Stallion owners...

[jonem004]

How did your stallions behavior change after he became a breeding animal? I’ve read that stallions can become more aggressive and distracted after they start getting collected/covering mares. My experience handling and riding stallions has been with higher level show jumpers, most of which were already “standing” but weren’t being collected during the show season.

Out of the 4 I was around the most, only one was particularly more of a handful than a nasty mare. Was I surrounded by angelic manponies? Do they get much worse when they’re actively “producing”? I have a coming 3yo colt that I’ll be taking to his breed inspection in the next couple of years. No plans to breed him before he has a performance record to back it up, but I’m curious what experiences other owners have had.

[weixiao]

My stallion was quite difficult to handle during collection but was absolutely delightful to handle at all other times. As soon as he got home he was perfectly easy again. I was a junior when I was showing him, he stabled, shipped, and hacked out around mares with no issues and never even wore a stud chain day to day. He had been used as a breeding stallion already before I bought him, then he went through CEM testing coming to the states, and we collected and bred him several times while owning him. Although, I didn’t know him before he was ever bred I certainly can’t imagine him being any easier to handle. To date he is still one of the easiest, most straightforward horses I’ve ever had. He was my young riders horse and first GP horse and we collected him during the show season but not right before any shows.

[exvet]

My stallion(s) was easy to handle during collection and was easy after he started breeding. He was certainly more ‘aware’ of mares around when we did take him to the stallion station for collection; but, at no other time. Because I and my daughter were both riding/showing him and in sometimes very large crowds (in addition to dressage we did competitive trail with up towards 100 participants at any one venue) I did not ever breed him at home. I always hauled he and the mares to the stallion station. He was never allowed to breed by natural service. He was from the get go as a youngster handled with very black and white rules. He was easy to back/start and always a gentleman. His breeding job came after I started his under saddle training so his breeding career started later than most. He was also not allowed to talk at shows, when tied to the trailer or really anytime he was handled and did NOT have his breeding halter on him. This way I found it easier to show him and breed him during the show season. I typically synchronized my own mares in order to juggle his jobs and keep his breeding job at least a couple of weeks apart from any show or clinic.

[Toblersmom]

Depends on the stallion. In vet school they had a number of stallions of various breeds for research and teaching purposes. They all had different backgrounds before donation, of course, but once donated they were routinely handled and managed by the same staff. I can’t remember the name of the big grey that they used for teaching real noobs the collection process, but he was a total cupcake. Like if you were in the breeding paddock with the mare RIGHT there, but had him turned so he wasn’t pointing directly at her, he’d graze, fall asleep, whatever. If you turned him to face her, he’d posture, bugle, and drop, but if you turned him away again, he couldn’t care less.

Then there was “Libido Louie”, only the most experienced staff handlers worked with him. They had to move a skeleton mount out of the aisle between his stall and the mounting dummy since he’d try to mount THAT.

[Daventry]

Absolutely depends on the individuals stallion…and the type of regular handling they get.

[EventerAJ]

My stallion is super at both jobs. He is a TB and does live cover. His temperament really didn’t change much; right now during prime season he frets a little bit in his stall when I shuffle mares around, but it does not carry over under saddle. Mostly that’s because moving mares means bringing someone in to be bred, and he is 100% stallion when it’s time. He is also more territorial in his stall toward other horses, less friendly to neighbor geldings at feed time, but only during breeding season.

I’ve had multiple local HTs when mares were in season and due to be bred. We compete in the morning, or whenever, and cover the mare when he gets home that evening. And compete again the next day. He loves going to shows, hangs out quietly all day, and has never acted inappropriately in a riding situation.

I tease mares with him (over their fenceline) almost daily, typically after riding. He knows chain through the mouth means talking is okay, and some strutting is allowed. But I am in full control, and even when mares are peeing and squealing, I can switch the chain out of mouth to over nose and he “turns off” and eats grass.

He has a specific halter for breeding, and I wear my xc vest and helmet. He knows what that means, and gets vocal & bouncy when I approach his stall with that. But he also doesn’t get confused when we go XC either, he knows the context.

