"Meanest Stallions in History" thread ...

[TKR]

There have been a number of Thoroughbred stallions who were dangerous – Alleged had to have two handlers to lead him in and out. Bold LB was so nasty to handle he was not brought in during a thunderstorm and killed by lightning. Nearco got to be dangerous for anyone but his groom when he stood at stud. RAN held a grudge against a groom and actually came down off a mare he was breeding to go after him (or so the story goes). Ribot also climbed the walls of his stall.

A friend of mine who trains and shows Arabs was savaged by an Arabian stallion she had that apparently had a screw loose. She wound up in the hospital.

There was a Hanoverian stallion in our area that had a bad reputation as a riding horse as did many of his produce. They would try to intimidate or throw you if you asked them to work. Nasty bunch.

I’m grateful my guys have been kind and lovable and very easy to handle.
PennyG

[llsc]

My trainer when I was a kid had the most fantastic Appy gelding that he used for lessons. Could go from beginner w/t to the Big Eq. Amazing horse! His quirk was that he hated to be clipped, so he had to be aced and handled very carefully even then. If you hit him while clipping him, he’d go after you. A groom didn’t take that advice and smacked him for not standing still and we all watched him, bite, strike and then chase the groom into the indoor where the groom had to climb the shavings pile to get away from him. Appy kept trying to climb the pile to get to him for about 10 minutes before he gave up and went outside to graze. That was when my trainer went to catch him. No one would go near him before that. I never saw him do a mean thing otherwise and he was around for about 20 years.

[CAH]

Cure the Blues (TB) was no box of chocolates.

[Ladybug_Hill]

[QUOTE=Centuree;4517687]
Was he a lion or a pitbull? That’s weird for a horse, a flight animal, to go for the jugular.

All of this is so strange to me. Horses are herbivores, flight animals. I am not saying I don’t believe it - it’s just I’ve only owned the sweetest horses, and cannot picture any of them turning on me.[/QUOTE]

They are also hierarchical herd animals that fight for their place in the herd. Have you never seen the severity of the biting or kicking in a herd when the balance is upset for some reason?

I think the fact that certain bloodlines seem more prone to this behavior proves that there is a genetic component. Bad handling just may be the trigger.

[DownYonder]

I remember Katrin Burger (vice-breeding director for the Oldenburg Verband) commenting a few years ago how they really don’t see too many WB stallions these days with horrible characters. She said they used to see them many years ago - but the ones with bad characters were eventually weeded out through the performance tests and by the breeders themselves.

But wasn’t Cor Noir a really difficult horse to deal with? A friend told me she walked past his stall while visiting Hilltop and he charged her with bared teeth and his ears flat back against his poll. She had no doubt that he would have savaged her if he could have gotten to her. And another friend told me she was warned to stay away from his stall. And I believe he was eventually euthanized when his aberrant behavior got so bad that he started mutilating himself.

[Arab_WBGirl]

Wasn’t there a TB stallion that Monty Roberts had at his Flag is Up Farm farm in California I think that was so incredibly viscious that Monty designed a series of gates/chutes to move him around? Also they had to cover the mare with leather blankets to keep him from savaging her when he was being used for breeding. I think they also had to use two poles attached to either side of his halter to keep him from getting to handlers which is why the series of gates/chutes was devised. I cant remember what his name was but I remember reading that story some years ago. While I can see keeping a somewhat difficult horse around that you have to be on your toes with at every moment when handling, but who passes on his good performance as after all, the bottom line is important if you are going to be in business. But regardless of how much a horse like that brought in in stud fees, all it would take is one dead or severely injured employee or visitor and all that profit would be wiped out plus some from the lawsuit that would occur. That horse would have gotten a bullet in the head and been dog food. Like I said, some difficulty in a valuable breeding stallion who is bringing home the bacon I can understand. All out savage and intentionally trying to kill a human with every interaction = glue.
Dawn

[KnKShowmom]

Storm Cats aren’t exactly loved for their warm and cuddly personalities - I think Tabasco Cat was the one who ran over D Wayne Lukas’ son and nearly killed him.

[Antero_Equestrian]

At Warendorf a couple of years ago, we were walking down the aisle and Ehrenpreis lunged at us (from inside his stall), ears back and teeth barred. All the rest were very well behaved except that one. Yikes!

[rizzodm]

When I was a kid I worked at a small TB breeding farm and they had a stallion named Danzig. I had never seen such an agressive horse before. He was kept in a paddock that was 8 ft high. I never saw him taken out of the paddock I asked the owner what do you do when you have to go in there? He says close his eyes and hope for the best:eek:

Dawn

[TKR]

Yeah, that was Tabasco Cat. There was a TB stallion that was really hard on the mares he bred, I think he bit one mare’s ear badly (maybe off). Had to cover her neck and shoulders with a leather apron, although that is done regularly if the stallion is a biter. Might have been Slew o’ Gold.
PennyG

[ASB_Stars]

Ribot chewed a furrow in the ceiling of his stall- standing on his hind legs. He could not bear to see another horse, while turned out, and they built his fencing up so that he couldn’t see anyone. His groom was a fellow who used to have to wait until Ribot deigned to come over to the gate- because you did NOT go in there after him.

Was it Nashua, or Round Table, or both, that were self-mutilators?

Jagdeists sire, Preussengeist was a first class bastard. Not surprising about the son. Didn’t Iron Spring own him? Perhaps they donated him to Cornell.

