"Stallions don't belong at horse shows"

[BrokenArrow]

And other fun comments you hear at training days.

My husband and I have a 4 year old Palomino Thoroughbred stallion. He’s a doll to handle and has a serious jump on him and my husband wanted to give him the best start possible. He’s getting some professional training with a really good trainer that’s local to us. He’s going well enough we decided to take him along to a jump training day. Its a pay for however many rounds you want, nothing formal, so the perfect to take babies out. The plan was for the pro to take our boy out in the warm up, give him a few jumps and go from there.

Our boy stood tied up to our trailer all day without a peep. But once he got into the warm up, it got crowded and he got a little flustered. As he came into a jump, he got cut off and the sudden stop made him rear up. He came straight down, then worked and jumped like a pro. After that we decided to call it quits. Besides the rear, he’d been perfect all day.

But people love to talk. I got back to the line up which my husband was waiting for one of his classes to overhear the conversation.

Person - Stallions shouldn’t be out at shows! That palomino could have killed someone in the warm up!

Hubby (highly amused at this) - Really? What should they be doing then.

Person - Breeding! They’re too dangerous to be in public. Leave them at home.

Hubby - So, how are the meant to get a performance record to prove they’re worthy of breeding?

Person is starting to get flustered now. The people who had been nodding along with her had the sudden deer in the headlights look.

Person - Well, bloodlines of course.

Hubby - But even the best bred horses don’t fit the job sometimes. How are you going to know?

Person - You just have to train them. Young horses aren’t easy you know. Sometimes it takes years for them to go well.

Hubby - You mean, exactly what the palomino stallion is doing? Since he’s only 4 and its his first time ever out?

Person glared at hubby and promptly moved her horse away. There was another person from which hubby knows from his jumping lessons there listening to the whole thing. Both he and hubby were having a good laugh about it.

Ringside gossip is so much fun at times. I forgot how funny it could be.

[pluvinel]

It doesn’t have to be at a horse show. I was at a tack shop a few years ago and happened to mention I had a stallion. The people in front of me just about had a cow.

This is a horse that would be standing quietly ground tied for a vet who came to do a blood draw for Coggins. Vet started the usual questions…Name?..Date of Birth?..Brands?..Sex? When I said “stallion,” vet looked at me, said “Stallion?” like I had mis-spoken…then looked at the horse to see what was between the hind legs…then just to be sure, palpated to make sure the “parts” were there.

People are clueless about stallions.

[sherian]

I have a tb stallion, acquaintance stops by. Her - “he’s a stallion?!” Me - “uh yes”, Her “but he’s quietly eating hay in his stall next to a mare - aren’t you afraid he’ll attack someone over the stall door?” (I have dutch doors) Me “Um no”. People have some strange ideas about stallions for sure.

[Bluey]

Our neighbor needed help moving some cattle in rough country.
It was customary in our region if you have help and/or go help, no one rides mares.
I was riding our stallion, that we just got back from the track, as he was my main mount right then.
I had started him under saddle and had worked cattle on him before sent him to the track.

He had been working cattle since he came back and was a real gentleman, never a peep or a look from him to other horses.
We had started hand breeding and he would tease, breed a mare and then was turned back with the geldings he grew up with.
He was in the middle of the pack, several others boss over him.

As we were thru moving the cattle and holding them to water in their new pasture, we were letting the horses drink around the large windmill tank.
This one cowboy was right by us and all was fine when he looked a my horse better, then asked, surprised, “is that a stud!?”.
Well, yes, I responded and told him his breeding and his rating at the track and … never finished, the cowboy had pulled his gelding back and moved to another spot on the tank.

The cowboys that had seen that were grinning and teased him the rest of the ride back to the trailers.

[Elsari]

I’ve never owned a stallion (both of my horses were gelded before I purchased them), but I did used to ride an Arab stallion in the first lesson program I joined as a tween. He was the first horse that taught me how to actually engage a horse. He was a perfect gentleman. He could be used in lessons with mares in the ring and was turned out with geldings (he was low man in the pecking order). I don’t know what’s required to train a stallion to be a good citizen, but clearly his owner did right by him.