My farm is small, and mares are always within sight and sound. My grooming stall and tack room is right next to my foaling stalls. He is around them often, and may try to nicker at them but I sternly tell him no. Expectations are everything, and consistency is very important to him.

[ASB_Stars]

I agree with everything that AJ Eventer stated. I’ve had a number of stallions over the years, and generally, if you use very specific equipment for them that says “girl time”, they completely get it. The rest of the time, they are actually more reasonable than mares to deal with. Really.

The only exception for me was a TB stud who was just a mess. I really wonder if I had him earlier, if we had been able to make progress with him, but he also was not a horse who was ever in work, so that made it more challenging.

As stated, you need to make sure that they know their job, and what job is expected of them at any given time. Do NOT mess with them. Be kind and consistent, and you’ll have a great breeding horse, as well as performance.

[Nootka]

My guy is easy for collection and when he comes home. He does know he has his man parts but is not aggressive at all and is turned out with 2 other geldings at home.

I made a point to separated breeding and performance from the start. Unfortunately, a BM bred their mare to him as a 2.5yr old without my knowledge. So there was a surprise foal. I got super lucky that this didn’t ruin him.

[x]

Depends on the stallion. One of mine was in full show work and doing live cover during breeding season–you never would have known it was breeding season, and he always acted the perfect gentleman even in the showring. Not unusual for him to show during the day, and cove a mare in the evening. My other stallion–not so much. During breeding season that was all he did–working and breeding did not work; that stallion was mostly collected with the occasional live cover…but he could not handle both jobs at the same time, so was strictly a breeding stallion during breeding season.

[NancyM]

Good advice here already. It depends on the individual horse, and on how he has been handled. You have to have a “good” relationship with the stallion, and by “good”, I mean “fair”. He has to be treated “fairly”. You can not be “rough” or “harsh”, or “mean” or “unfair”, but you have to be consistant. So, much like other horses, but more so, because if he is not “with” you on this job, he can be “against” you, which is not pleasant or safe for you or for the mare being bred, more so than other horses. The two of you have to be a “team”, working together, on the same side, to get a job done, safely, and accurately. A breeding stallion can be quite “intense”, and extremely “focused” on the job. In this respect, he is a bit different to handle than other horses.

I’ve stood two TB stallions at stud, one for sport horses, one for race horses (which turned into sport horses later in life LOL). So I have no personal experience with AI, but plenty with live cover. Both stallions were easy enough to handle hand breeding through the years. Both ended up pasture breeding also, and a person would have to check for nuts to even know they were stallions most of the time. One thing is for sure, there is no way to teach a stallion manners like turning him out with some mares, because they will teach him manners better than any human ever can. These guys never needed teaching, they were both always a well mannered guys. The first one had a career at the horse shows while also breeding mares at the same time… nobody much even knew he was a stallion at the shows, he didn’t make it obvious. If a sport horse stallion can’t do this, he isn’t stallion material, IMO, because disposition and personality is just as important as all other things that a mare owner is looking for.

One thing that I did notice with both these guys was that they had preferences. The one who went horseshowing, he would pick out his favourate mare at the show, and watch her, quietly, but intensely. He would always pick a mare with flashy colours, pintos, appy, or something with lots of socks and a big blaze etc. But he would “worship from a distance”, and watch her if she was jumping a course, or walked by. Just watch her. He didn’t pay any attention to any other mare at the show, just his “choice” mare. The owner/rider of the chosen mare had NO idea this was going on, there was no vocalization or physical signs, just his attention, his ears and his eyeballs. I’d just have to be aware of it, and bend the stallion’s head away from her if she came close to us, to remind him to pay attention to me, and that he did not get to go and “chat her up”. The other stallion, he did NOT like chestnut mares. He’d do one, if that was all there was. But if he saw another mare, he’d forget about the chestnut one that was in heat and ready to breed, and want to go look at a dark bay mare instead. So, no distractions for him, to keep him on the job.