[TrueColours]

Ribot chewed a furrow in the ceiling of his stall- standing on his hind legs. He could not bear to see another horse,while turned out, and they built his fencing up so that he couldn’t see anyone

Stories like that dont sound like a brain tumor at all. It sounds more like a mean SOB territorial stallion

Dr James McCall wrote a book titled “The Stallion” and in it, he describes his battle with the TB stallion Executive Officer where he had gotten so dangerous that no one would handle him for breeding any longer and he viciously savaged every mare that he bred as well. The day of “The Battle” which lasted 2 hours by Dr McCall’s account, he detailed what steps he took to gain control of the stallion in the breeding shed and he said he was well aware that one mis-step on his part, one wrong move, one minute lapse in concentration or judgement and the stallion would turn on him and savage him

I dont know. I dont mind when the stallions are a little “uppity” and need a strong reprimand at times, but to put myself knowingly in a position where I could be killed by a known rogue stallion that could turn on me at any second, no matter how much they are willing to pay me, doesnt sound like my idea of fun at all … :no:

[harvestmoon]

[QUOTE=rizzodm;4519039]
When I was a kid I worked at a small TB breeding farm and they had a stallion named Danzig. I had never seen such an agressive horse before. He was kept in a paddock that was 8 ft high. I never saw him taken out of the paddock I asked the owner what do you do when you have to go in there? He says close his eyes and hope for the best:eek:

Dawn[/QUOTE]

Small TB breeding farm? Are we talking about the Danzig?

[vineyridge]

I’m personally fond of the Bold Bidder line, in part because my old man is a Mount Hagen and he is grumpy as all get out, but doesn’t have a mean bone towards humans in his body. He will use aggressive body language against other horses, though. But he was a wonderful babysitter for a pair of weanling foals and taught them very good manners.

In his case, he did not become at all like Dickens Hill, so one would think the dam had a huge amount to do with his personality, along with having been gelded–late, I believe.

[Goo]

With Cor Noir, it was definitely not a genetic component that was passed on to his offspring (I have a gelding by him, and have met several other offspring). What I was told by Hilltop is that Cor Noir was mishandled (abused, actually) in Germany, and as a result never got over his deep distrust of people on the ground (we all know how some stallions can hold grudges…). But he was absolutely wonderful under saddle. And, I was around him at Hilltop on the ground and did not notice anything out of the ordinary. So I’m guessing that while he may have been a bit aggressive, I really think he was nowhere near the category of most of the stallions mentioned on this thread.

I was also told by a professional that goes (or at least went, at the time - although I think he still goes there) to Hilltop frequently, that Cor Noir was euthanized due to a broken leg. This person told me that one day he had been turned out in the same paddock that he usually went out in, when something spooked him. He tried to jump out of the paddock and broke a leg in the process. This professional was pretty close to the Hasslers, for whatever that’s worth…

My gelding by Cor Noir is hands down the sweetest horse I have ever met in the 26 years I’ve been involved with horses. I have never met a horse who loves people as much as he does, and he truly is the most gentle lamb. He is also always the barn favorite wherever we go. Currently there is a construction crew (full of non-horse people) doing renovations at my barn, and they keep marveling about how friendly my horse is - if they’re drilling in his paddock, he’s right there with his head over their shoulder. His intelligence and work ethic are also extraordinary. I’ve never owned a horse as wonderful as he is, and have only met a handful of other horses in my lifetime (belonging to others) that had the same kind of “spark” as he does. He is truly one of those once in a million horses, and I know I’ll never be lucky enough to have another one like him again. Maybe it sounds like I’m gushing but people who meet him always end up saying the same things, and I have consistently heard great things about the minds of Cor Noir offspring - that they tend to be sweet and people-oriented, very curious, and very intelligent with wonderful work ethics under saddle. My horse’s full sister was a grand prix showjumper prior to her premature death last year at age 12. I trained my horse to the small tour level in dressage (first horse I’ve trained to FEI and first horse I’ve ridden the FEI movements on - that speaks volumes about his temperament!), and I hope to make it to GP with him before he is too old.

I only chimed in about Cor Noir here because you know how rumors get started on the internet, and I’d hate for there to be misunderstandings. Best thing for any prospective breeders would be to talk directly to Hilltop (as they are very honest), or owners of his offspring.

[dilligaff2]

Ribot is way back in my filly’s dam line but I remembered seeing a picture of him that made me think–“What a pleasant fellow!”

[Foxtrot_s]

A Canadian stallioin that once went to the Olympics was a self mutilator and had to live in a wired stall. Two grooms had to handle him. He suppsedly came through some rough handling, so was it nature or nurture? Finally he was gelded, but not until after a long and successful GP showjumping career. Poor guy.

[harvestmoon]

[QUOTE=dilligaff2;4519191]
Ribot is way back in my filly’s dam line but I remembered seeing a picture of him that made me think–“What a pleasant fellow!”[/QUOTE]

Actually, I heard when he was still in England that his temperament wasn’t as bad. I guess his tumor grew when he was in the States.

[x-rab]

Display Line

If I rememer correctly Man O’WAr was out of the Display line (may be Bold Ruler) and the stallions in that line were incredably vicious. They crossed the Display line with a Sandstorm mare and while Man O’War was not easy to handle he did not actively try to kill his handlers like his dad.

Our old friend, John Henry, was also a mean, sneaky SOB. The grooms told my husband and I that usually it took 2 grooms to handle him. One to distract and the other to do the work. You never turned your back on him unless you wanted to get attacked.

[vineyridge]

Display was a not brother of Man O’War. The sire was Fair Play. Family is famous for mean. Display was evil even when he was racing. I hate to think what he was like at stud. But he was a very great sire. There was a horse by Fair Play named Mad Hatter who was a wonderful race horse, but lived up to his name, supposedly–although his dam was Madcap. He raced until he was 9 or so. He is absolutely gorgeous.

OTOH, the most prolific sire-damsire nick in American racing ever, per Avalyn Hunter, was Fair Play/Rock Sand. Something like 63% of all males from that cross were winners of major stakes.