Hi there. I am currently keeping my horse at a fram that has 6 broodmares and one stallion. He seems to be quite calm and he is green broke. He is also gentile. I was wanting to start riding/lungeing him for them to get him some exersie now that all the mares are in foal. I have heard that you shouldn't ride stallions, but he just seems so bored out there by himself. And I know some people do ride their stallions. Any help oon this is apreciated.
Jos
Posted on Tuesday, May 15, 2001 - 11:08 pm:
There is no reason that a stallion should not be ridden - as long of course as he is safe to ride, the rider is competent and the owners are willing!
Kelly
Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 11:32 am:
The only reason not to ride a stallion is dependant on the experience of the rider. Stallions have certain behaviors and should not be handled by those who are not knowledgable.
The most gentle of stallions can change into an unpredictable animal in many circumstances.
Excercise is very important for the mental well being of any horse, and a necessity for stallions. A young stallion is full of energy and hormones. You stand a better chance of training a stallion that is already exercised and ready to listen.
This is NOT something that a novice rider or anyone without previous experience should attempt. Seek help from a competent trainer who has been successful with more then one stallion.
In my opinion, stallions SHOULD be ridden. I agree with every one else about the rider being experianced though. I have an APHA stallion and he is a pleasure to ride! He is used regularly for cutting and roping and doesn't seem to be bothered by a mare too bad if his mind is occupied. He does get "proud" and restless if just riding for pleasure and comes accross a mare, you must keep your guard to some extent when riding a stallion but, for his sake don't let a good horse go to waste in a barn stall or pasture!
I decided that I would not breed my stallion until he was broke to ride, and I am glad I did. He was in a couple of shows and won... but after he was bred to 9 mares in the last two months we took him to the midwest horse fair, and he was a different story getting on and getting his attention back to me and not all the mares... Thank God I was experienced and Thank God so was he because a quick repremand and we were back to old times, but it was firm.. Yes I think you should ride them to keep them knowing when it is time to work and time to have fun.. and always know who YOU are and Where you Are.
Good Luck
Scarlet Posted From: 66.222.61.67
Posted on Monday, July 21, 2003 - 12:38 am:
Applewood, how did you reprimand your Stallion? I'm at a lose with my stallion, my discipline with him goes unnoticed. Help! He drops and I crop him in the shoulder, pull on the chain that's over his nose - nothing!
Kelly has good wisdom in that an inexperienced rider is not the best option for starting a stallion under saddle. He'll do better learning from someone with many years experience as a trainer. After some basic work, it's not only possible but also really wonderful for less experienced riders to work with a stallion under saddle. In many cases, stallions are much more sensitive to aids and generally attuned to their riders and this is a good thing for more novice riders to feel and learn about.
It is funny and a little sad that bad information like "stallions should not be ridden" is still out there and being told to unsuspecting victims! I guess that the people who try to convince others of stuff like this aren't aware of the dozens of stallions who have won Olympic medals, not to mention the hundreds of successful competitive stallions in showjumping, eventing, dressage, cutting, etc.
D. Spink, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Your valuable insight was just the encouragement I needed. You're right, Harvey isn't displaying bad behavior (he's doing what a stallion is supposed to do) he's just got his timing confused. I'm done scolding him for what he is "intact" for. And as you suggested, I will no longer compete against his manhood, but rather show him there is a proper time for that behavior and it’s not when we’re working.
Your posting gave me a lot to think about and a more positive mental approach towards Harvey and I believe he senses that. It really worked for the both of us this past week. On Wednesday we had a lesson at a nearby h/j barn. He was a good boy right off the trailer and in the ring, until the lesson stopped for the trainer and I to talk. While the three of us were standing there a nearby mare started calling to Harvey and he got excited, but I remembered your suggestion, “change the subject.” I immediately moved him out and got him working again and he refocused, putting an end to the stallion behavior. Typically, I would have jumped out of the saddle and scolded him with a series of firm, “NOs,” rattling of the bit, and my crop, to no avail.
We also had a h/j competition Sunday and he was an absolute gem! No dropping, no screaming, no bucking. I didn't even use Vicks in his nose or Quitex before we left (it didn't work anyway) but I think he's made the association that the shows mean work-time, not breed-time.
He did announce himself once on our second time into the arena, but I didn’t fret. I thought to myself, “Harv’s you can talk all you want, but it’s work time now and this isn’t going to get you anywhere.” (besides, I couldn’t blame him, if I were as handsome as he, I’d toot my own horn too!) He quieted down quickly and went right to work nailing his rounds.
I think our relationship and “working” under saddle is mentally coming together for him now. I also made more of an effort to just hang out with him last week. Petting him, feeding him, giving him treats becoming his “partner” as you said through positive reinforcement instead of asserting my dominance over him when he’s study.
Afterall, a 17H, 1200 pound animal that accepts kisses on the forehead and likes his ear scratched can’t be all that bad.
Thanks again, and good luck with Capone I – he looks Fabulous! As do all the other studs on your site.
Glad to hear you have had a good week with your boy, Scarlet. While you can expect to have good and bad weeks in the future, the hope is that over time your relationship solidifies and continues to improve consistently over time.
That site is actually Isauro Flores', he is a trainer who rides in competition. I work with him and some of his stallions on their breedings, ground collection, etc. The owners of the stallions have been happy with having each of us focus on one specific area so that neither of us is overwhelmed during the overlap of the breeding and competition season!