The worst stallions mannered I have encountered have been those involved with AI collection… I presume because they do not have to have a relationship with the mares. One stallion was shipped from home to go to the collection place, and bashed himself to injury in the trailer on the way, went “crazy” in there. Another one savaged mares (and humans) when live cover was attempted, and attacked the dummy with urgency to the point where a human needed to not get in his way until he was finished. (Why do people want to breed their mares to horses like this??). Anyway, as you can tell, I do not like AI, for the stallions, or for the breed, for multiple reasons. But of course, I am outnumbered in this opinion. As the genetic flaws and personality flaws pile up due to AI causing a reduction of genetic diversity as they already are in breeds that allow it, and a proliferation of poor dispositions from stallions who can not safely live cover, it will become even more obvious, as it has already in dogs and cats, IMO.

PS. If you want to learn about handling stallions, go and visit some stallion managers in your area who you feel are skilled and experienced, and ask them about it first hand. You will get good tips.

[jonem004]

@NancyM

Good advice here already. It depends on the individual horse, and on how he has been handled. You have to have a “good” relationship with the stallion, and by “good”, I mean “fair”. He has to be treated “fairly”. You can not be “rough” or “harsh”, or “mean” or “unfair”, but you have to be consistant. So, much like other horses, but more so, because if he is not “with” you on this job, he can be “against” you, which is not pleasant or safe for you or for the mare being bred, more so than other horses. The two of you have to be a “team”, working together, on the same side, to get a job done, safely, and accurately. A breeding stallion can be quite “intense”, and extremely “focused” on the job. In this respect, he is a bit different to handle than other horses.

I’ve stood two TB stallions at stud, one for sport horses, one for race horses (which turned into sport horses later in life LOL). So I have no personal experience with AI, but plenty with live cover. Both stallions were easy enough to handle hand breeding through the years. Both ended up pasture breeding also, and a person would have to check for nuts to even know they were stallions most of the time. One thing is for sure, there is no way to teach a stallion manners like turning him out with some mares, because they will teach him manners better than any human ever can. These guys never needed teaching, they were both always a well mannered guys. The first one had a career at the horse shows while also breeding mares at the same time… nobody much even knew he was a stallion at the shows, he didn’t make it obvious. If a sport horse stallion can’t do this, he isn’t stallion material, IMO, because disposition and personality is just as important as all other things that a mare owner is looking for.

One thing that I did notice with both these guys was that they had preferences. The one who went horseshowing, he would pick out his favourate mare at the show, and watch her, quietly, but intensely. He would always pick a mare with flashy colours, pintos, appy, or something with lots of socks and a big blaze etc. But he would “worship from a distance”, and watch her if she was jumping a course, or walked by. Just watch her. He didn’t pay any attention to any other mare at the show, just his “choice” mare. The owner/rider of the chosen mare had NO idea this was going on, there was no vocalization or physical signs, just his attention, his ears and his eyeballs. I’d just have to be aware of it, and bend the stallion’s head away from her if she came close to us, to remind him to pay attention to me, and that he did not get to go and “chat her up”. The other stallion, he did NOT like chestnut mares. He’d do one, if that was all there was. But if he saw another mare, he’d forget about the chestnut one that was in heat and ready to breed, and want to go look at a dark bay mare instead. So, no distractions for him, to keep him on the job.

The worst stallions mannered I have encountered have been those involved with AI collection… I presume because they do not have to have a relationship with the mares. One stallion was shipped from home to go to the collection place, and bashed himself to injury in the trailer on the way, went “crazy” in there. Another one savaged mares (and humans) when live cover was attempted, and attacked the dummy with urgency to the point where a human needed to not get in his way until he was finished. (Why do people want to breed their mares to horses like this??). Anyway, as you can tell, I do not like AI, for the stallions, or for the breed, for multiple reasons. But of course, I am outnumbered in this opinion. As the genetic flaws and personality flaws pile up due to AI causing a reduction of genetic diversity as they already are in breeds that allow it, and a proliferation of poor dispositions from stallions who can not safely live cover, it will become even more obvious, as it has already in dogs and cats, IMO.

PS. If you want to learn about handling stallions, go and visit some stallion managers in your area who you feel are skilled and experienced, and ask them about it first hand. You will get good tips.

You’re right, I should and will pursue any learning opportunities available with stallion managers local to me. I’m not dead set that my colt will make the next generation, but that’s no reason not to learn.