Don't know about the actual percentage numbers. But keeping a horse is an expensive proposition. Most cowboys and rodeo riders are men. So when it's about work, more men are involved. Also, Olympic contestants are mostly men.
And, also, I would think because of costs, more riders would be men. I don't know independently wealthy women who keep horses.
However, SHOW riders are almost exclusively women: Equitation contestants.
Personally, I find horses one of the most interesting and beautiful animals. They are giant and strong and yet they ALLOW us to ride them. They could kick the shit out of us, throw us off or trample us, but 99% of the time they don't.
On the flip side, we take them to places they'd never go without us, so it's sort of a symbiotic relationship.
They work WITH us and allow us to play with them. And their noses are so soft. They often have interesting personalities. Beware of "biters!"
There's a stable a short distance from my house in a city park. I sometimes go there and walk by the stalled horses. I love the ones that allow you to pet them.
And I bet it has something to do with your family history. If you were raised in a family that had horses, or encouraged riding, you'd be apt to take it up too.
My faves are the giant draught horses: Percherons, Clydesdales. No. 1, they are so impressive, and again, it seems they are incredibly kind and gentle, and those feathery leg hairs!!! Love seeing them. They come every year to New Orleans for the Mardi Gras parades and they're housed at the police stables and they have petting open houses: meet and greet the horses! Great stuff.
They are excellent around crowds. Police and parade horses are amazing too. Our sheriff's offices and police offices always have horses for crowd control. But again, the animals are calm and sturdy. Very impressive. Most of the crowd control officers are men.
So maybe the difference is precisely "Work" vs. "Pleasure" riders. More males on work horses, more women on pleasure horses.
In the western states, where you have nearly all of the cattle ranches, horse riding is mostly male and much more "blue collar" - men who work for a living. These guys spend far more time on horses than in vehicles. You don't hear about them much because they rarely leave the ranch, because a ranch is 7 days a week.
On the coasts, horse riding is a wealthy person's hobby and is primarily a female activity. The horses are high-end and expensive, and there are probably 2 full-time employees per horse to train and maintain them, so you can see why it's primarily for the rich (only a very small number of people are "working riders" in these areas who do all their own work with the horses).
The wealthy want their horses ready for their rides in the same way they want their planes ready for their trips. They make a phone call and then show up at the stable an hour later and jump on their saddled horse. When they are done riding, they climb off the horse and get back in the car and leave, while other people take care of the horse for the next week or 5.
It seems so. Lots of women like it. They get to control a powerful beast. However, Texas and the West has a lot of male riders as it is part of the regional identity. Western Canada too.
Horses have a strong allure for many people in the U. S., and the passion for horseback riding isn't limited to any gender. While historically, more women in the U. S. tend to ride horses recreationally, especially in disciplines like dressage or eventing, many men participate in Western-style riding, such as rodeos and ranch work. Ultimately, it's all about personal interest, so anyone can enjoy the hobby! 🐎
Females Love horses the ones that are more athletic of course and they actually have said that it gives them a sensation when actually riding on the saddle if you know what I mean. I like horseback riding we used to have horses at the family campground. I would go there every summer and I would get my horse and fly down that dirt road real fast at super high speeds Galloping and I handled it very well even as a kid they were well looked after Fed well and had plenty of water and groomed they had good Saddles to and none of my horses were skinny.
The YMCA would come out and the kids were so scared. We had to take everybody in the family and the hired hand and work with them. The kids had the horses all over the place they were afraid To fall off, and they couldn’t control the horses. The horses controlled them. You have to show the horses who is in charge. The horse can sense fear and the lack of a control and the horses will end up controlling you if you’re not careful. and they refused to go out on the trail they just stay there at the corral. but the whole thing was so funny like a comedy skit in a movie.
Yes and it was so funny. The kids are screaming and yelled. out loud they had no experience. they had no idea what they were doing. The horses had enough experience, but I don’t think they really like the kids and they didn’t respect them so they wouldn’t budge for them. You have to remember these are rent a horses for 2 1/2 months for us because we all lived in Miami Florida. My dad was an airline pilot flying and this is our family Campground up in Asheville, North Carolina. I would go up through every summer. We had a blast.
I would say it's true that more women participate in horseback riding as a hobby, but more men participate professionally.
That's not to say there aren't professional female riders, but it's mostly men that ride professionally. I grew up going to rodeos, and hanging around horses, cowboys, etc, and there were definitely more men.
In the U. S., horses are stereotyped as ‘girly’—think tween girls and The Saddle Club—but the reality? Ranch work, rodeos, and elite show jumping are packed with men. It’s less about gender and more about culture:
‘Girly’ rep: Pony camps, dressage, and Heartland reruns. Dude domains: Cutting horses, polo, and Kentucky Derby jockeys (where 90% are male). Verdict? Horses don’t care about your gender—just who can stay in the saddle.
I used to ride but felt it's not my place to force an animal to carry my arse around like I'm privileged.
It is especially female dominated because it gives the illusipn 9f power over a sentient being that doesn't complain and is powerful yet needs little reciprocation of care from humans. Women like that power and seek to carry that on in other parts of their lives.
Horses are a guy and girl hobby here. Most people who ride horses in the US ride Western style. Some do cow roping and barrel racing. Most are not real cowboys but they have the hat and boots, but no cows. Very few ride English style, with the silly pants, boots, velvet jacket, helmet, etc. and most of them are girls.
When American men want something powerful between their legs, they buy a motorcycle. When American women want something powerful between their legs, they go horseback riding or put an ad on Black People Meet.
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