Thanks everyone. I learned something new from this thread…
Me too!! Thanks.
[QUOTE=Mara;8523839]
It’s been tried (bringing a stallion back to the races after a season at stud), but I can’t think of any success stories off the top of my head.[/QUOTE]
Other than the Black Stallion! 
OP, read about Swaps. He was ridden after retiring from racing.
[QUOTE=Where’sMyWhite;8522966]
Additionally, a stallion would not be able to both breed and race at peak performance at the same time due to the physical requirements of each.
His name is American Pharoah 
Much discussion on how he ended up with his name not spelled quite correctly… ;)[/QUOTE]
So the show-jumping stallions aren’t being used for breeding while they’re showing?
What about the great show stallions like Wing Commander? Were they put to stud only after they’d been retired from showing? I would think a five-gaited class would use about as much energy as a short flat race.
There are many stallions of many breeds competing at all levels and breeding too. It just isn’t done with racing stallions, I think mostly because of their value, but also because many of them are not sound enough to keep racing. So they retire to stud.
What top showjumping stallions in the world are live covering 100-200 mares in 4 months while still competing?
I don’t know of any.
So what’s the purpose of the surcingle/side reins? Top line… Or…? I ask because the way they are set, they appear almost more like anti-grazing reins than side reins…
I suspect they are are anti-rear and anti-buck as these are fit horses. You can see the knee boots etc. to protect them from damage should they play around and come down or strike into themselves.
I will ask someone when I’m next at a stud because I’m curious now.
Thanks Willesdon. I was thinking similarly, since a lot of folks put “grazing” reins on ponies to prevent bucking/rearing in addition to just grazing.
I’ve seen that style rigging before in photos of European stallions, but never knew the purpose. I don’t know anyone who uses anything similar when handling stallions in the US.
I can understand the reasoning behind limits on big$$$$$ stallions but I do wonder why more isn’t done with lesser $$$ stallions. If you have a nice sound horse with let’s say $1000-2500 stud fee standing to probably a small book of racing mares wouldn’t it be a good idea to retrain and compete at least locally.
This could work as advertising for that stallion to non-race mares and for TBs in general.
Well, I think that’s up to the stallion owner. A lot of regional sires with “small” books still cover dozens of mares a season (more breeding action than your average SH sire)… Others are lucky to cover a handful.
I know plenty of “small-time” stallion owners who do ride their horses. As far as competition, if sport horse disciplines aren’t your background, it may not make financial sense to get into the sport or employ the services of a trainer just to get an extra mare or two a season. You might book 2 or 3 SH mares at a $1000 a piece, but you’d spend thousands more in training fees, entry fees, etc.
It all just depends on the situation.
Just to mention that lots, if not the majority, of the sport horse market is AI, so one collection can breed multiple mares.
[QUOTE=Christa P;8537564]
I can understand the reasoning behind limits on big$$$$$ stallions but I do wonder why more isn’t done with lesser $$$ stallions. If you have a nice sound horse with let’s say $1000-2500 stud fee standing to probably a small book of racing mares wouldn’t it be a good idea to retrain and compete at least locally.
This could work as advertising for that stallion to non-race mares and for TBs in general.[/QUOTE]
- breeding season means the horse is out of commision until June, so wouldn’t be ready to race until late summer. Very short racing window.
- I’m not sure you’d want a horse stabled on the backside that has been live covering mares for the first half of the year. I imagine it would be a PIA for everyone. I suppose you could pull it off shipping in off the farm.
Here is a quote from Aidan O’Brien talking about George Washington when he was sent back into training after being sub-fertile at stud…
"We will have to work at once again getting George’s mind unravelled.
"I’m told he has got six mares in foal and it is possible that things could go right for him at stud next year, but for now we’re planning to bring back to the track depending on how things go with him.
"Since he came back here from Coolmore he’s been like a horse with five legs and we have to get him thinking that he can’t cover everything he sees.
"He’s in an isolation yard here and I’d imagine we will start re-introducing him to other horses by degrees over the next week or two. “We have a lake here, which we use at times, and he wasled down and ridden into it a few days ago. He swam across it, so you can’t question his courage.”
Once again, you can’t compare to Showjumping stallions. They are taught to collect on a mount, and do this a handful of times a year. The rest of the time they are expected to be well mannered in the company of other horses.
Don’t forget…TB’s ONLY live cover!! THAT is a lot of exercise with high risk also!!
Winstar and Three Chimneys both ride their stallions who are able to support being ridden. Some w,t, and canter. Others just walk or walk trot depending on injuries. I applaud those who still hack their horses out. Keeps them fit and happy and not just fat butter balls (laminitis issues)
[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;8531850]
Here’s a video of the Banstead Manor studs, including Frankel, being exercised. They are walked 7 miles a day…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsiEmYly2ls[/QUOTE] It sure would keep the handlers fit too! I would think that, once the stallions had been let down they could walk under tack with a lead pony nearby.
Both Winstar and Three Chimneys have a man come every morning who rides the horses on an all weather track. Some of the stallions do not like being ridden, so they are just turned out (as are all of the stallions)
I would think that, once the stallions had been let down they could walk under tack with a lead pony nearby.
In the UK and Ireland racehorses are not ponied - they go up to the start by themselves - so having a pony close by would not necessarily help. But that is also why they don’t need a lead.
Some studs let the stallions go out to pasture (if they don’t go too nuts!).
Most TB stallions that are mid-range wont go back racing, as they may no longer have the speed to compete successfully so will lower their value as a stallion.
Serving up to 5 mares a day will cause stallions to lose condition even if they are fit.
[QUOTE=Christa P;8537564]
I can understand the reasoning behind limits on big$$$$$ stallions but I do wonder why more isn’t done with lesser $$$ stallions. If you have a nice sound horse with let’s say $1000-2500 stud fee standing to probably a small book of racing mares wouldn’t it be a good idea to retrain and compete at least locally.
This could work as advertising for that stallion to non-race mares and for TBs in general.[/QUOTE]
compete in what? very few (in the grand scheme) tb studs are offered to both tb race mares and for sport (to both tb and non tb mares). so, for the majority, the market would be for race mares, and once they are retired to the breeding shed, further competition for the sake of advertising is moot. and the number of riders who would want to compete a stallion breeding live cover is very very slim. I own stallions, was an exercise rider, have competed stallions, but I don’t see the prospect of taking a breeding stallion (live cover) to a show or event with horses everywhere, and no control over those horses/riders, to be a fun endeavor. last thing I would want is to have some fool with their mare in heat ride too close. because we all know, no matter how much you try telling people ‘this one is a stud/kicker/etc’ that they just. don’t. listen.
I really think it is the value of the stallions and/or their soundness/temperament, plus the fact that racing is for YOUNG horses. The Sport Horse industry is very different. Temperament is so much more important in riding stallions. So is longevity and soundness.
We have three stallions on this farm and they all live cover. And they can all be ridden/shown among other horses with no misbehavior. In fact one of our stallions was turned out with his mares at night and brought into the barn for schooling during the day. He was still showing at that time as well. The only change in his behavior was if another horse was “snarky” in the warmup arena, he didn’t want to be anywhere near them!