[GoodTimes]

My old trainer moved to Canada from Switzerland. He brought along a 2yo stud that he had bred. He evented with him up to prelim, but a bone chip from an accident as a young horse kept him from going any further.
At that point I mentioned that most of his babies were turning out to be lovely hunters. My trainer wasn’t very familiar with the hunter ring so to prove that Mr. Studly was actually super ammy friendly himself I took over the ride.
He was always very well behaved. The judges loved him in the under saddle. He always strutted his stuff during the jog, but never made a peep.

There were always a few people who were nervous about him being in the AAs.
My favourite story though, was when we were waiting for the jog at one show. It had been a long hot day. Mr. Studly was napping at the rail while I was talking to my mom. We look up to see a group of pony girls giggling, blushing, and pointing. Apparently Mr. Studly was so relaxed he was letting it all hang low. :lol:

[NancyM]

It’s good that people who are not experienced handling stallions are frightened of them. It’s safer for them to be horrified of being anywhere near a stallion, just in case it’s one of THOSE stallions that really shouldn’t be out in public. Because there ARE stallions who can be dangerous, and sometimes the people who own them are imbeciles, and their stallions give all stallions a bad rep. Green horses going out in public for the first time often do things that they are not supposed to do… they are green, or young, and inexperienced. If they are a stallion, people are gonna talk. Even if they are not a stallion, people are gonna talk. But if they are a stallion, they are gonna talk more.

I had a TB stallion that I took to horse shows, and jumping clinics. Most people didn’t know he was a stallion, he didn’t have a lot of stallion like behaviour. He was well mannered. Bred mares live cover only, of course. But you do have to look out for other horses more so than you do with a gelding, or mare, because a stallion never forgets that he is a stallion. At one little show, another rider came into the warm up ring with her stallion. It was being “wild”. My stallion and I left the ring, because one has to look out for things before they are gonna happen. It happened, and the other stallion dumped it’s rider, and was running around loose about 5 minutes later. I would have left the ring even if I did not have my stallion there, because one could easily see that it wasn’t going to end well. My stallion would stand quietly waiting for his jumping round, other horses around him. He would pick out one mare at each show, usually something flashy, he liked “colour”. Something with lots of white, splashy colours. He especially liked pintos, thought they were very attractive, or lots of socks and blazes. He would watch that one mare, quietly, all day long. He would watch her jumping rounds intensely, he would watch her walk by. He ignored every other mare at the show, especially plain coloured mares. Just the one was his chosen love. It would be a different mare at each show. I would know when that mare had come into view, because he would perk his ears up in her direction. Who ever owned the mare he chose never knew, he never said a word. He would just watch, and admire, and wish. Other than that, he was just like any other horse. But not all stallions are like that at horse shows. Have seen a few that have got loose, and run around looking for love. Very dangerous situation when that happens. People are right to be cautious around stallions, because some people do bring badly mannered stallions out in public and have no idea how to look after them and keep themselves and others safe.

Good luck with your stallion, and the promotion efforts! Knowing that others may well be critical, and knowing that your green horse doesn’t need to get run into in the warm up ring, avoid crowded warm up rings. Just wait for a few minutes, to avoid bad situations. Whether your horse is a stallion or a mare or gelding. Crowded warm up rings suck.

[shiloh]

One of my friends owned a Paint stallion. You would never know he was a stud, he was so quiet and well-behaved. Oh, he could have his moods - mostly sulky if he was thwarted - but he never acted up. One time the idiot students of the idiot trainerettes tied an in heat nasty mare right in front of him. - literally nose to nose with him. My friend asked them repeatedly to move their horse, they refused stating the mare was nowhere near a stallion, until she just moved the mare herself. She practically dragged them all over to look at the undercarriage of her horse and it wasn’t until then that they got it. So she goes back to her horse who is standing there just fuming - you could practically see the smoke curling out of his ears but the only thing he did was continue to stand and sulk and make one feeble attempt to kick her. He was a real character. He would give pony rides to anyone that did not know a thing about riding but if you knew anything at all about riding he would make you work like a big dog to get him to do anything.

I think people, even “horse” people have this idea that all stallions are these crazed oversexed creatures that can barely be controlled but it simply is not true. And anyone that brings such a critter out is nuts, too. It annoys me that the majority of stallions and their handlers are mostly sane but it’s the few morons and their badly behaved animals that ruin it for everyone.

