Developing the Stallion - From Colt to Stud

[Preposterous_Ponies]

It’s a (pipe) dream of mine to one day have a TB sport stallion - I think we are seriously lacking in that department, especially in my area. I have an exceptionally well bred, highly athletic mare who I hope will produce such a colt after she is finished competing.

But I digress; I would love to hear your experiences with bringing up the stallion. Everything from birth, to competing, to marketing and management. I don’t have a specific question, I just want to see what different people have done.

So stallion owners, tell me about your journey!

[EllenAspen]

We bred a colt and took him to stud. It was/is A LOT of work and money. But, we have enjoyed it. He is now 7 and his first get are yearlings. The first video is a little story of him coming up as a colt to doing the baby greens. The second is of him winning the National Hunter Derby in Lexington last weekend. The photo is of his two yearling sons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02cNTpT7J8g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kog6YW60t1U

I don’t know that I would do it again. If I were to have another stallion…I think I’d buy a grown horse with all the approvals. It is a very long journey.

[camohn]

Our first stallion was a TB. We did cross list with APHA, AQHA and started the WB inspection road as the problem with breeding TB mares is needing the live cover help. Things were quiet for the at home mares he knew, more hairy with outside mares. So… How and where would you stand him? Around 3 to 4 can be interesting. Our first stallion 2 to 3 were the testosterone years, his son it hit at 4. My first laid back stallion had a gelding buddy. His son the current one is more studdish and quit tolerating other males in his space at 3, is out with a 20 something barren mare for company.

[Fred]

OP, I would be happy to share my experiences with you.
If you would like, please contact me on FB, through A Fine Romance’s page.

[Preposterous_Ponies]

Thanks for sharing guys! I appreciate it.

Did you go into it planning on having a breeding stallion, or did the right colt just come along? Did you know right away that the colt was stallion material and if not, what age did you decide?

I do have extensive experience handling race colts, but nothing that had been bred yet.

[camohn]

I was shopping for a stallion prospect the first time, had to buy young on my budget. Expenses on installment plan…

[EllenAspen]

[QUOTE=Preposterous Ponies!;7733875]
Thanks for sharing guys! I appreciate it.

Did you go into it planning on having a breeding stallion, or did the right colt just come along? Did you know right away that the colt was stallion material and if not, what age did you decide?

I do have extensive experience handling race colts, but nothing that had been bred yet.[/QUOTE]

We did not go into it planning on breeding a stallion prospect. But, when he came out…he was so correct…and his Dad is the famous Hunter Hall of Fame stallion, All the Gold…his Mom was a beautiful hunter type. We decided not to geld him and see how it went as he developed.

[crosscreeksh]

IMO…you firstly have to let him grow up to be a horse!! Don’t raise him in isolation and a padded, rubber room. Let him learn to respect other horses/people and learn manners. “Dings” will heal, but bad manners only get worse. Our current TB stallion was bought as a three year old…off the track, he bit like an alligator!! We cured THAT vice with patience and discipline. He is now “almost” 100% trustworthy to not even try to nip. He was introduced to “Dandy the Ghetto Pony” after the first 3-4 months living here and loves/respects him. We removed Dandy from his pasture last year and pasture bred him to three mares, one at a time. All produced foals and no one was dented or even scratched. When the breeding season was over, Dandy came back to live without issue. We did the same procedure this year with no issues. (We are breeding 1/2 of the mares each year and not breeding the mares with foals.) The stallion is brought in the barn for overnight in the colder weather and in the days in the hot weather and is in a 12 stall center aisle barn with geldings - with a half door screen at the door. No screaming, biting, bad manners. With valuable stallions there is a great temptation to bubble wrap them, but they do need to learn the basic manners of life. JMO.