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{{short description|Female horse}}
{{other uses|Mare (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Mares}}
{{Refimprove|date=May 2009}}

[[Image:Lovely Little Girl.jpg|thumb|A broodmare. Note slight distension of belly, indicating either early pregnancy or recent foaling.]]

A '''mare''' is an adult [[female]] [[horse]] or other [[equidae|equine]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/mare_1?view=uk|title=Oxford Dictionaries {{!}} The World's Most Trustegd Dictionary Provider|website=Oxford Dictionaries|access-date=2017-11-12|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929213924/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/mare_1?view=uk|archive-date=2007-09-29}}</ref> In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a [[filly]] is a female horse three and younger. In [[Thoroughbred]] [[horse racing]], a '''mare''' is defined as a female [[horse]] more than four years old. The word can also be used for other female [[equine]] animals, particularly [[mule]]s and [[zebra]]s, but a female [[donkey]] is usually called a "jenny". A '''broodmare''' is a mare used for breeding. A horse's female parent is known as its '''dam'''.

==Reproductive cycle==
[[Image:Poulain ardennais 02.jpg|thumb|A nursing foal. Domesticated mares may nurse their foals an average of four to six months, occasionally longer, depending on human management decisions and the temperament of a given mare.]]
[[File:The_anatomy_of_the_horse_-_a_dissection_guide_(1922)_(18008737319).jpg|thumb|Reproductive organs of the mare. (superior view)]]
{{main|Horse breeding|Equine anatomy#Mare}}
Mares carry their young (called [[foal]]s) for approximately 11 months from conception to birth. (Average range 320–370 days.)<ref name=HandH156>Ensminger, M. E. ''Horses and Horsemanship: Animal Agriculture Series.'' Sixth Edition. Interstate Publishers, 1990. {{ISBN|0-8134-2883-1}} p. 156</ref> Usually just one young is born; twins are rare. When a [[domestication|domesticated]] mare foals, she nurses the foal for at least four to six months before it is [[weaning|weaned]], though [[wild horse|mares in the wild]] may allow a foal to nurse for up to a year.

The [[estrous cycle]], also known as "season" or "heat" of a mare occurs roughly every 19–22 days and occurs from early spring into autumn. As the days shorten, most mares enter an ''anestrus'' period during the winter and thus do not cycle in this period. The reproductive cycle in a mare is controlled by the [[photoperiod]] (length of the day), the cycle first triggered when the days begin to lengthen. As the days shorten, the mare returns to the anestrus period when she is not sexually receptive. Anestrus prevents the mare from conceiving in the winter months, as that would result in her foaling during the harshest part of the year, a time when it would be most difficult for the foal to survive.<ref name=HandH150>Ensminger, M. E. ''Horses and Horsemanship: Animal Agriculture Series.'' Sixth Edition. Interstate Publishers, 1990. {{ISBN|0-8134-2883-1}} p. 150</ref>

However, for most competitive purposes, foals are given an official "birthday" of January 1 (August 1 in the [[Southern hemisphere]]), and many breeders want foals to be born as early in the year as possible. Therefore, many breeding farms begin to put mares "under lights" in late winter in order to bring them out of anestrus early and allow conception to occur in February or March. One exception to this general rule is the field of [[endurance riding]], which requires horses to be 60 true calendar months old (5 years) before competing at longer distances.

Fillies are [[sexually mature]] by age two and are sometimes bred at that age, but generally should not be bred until they have stopped growing, usually by age four or five.<ref name=HandH149>Ensminger, M. E. ''Horses and Horsemanship: Animal Agriculture Series.'' Sixth Edition. Interstate Publishers, 1990. {{ISBN|0-8134-2883-1}} p. 149-150</ref>

A healthy, well-managed mare can produce a foal every year into her twenties, though not all breeders will breed a mare every year. In addition, many mares are kept for riding and so are not bred annually, as a mare in late [[pregnancy]] or nursing a foal is not able to perform at as athletic a standard as one who is neither pregnant nor [[lactation|lactating]]. In addition, some mares become [[separation anxiety|anxious when separated]] from their foals, even temporarily, and thus are difficult to manage under saddle until their foals are [[weaning|weaned]].
[[File:The new book of the horse (Pl. 27) (8536503249).jpg|thumb|Illustration of a cross-section of the birth process, though the foal in the womb has a leg back, illustrating a problem delivery]]

==Behavior==
{{see also|horse behavior}}
Mares are considered easier to handle than [[Stallion (horse)|stallion]]s. However, [[gelding]]s have little to no hormone-driven behavior patterns at all, thus sometimes they are preferred to both mares and stallions. Mares have a notorious, if generally undeserved, reputation for being "marish", meaning that they can be cranky or unwilling when they come into [[estrous|season]].{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

While a few mares may be somewhat more distractible or irritable when in heat, they are far less easily distracted than a stallion at any time. Solid training usually minimizes hormonal behavior. For competitive purposes, mares are sometimes placed on [[hormone therapy|hormone therapies]], such as the drug Regumate, to help control hormonally based behavior. Some riders also use various [[herbal remedies]], most of which have not been extensively tested for effectiveness.