[EmilyM]

How about people that cut you off in the warm up shouldn’t be at horse shows 🤣

[gottagrey]

I’ve seen plenty of young fresh horses at shows - mares and geldings. Do those ringside naysayers have any idea how many stallions are competing? While not so many in hunters (that you hear about anyway) but plenty show jumping and eventing. I think anyone who has a young/inexperienced horse has to be careful about schooling areas and hanging around the ingate - especially when there is a mix of riders.

[clanter]

all it takes is one evil sob stallion to make people think they are all bad

As a groom, I had one in my charge… EVIL SOB it was … at one show I was cleaning its stall (Rock Creek Horse Show, Louisville Ky June 1974) … this horse which we all kept an eye on cornered me in the stall … he was later gelded

We had a nice Morgan mare who often showed against stallions, never ever a problem as the owners had trained those guys to be gentlemen. The mare was very often in the same class with two local stallions … nice classes as the stallions had each won several national championships and poor little mare was always reserve (we told her those Red Ribbons were first place in Canada)

[atl_hunter]

@BrokenArrow

And other fun comments you hear at training days.

My husband and I have a 4 year old Palomino Thoroughbred stallion. He’s a doll to handle and has a serious jump on him and my husband wanted to give him the best start possible. He’s getting some professional training with a really good trainer that’s local to us. He’s going well enough we decided to take him along to a jump training day. Its a pay for however many rounds you want, nothing formal, so the perfect to take babies out. The plan was for the pro to take our boy out in the warm up, give him a few jumps and go from there.

Our boy stood tied up to our trailer all day without a peep. But once he got into the warm up, it got crowded and he got a little flustered. As he came into a jump, he got cut off and the sudden stop made him rear up. He came straight down, then worked and jumped like a pro. After that we decided to call it quits. Besides the rear, he’d been perfect all day.

But people love to talk. I got back to the line up which my husband was waiting for one of his classes to overhear the conversation.

Person - Stallions shouldn’t be out at shows! That palomino could have killed someone in the warm up!

Hubby (highly amused at this) - Really? What should they be doing then.

Person - Breeding! They’re too dangerous to be in public. Leave them at home.

Hubby - So, how are the meant to get a performance record to prove they’re worthy of breeding?

Person is starting to get flustered now. The people who had been nodding along with her had the sudden deer in the headlights look.

Person - Well, bloodlines of course.

Hubby - But even the best bred horses don’t fit the job sometimes. How are you going to know?

Person - You just have to train them. Young horses aren’t easy you know. Sometimes it takes years for them to go well.

Hubby - You mean, exactly what the palomino stallion is doing? Since he’s only 4 and its his first time ever out?

Person glared at hubby and promptly moved her horse away. There was another person from which hubby knows from his jumping lessons there listening to the whole thing. Both he and hubby were having a good laugh about it.

Ringside gossip is so much fun at times. I forgot how funny it could be.

People are so strange. Children show stallions all the time in Europe, and at breed shows all over the US there are stallions entered. How sad that these people have been so sheltered.

[rubygirl1968]

Something just popped up on my Facebook page last night from a trainer saying don’t own a stallion if you’re not ready to knock a horse to it’s knees.

[Sparrowette]

We only had a Shetland stud back when the kids were little, I was with DH#1 back then. Frisky was usually pretty good - the kids rode him all over, but once when we tried boarding next to a pasture with a little matching mare who thought he was all that, and started backing up to the fence and peeing, he went sorta bonkers. That boarding situation didn’t last long…

Are there any extra training things that need to be thought of for a stallion to be sure he behaves in all circumstances? Even if she really wants him?

[exvet]

In order to remain a stallion, my colts had to behave perfectly. They had to haul with mixed company safely and politely. They had to ride in mix company knowing their job and not thinking any other thoughts. They had to carry my children safely and politely whether in mixed company or not. I often was complimented on how well behaved my stallions were. Most could tell simply by looking that they were stallions but surprised in that they could be tied to the trailer right next to one of our mares and not cause any problems or commotion. I worked very hard never to put a stallion in an unfair situation. He was allowed to be every bit of a stallion at the breeding station; but, he was still required to be tractable and safe. Not meeting one of these demands the first time was met with swift black-and-white reprimand (but again always fair). If that was the end of it and he had all else required to remain a stallion (bloodlines, conformation and movement but always disposition came first) then ‘we’ never spoke another word. I always had more grey hairs from thinking for the unobservant around me than my stallion (s) directly. At shows I would request an end stall which was customary.

