGJAM wrote:
I'm sure all the prior sentiments are valid, however, as a male it is my humble opinion that "the mechanics" associated with riding a horse, provide certain "physical enjoyment" for females due to anatomical differences between males and females. PS: I certainly did not post this to be rude - it's purely my male perspective.

At 08:24:02 on 13.01.10, Flicka wrote:
Ha ha- I think that it a bit of a myth-but it's a nice thought-I'd be riding all day!! Most blokes I have ever spoken to say that they don't like the thought of sitting on something that has a mind of its own-which is quite understandable LOL! However both my husband and my brother in law ride but one hunts and the other trains his horse to point to point so they're not happy hackers. Saying that I don't think there is any difference between the affection that my husband has for his horses than I do and he talks about them all the time!!! He never tries to dominate his horses either and definitely has less ego or a temper than I do!!

At 00:42:10 on 14.01.10, kdestiny wrote:
Re: Mouse's question...Maybe there are less women in the higher level positions due to the women dropping out mostly due to them having children, whereas men can continue on with training for longer.

At 00:29:20 on 15.01.10, BobbyJoe wrote:
Hello all, Well.... this POV is coming to you from Canada. So, based on what I see here in Alberta, I can say the following: There are definately more women riders, than men. Women in general own more horses than men do. The boarding stables here are filled to the brim with women. Men don't generally have to board their horse as they are landowners and thus have the capability of keeping their horses with them. But why do more women ride than men? Hmmmm.... horses provide an emotional support/acceptance. Women seem to need that. Horses help women feel perhaps a sense of power & achievement when they work with their horses. Men seem to ride more purposefully, ie to bring in the cattle, do a salt run, compete etc. I think that women really enjoy having a close relationship with a large animal more than men do?

At 00:31:20 on 15.01.10, BobbyJoe wrote:
A giggle on Figjam's comments..... Well, if you have a horse with the proper whither,are seated in the sweet spot... the mechanics riding bareback "could" come into play I suppose. LOL Too funny!