In relation to maternal behaviour, the formation of the bond between a mare and her foal "occurs during the first few hours post-partum, but that of the foal to the mare takes place over a period of days".<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1016/S0168-1591(02)00111-9 | volume=78 | title=Formation and dissolution of the mare–foal bond | journal=Applied Animal Behaviour Science | year=2002 | pages=319–328| last1=Houpt | first1=Katherine Albro | issue=2–4 }}</ref>

Mares and geldings can be pastured together. However, mares may be a bit more territorial than geldings, even though they are far less territorial than stallions. Sex-segregating herds may make for less infighting, especially if kept in close quarters. However, studies also have shown that when a "lead mare" or "boss mare" is in charge of a herd, all remaining animals rest for longer periods and seem more at ease than do those in herds led by a gelding.

In wild herds, a "boss mare" or "lead mare" leads the band to grazing, to water, and away from danger. She eats and drinks first, decides when the herd will move and to where. The herd stallion usually brings up the rear and acts as a defender of the herd against predators and other stallions.

==Uses==
[[File:Zenyatta2009LadySecret.jpg|thumb|Mares can be used in any equestrian sport and have competed successfully against males. [[Zenyatta]], winner of the 2009 [[Breeders' Cup Classic]], racing in the [[Lady's Secret Stakes]].]]
Mares are used in every [[Equestrianism|equestrian sport]] and usually compete equally with stallions and geldings in most events, though some competitions may offer classes open only to one sex of horse or another, particularly in [[halter (horse show)|breeding or "in-hand" conformation]] classes. In [[horse racing]], mares and fillies have their own races and only a small percentage compete against male horses. However, a few fillies and mares have won classic horse races against colts, including the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the [[Kentucky Derby]], the [[Preakness Stakes]], the [[Belmont Stakes]], the [[Melbourne Cup]] and the [[Breeders' Cup Classic]].

Mares are used as [[dairy]] animals in some cultures, especially by the [[nomads]] and formerly nomadic peoples of [[Central Asia]]. Fermented [[mare's milk]], known as [[kumis]], is the national drink of [[Kyrgyzstan]]. Some mares, usually of [[draft horse]] breeding, are kept in North America for the production of their urine. Pregnant mares' urine is the source of the [[active ingredient]] in the hormonal drug [[Premarin]] (derived from '''Pre'''gnant '''ma'''res' u'''rin'''e).

Until the invention of [[castration]], and even later where there was less cultural acceptance of castration, mares were less difficult to manage than stallions and thus preferred for most ordinary work. Historically, the [[Bedouin]] nomads of the [[Arabian peninsula]] preferred mares on their raids, because stallions would nicker to the opposing camps' horses, whereas mares would be quiet. However, other cultures preferred male horses over mares either due to a desire for more aggressive behavior in a fighting animal, or to not be inconvenienced with a loss of work ability due to a mare's pregnancy, [[parturition]] and [[lactation]].

==Etymology==
The word ''mare'', meaning "female horse", took several forms before A.D. 900.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mare |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-09-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905020936/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Mare |archive-date=2009-09-05 }} Multiple definitions of Mare and its etymological origins. Web site accessed September 30, 2009</ref> In [[Old English]] the form was ''mīere'', ''mere'' or ''mȳre'', the [[gender (language)|feminine forms]] for ''mearh'' (horse). The [[Old German]] form of the word was ''Mähre''.<ref name="Etymonline"/> Similarly, in [[Irish language|Irish]] and [[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]], the word was ''marc'', in [[Welsh language|Welsh]], ''march'', in Cornish "margh", and in [[Breton language|Breton]] ''marc'h''.<ref name="Etymonline"/> The word is "said to be of Gaulish origin."<ref name="Etymonline"/> It is said by some writers to derive from [[Proto-Germanic]] *''marhijō'' (“female horse”), from Proto-Germanic ''marhaz'' ("horse"), from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] *''markos'' ("horse").<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BoEUAQAAIAAJ&q=miere+marhaz+markos&pg=PA380|title=Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch|first=Jan de|last=Vries|date=April 28, 1977|publisher=E.J. Brill|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=The resistance of Latin equa 'mare' to replacement|author=Brewer, Warren A.|year=1984|journal=Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung|volume=97|issue=2|pages=236–243|jstor = 40848753}}</ref> The word has no known [[cognates]] beyond [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] and [[Celtic languages|Celtic]].<ref name="Etymonline"/>
However, an interesting hypothesis links these Indo-European words to Mongolian морь
<ref name="mori">[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8C Wiktionary entry for Mongolian морь (mori, horse)]</ref> (mori, horse).
<ref name="OfHorseRiding">Article [https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=42523 "Of horse riding and Old Sinitic reconstructions"] on Language Log at the University of Pennsylvania.</ref>
<ref name="MareMaEtc">Article [https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=44986 "Mare, mǎ, etc."] on Language Log at the University of Pennsylvania.</ref>
In addition, the Wiktionary entry for морь <ref name="mori"/> includes a comparison to possibly related words for horse in Korean, Manchu, Chinese (馬/马 mǎ), Japanese (うま uma), and others.
One possible derived term is a ''mare's nest'', an expression for "excitement over something which does not exist".<ref name="Etymonline">[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=mare&searchmode=none Etymology OnLine] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214140950/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=mare&searchmode=none |date=2007-12-14 }}, accessed November 25, 2007</ref>
The term ''[[nightmare]]'', is not directly connected etymologically with the word for female horse, but rather to [[homophone]]s that meant "incubus" or "goblin".<ref name="Etymonline"/>

==See also==
*[[Horse breeding]]
*[[Stallion]]
*[[Gelding]]
*[[Filly]]
*[[Foal]]
*[[Colt (horse)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Types of horse]]
[[Category:Horse breeding and studs]]
[[Category:Female horses]]

Mare - Revision history

WikiDwarf at 14:07, 11 December 2021