I only once had a situation where someone made a derogatory comment about the audacity I must possess by having one of my stallions somewhere in public. We, my two children both on mares, and I, on my stallion, were competing in a competitive trail event that had 89 entries. There was one other stallion there that was a total Ass and many were concerned about someone getting hurt. After the 14 mile ride, a thunderstorm with hail in which all 3 of mine were well behaved and loaded together to ride out the remainder of the weather while we ate and completed the awards distribution. This resulted in a well remembered example of what a GOOD and SAFE stallion should be. The one naysayer apologized profusely after discovering when we were leaving that the 3 of mine were standing quietly in their trailer eating their hay while all hell was breaking loose around them (weather-wise) and never put a foot wrong on the trail. There were times when we were stacked 6 deep waiting to complete an obstacle and the mares and stallion were quiet, actually dozing and just doing their job. I can’t say the same about 30% of the geldings and other mares (and of course the one other stallion) that were there.

There are definitely stallions that I believe no matter how beautiful should be gelded. It isn’t always the handlers’ fault; but, I’ve seen too many unknowing people promote and allow ‘problematic’ stallion behavior. Horses are livestock imo. If you grow up or are taught at some point what’s at stake and how to treat them fairly but consistently with your expectations there should be no reason a stallion should be banned from a public venue. I am seeing more and more stallions at the dressage shows rather than fewer, much has to do with the popularity of the Pre and other baroque breeds.

[Texarkana]

Arabian breed shows have classes for stallions junior to ride. I think many people’s heads would explode at the idea of juniors riding stallions. :lol:

The stallion fear thing is a self-perpetuating cycle. A very small percentage of stallions truly are nasty buggers (the same is true for some mares), so you want people to use good judgement. But then people end up treating stallions like social pariahs, which creates behavioral problems that wouldn’t exist if the stallions were just handled like any other horse. It’s frustrating, but it’s a hard cycle to know how to break.

[Compadre]

A stallion with a rank personality really ought to be a gelding, IMO.

”‹”‹If the horse is a little hot or a little green, that’s a different thing, but I def wouldn’t wanna breed a mare to a stallion that had an ugly personality.

BUT, keep in mind that some folks cause that behavior too. Ideally a stallion should usually be in a bachelor herd with a nice gelding or two. They’re often kept fully alone, which a lot of horses, as herd animals, just can’t deal with. Then you get an unsocialized animal who doesn’t know how to act in a crowd.
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹

[Jackie_Cochran]

When I first started learning about horse breeds in the mid-1960s I got down to 4 favorite breeds, 3 with breed shows (the 4th was TB.)

Some breeds would allow women to ride stallions in shows or show at halter, but only ONE breed allowed children to show stallions.

The Arabian. Which became my favorite breed, it was not just the beauty, the endurance, the trainability, or anything else, it was that the powers that be in the breed actually allowed CHILDREN to compete in the show ring with mares , geldings and other stallions.

That was the disposition I wanted for my horse!

[ravenclaw]

I used to ride at a barn that had a QH stallion. He was a sweetheart. Very kind and quiet and well behaved. One of those that you wouldn’t know he was a stallion. He wasn’t a school horse but he could be ridden in the ring with mares with no problem. The girl that rode him (I think she was in her late teens or early 20’s) took him on trail rides bareback.

[GoodTimes]

@Compadre

A stallion with a rank personality really ought to be a gelding, IMO.

”‹”‹If the horse is a little hot or a little green, that’s a different thing, but I def wouldn’t wanna breed a mare to a stallion that had an ugly personality.

BUT, keep in mind that some folks cause that behavior too. Ideally a stallion should usually be in a bachelor herd with a nice gelding or two. They’re often kept fully alone, which a lot of horses, as herd animals, just can’t deal with. Then you get an unsocialized animal who doesn’t know how to act in a crowd.
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹

This.
However, I did meet one rather nasty stallion who was then gelded as a 5yo. Turned into the biggest puppy dog of a gelding, did the big eq in Canada and the US. He only had three babies. All three were amateur friendly and very, very nice hack winning A circuit hunters. They’re still kicking themselves for not collecting before they gelded him.