Your answer to the question about the fellow with the peculiar method of “dominating stallions” (December 2003, www.TheHorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?id=4749) led to a very long discussion where I work. We all agreed that the guy’s method sounded weird and disgusting. But then our discussion drifted into a little war of the sexes. We got into a horsemanship version of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. We wondered if anyone has ever taken seriously how differently men and women act around horses, and maybe even how they think about horses. We actually broke into a comedy routine, with our one guy and many girls making fun of each other. She says, “You guys gotta let him know who’s boss.” He says, “You girls drive us crazy with the ‘good girl, honey bunch, click, click, come on and follow the target into the trailer.’ ” She comes back mocking him, “You just better get your butt in that trailer right now, or I’ll beat your @&^%$&!”

We wanted to know your opinion on gender differences in horse handling and training. And if you know, has the topic of how men and women handle horses been studied? If it hasn’t, maybe it should be.        Six Barn Girls and One Barn Guy

Long before Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, horse behaviorists and other species animal behaviorists–just like everyone else–talked (at least among themselves) about gender differences in their interactions with horses. In fact, be