I’m a importing a 2.5 year old stallion. He still acts like a gelding. I don’t plan on offering him at stud early in his sport career. Unfortunately, to be imported, he must cover 2 mares to prove he does not pass on CEM. What did you guys notice changes after your youngster first covered? Any chance, he’ll retain his current outlook on life where he can walk right by a mare with out a look or a peep?
No, not with the 2 I have owned
I don’t breed my stallions at a very young age because I don’t make ‘that’ decision until I have them under saddle and then know for sure if I really want to breed them (trainability, rideability, disposition); but, for those I’ve kept intact and bred on, none have changed with respect to their demeanor or handling ability…('cause if they had they would have been gelded).
I don’t know how breeding the two mares in quarantine will affect a youngster, but I do think training and being fair with them is what determines their behavior. We have raised a few young stallions and it seems like the first few covers will get them a little wound up. But, if you make a certain routine for breeding, like a “special” halter, always breed in the same area, etc, they figure it out pretty quickly. We also don’t segregate our boys. They can see and smell mares (and foals) year around so learn quickly that a mare in season doesn’t always mean breeding. We have not had a “rank” stallion yet and we do live cover.
Nope, no issues here either.
I know some that were mellow sweethearts before importation, and pretty much the same way after their live cover experiences in quarantine.
I know of others that found the live cover experiences pretty exciting, and were/are a bit more of a handful. A couple of them ended up being gelded because they were too much for their owners to deal with.
IIRC, Ravel was imported as a stallion, but gelded after he came out of quarantine because he was so randy all the time. I believe it was Steffen Peters who commented that Ravel tried to mount a wheelbarrow in the barn aisle - LOL! But he was a mature stallion when imported, and had bred in Europe - not the same as a 2-1/2 y/o.
Nope, no issues with mine - he figured it out pretty quick what was breeding time and what was not. But I’ve always treated my horses as Patty (NoDQ) has.
It’s been over 10 years since the last time I imported/exported a colt but at the time we there was no requirement for import that they have to cover any mares. I am talking about Thoroughbreds which are shipped around the world on a regular bases. Racehorses are bought all the time in Europe to race here and they are not require to cover mares to be imported.
So I am curious what breed and is this breed specific? Is he coming from a country that has a problem with CEM? Is this a USDA requirement or the exporting country? Does your “paper work” list him as a breeding stallion? This may have repercussions and add tests and paper work. At 2 ½ he is just a “colt” and has not been used as a stallion.
As to your question. Yes, it can change SOME horses dramatically. I wouldn’t want it done with a horse I was importing for competition. Can he be collected “artificially”. Better than him getting a “taste” of the real thing.
It changed my disposition and focus as a teenager.
Stallions and mares over 2 years old, being permanently imported, that come from a country listed with previous cases of CEM are required to stay in CEM quarantine for a minimum of 35 days while both the stallion and the two spayed mares the stallion covered are tested (and disinfected) for CEM. Mares don’t require as long as stay because they are tested 3 times on specific days and treated for 5 days at the end. Geldings are exempt as non-breeding animals, but all stallions and mares must go through quarantine regardless or future intention to breed.
The stallions are required to live cover both mares or the results are invalid. I really wish there was some way around it, but there is not. It’s law.
Thanks everyone for your experiences. We’ll hope for the best 
I think it is much, much harder for an older, established breeding stallion to go back to live cover than it is for a baby stallion to have live cover as basically his first sexual experience in the importation/quarantine process. At least that’s been my experience.
I had a 2 1/2 yr old stallion come to my farm right out of quarantine last year. I had met him in Germany, and then was able to see him again here in the US and there really wasn’t much change in his demeanor. He would call out a few times but the trainer immediately worked with him and he quit after a few times.
However, I am purposely not presenting my 3 yr old colt this year b/c the registries require a semen analysis and I just don’t think it’s fair to ask that of young stallion. I want him to have solid discipline under saddle before he gets to explore the stallion side of life so will be waiting until he’s 4, and even then requesting to wait for submit semen eval until the fall of his 4 yr old year
Fwiw the boys learned pretty quickly that when they saw tack coming it was work time and no funny business was happening…even if excited you could see them deflate when the saddle came out…