What a great post, and I could not agree more that our stallions should be ridden. I have an absolutely wonderful stallion who has tremendous talent and a true heart of gold. We do not breed via live cover as he is also a performance horse. He knows exactly the task at hand when going into the breeding arena, and he has never set a foot wrong in competition, at home or away from home. He loves his work and thoroughly enjoys learning new things. While I am not a professional, I have ridden for a long time. He can be ridden by professionals and amateur alike and always gives 120%. But, he seems to try even harder for me. It's a true love affair. Having said all of this, we always take extra precautions when away from home to keep things safe for him and everyone.
Anonymous Posted From: 12.145.186.69
Posted on Monday, June 28, 2004 - 02:40 pm:
Yes, That is one thing that I forgot to say. There is a time or place for everything. I use one halter and one lungline for breeding my stallion. I do not work him in any of that equipment. I never let him tease a mare with tack on.. (I have see people do this with stallions when they are done riding,and have to tease a mare.) When he is in tack we are working. When he is in his special lunge line, and halter he can dance and call and act a little uppitty as long as no striking or agressive behavior. I don't yell at him for this. I will tell him to tone it down and talke to him, but he only gets yelled at if he is rushing and risking injury.
Now if we are riding he is not allowed to scream at mares. Also I will NEVER mount him if he is down.. Sometimes we will come into a show warm up and he smells some mares etc and will drop etc.. I will never mount until he is paying attention to me, and me only.. If you mount a dropped and ready stallion you are asking for trouble.
Good Luck.. Even though he is my baby.. and super tempered 98% of the time. He is STALLION ALL THE TIME>. and I don't every forget it.
My daughter is thirteen and is wanting to buy a stallion that is not broke to ride yet. Is this a good idea? She has worked with horses and stallions for her whole life but has never owned a stallion.
TX Breeder Posted From: 199.3.209.178
Posted on Friday, February 18, 2005 - 04:56 pm:
No, not a good idea. Will there be a competent professional on hand at all times while she is handling the stallion? Is the facility adequate for containing a stallion? Is there not any other horse that will suffice? Is it worth the worry, trouble and potential hazards? Should your daughters'well being be dependant upon the unpredictable behaviors of an animal that may out weigh her by over a 1,000 pounds or more? There is so much that could go wrong... she is irreplacable.
Stallions are a lot of work if you want to be fair to them, and enjoy them, but they are ALWAYS stallions. IMO A child 13 does not have the discipline to handle a stallion. I have been around horses for over 35 years everyday with a large schooling, breeding, and showing barn. I was allowed to handle them but not unsupervised. I look now at all the stupid stuff I did as a youngster with my friends on our show horses.. thinking we had angels watching over us. Can't imagine what could of happened with a stallion
Getting back to corrections of a stallion. I always remove my stallion or change his concentration when he gets excited, I don't punish him much, and always praise him when he is good, and I just want him to pay attention that I am there. during breeding I try not to raise my voice at all. Just calm and confident.
Consistency is important and never tease your stallion with your riding gear on..
I am an experienced horse owner, been around many horses mares, geldings and studs. I currently own one of each right now. I sent my stallion to a trainer as a two year old just to be started more due to me not being able to ride as much as he needed. He is now 4 years old. I believe this trainer bred my horse without my knowledge. When I brought him back he wasnt the horse I sent, his attitude changed, handling him on the ground was worse, he was ok to ride, I did show him and his manners were okay. But it seems that he is getting worse with his ground manners. He likes to test you, and has A LOT of energy, likes to fight you a little when he doent want to do something like spin to the right. Sent him to a reining trainer and they suggested gelding him, I really dont want to geld him just yet due to his bloodlines. I am looking for a cutting trainer to send him to around my area, till then I am still riding and working him but Is there any methods that anyone can suggest to me to help with his ground manners and his attitude...I am considering gelding but would like to freeze some of his semen....
While it is possible that the trainer bred your colt, it is probably more likely that he did not, but that the colt reached maturity and started producing a significant amount of testosterone. That can change them like night and day! The ages you mention sound likely for timing and if you happened to send the colt off in winter or very early in the spring and got him back later in the summer, that would also be suitable timing for a testosterone surge.
Not everyone can handle a stallion. You need to be fair, fast and patient. It's not something that can be taught over a bulletin board, so you will need to find a good stallion handler to work with you - and note that just because someone has handled or shown horses a lot and/or successfully does not necessarily make them a good stallion handler. In fact I would venture to say that a significant portion of people that have shown stallions are actually extremely bad handlers, as they will do things that are designed to win classes, not improve the stallion's psyche (e.g. hit the erect penis with a whip or kick it).
Here in New Zealand quite a few stallions are ridden in SJ, Hunter Jumping and Dressage. I'm not familiar with Western riding here as that's not my thing but we compete a 14.2 pony stallion where under our rules the rider must be 17 or under. We live cover most of our own mares only because we know how they will behave, all outside mares are covered by AI. He has no problems when we take him out to shows whether they are SJ or In-hand showing.
It's my oppinion that it's never to late to get a stallion riding and that they most def. should have a job besides breeding. I have a straight egyptian arab stallion who will be 7 in April. I've owned him since his weaning and he's only been with his trainer for 6 months now for under saddle. He was bred live cover and AI before he was sent to the trainers for Hunter Pleasure and his atttude has greatly improved with regular work and professional training. He's won his first show and took home 3 championships( 2 in halter and 1 in Hunter Pleasure). He was always a well behaved boy and he was kept with my older barren mare (who taught him manners) and I was the one to green break him but I was only trail riding him and now that he has more work and things to focus his mind on he's much better behaved. Thinking back I should have had him at the trainers as a 3 year old before I started breeding him, but being a Barrel Racer myself and knowing he was not a barrel horse I was going to just break him and them take him to the trainers for finishing that way he'd at least have had more consistant training and riding. Sending him to a professional was the best thing for my boy and I don't regret it at all.
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