I’m looking at a German riding pony in Europe who is a virgin stallion and I’d really like to keep him one and bring him here (the USA) without breeding once he gets here. Is there a way around that? I don’t want him to learn that kind of behavior because he would be a kids pony and I don’t want him to lose his “fire” if we had to geld him.
An entire kid’s pony? Hmmm
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If you don’t intend to breed him, why not geld him? Good stallions generally make excellent geldings. Often times children are not allowed to show stallions.
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No. As far as I’m aware the only breed/country that is subject to CEM protocols but has a virgin stallion exemption is PRE coming from Spain. They do an extended pre-export quarantine instead. The only other exemption is if he’s under 24 months.
That said, not all countries have CEM. Go to this website, and select the export country from the drop-down. It will list what protocols are required for that country, and what the exemptions are: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/our…ntry-of-origin
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I was in a very similar situation 4 years ago, and kept my GRP whole. Having a stallion has not been an issue for me at all, largely because he came to me with impeccable manners. We are in a small training barn and he can be turned out next to 2 of the 4 geldings on the property. He is stabled next to one of these geldings and there is only a half-wall and bars separating the horses. He couldn’t care less. You can put a mare in the cross-ties right in front of his stall without incident. He hacks with mares. He turns 8 years old next month, and I had really hoped to collect and freeze from him for next year. That is looking less likely as our show season has taken a huge detour and what would have been down-time will now be spent trying to qualify at 2nd Level and 2nd Level MFS.
A few considerations for you:
- the cost of importing a stallion is steep due to the lengthy quarantine process. If your boy has not bred live, you will need to build in a week or two for the quarantine folks to train him on the mount. The cost of quarantine involves lab work, boarding and “rental,” of the test mares. It was very stressful for my guy and he lost a lot of weight. Although he is a pretty good egg, I do think that he got roughed up a bit in the breeding shed.
- Your boarding situation. if you are at home, great. If not, will your new boy be handled by knowledgeable people who discipline him if necessary? My guy is boarded at my trainer’s small barn and he is handled by knowledgeable folks. In my guy’s case, he occasionally has to be reminded not to “talk,” to my trainer’s retired FEI horse when he is tacked.
happy to answer any questions
Kathy
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Ditto araho’s comments re import costs. Depending on facility, costs for the 30ish days can run $6500 to $9000. And he will “breed” in quarantine; no way around that. I’m in process of importing a horse from Spain - he was sent off to be gelded about 20 minutes after the payment was received. I have one stallion; he is a saint about 98% of the time, but when he’s not, he can be a handful. I knew him well prior to purchase. One is enough in my life. As well behaved as he is, I never let my guard down. I would not want him handled by a child.
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I have an Andalusian who once bred but he’s a gelding now and he’s already enough stallion behavior to handle. I’ll just have to geld the pony since also he hasn’t been in work for a few months and a whole other month of not much would be awful itself. The issue with that is that I don’t know anyone there who could make sure he’s doing okay after being gelded and his owner wouldn’t have the time.
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Yes, gelding the pony is an excellent idea. Not gelding him is a recipe for disaster and quite possibly a miserable horse and owner/kid.
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If this pony is “the one” maybe you could talk to the owner and see what options there are. You could also have him gelded at a clinic and they could do the aftercare there if you explain the situation. If he’s in Germany, the clinics here are less costly than the US IME, so a short stay, might not be too bad.
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If you think he is outstanding and has remarkable bloodlines then collect and freeze him over there. You can then geld and import.
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I know someone who imported a virgin stallion. He was poorly handled during the CEM breedings and lost his mind. He had to be gelded and is now a mental rehab project due to the poor handling he received during travels and in quarantine.
If you want an intact male GRP, import the horse at age less than 731 days (2 years).
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If you plan for your kid to show this pony, have you checked as to whether the show/breed association allows juniors to show/handle stallions? It’s often not allowed.
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I assume OP is talking about a dressage pony since we’re in the dressage forum. As far as I’m aware, the only restriction on stallions is that they cannot be shown in Dressage Seat Equitation.
As far as I’m aware, the only restriction on stallions is that they cannot be shown in Dressage Seat Equitation.
Thanks, I should have known this, but didn’t
