Hi I currently own 3 mares which i use for breeding. I am thinking of buying of buying a stallion of my own and i have a few questions. The main one is were I should keep him? (paddock wise). I don't want him to be all alone, and i don't really want him in with the mares.
thanks
TSQH (198.107.233.26)
Posted on Friday, January 04, 2002 - 12:12 am:
Depending on the stallion you may very well have to heep him alone whether you like it or not. Not trying to be mean to you but there are a lot of studs that cannot be turned out with other horses. AND even if you buy a stud that has been turned out with other horses in the past that doesn't mean he can be turned out with just ANY other horse. Are you planning on buying an older stud or a colt?
Horses are herd animals & NEED to be with others. None of my stallions are isolated. Each is with at least one other horse, usually more, sometimes rubbing noses with other stallions (yes, off season). Even if, for some reason, one is in a pen by himself, he can still have nose contact with other horses. I have Arabian, AraApp & standardbred stallions. Any of my stallions could be handled by a child. I say could, because regardless of how much I trust & feel safe with them, I'm not willing to take that risk, unless I'm present. I've never had to do more than speak strongly (I can sound sooo mean*grin*), tho not loudly, stomp my feet (there's a picture), or give a short, corrective snap on the lead. Tho I will, if needed, put a chain under the chin, I very seldom have done so. 99.9% of the time, I simply use a regular lead. I will also smack a neck or hq, open-handed, if needed, or lightly pop one on the hq with a longe whip if I'm out with a herd & boss mare status needs to be reinforced.
Most stallions behave & respond in the manner they are treated & taught.
I watched a "trainer" whip a stallion (Arabian) about the head & knee him, for posturing when he was put in a trailer with another stallion. The "trainer" apologized & said he hated to do it but that was the only way to "put him in his place". I was told if I ever tried to take this stallion to shows or anywhere around other horses, that he would be dangerous. I keep this "dangerous" stallion in a paddock with other horses, next to a paddock where he has nose contact with several more, including babies. The 12yo daughter of a friend of mine comes here every Sunday to ride & spend time with the horses. Her parents were recently divorced & it's been tough on her. She pets & helps me brush this "dangerous" stallion. In the same paddock he lives with his mares.
One of my houdini mares got out & into the STB's paddock. Of course, she was in full-blown heat (& I really wasn't interested in having an Arabian/STB foal). As he was trying to mount her, I walked up to him, snapped a lead on his halter, & led him away. He didn't make one sound of protest or give me one bit of crap about being led away from this very willing hussy. And I didn't have to whip him or knee him to submission.
My stallions have wonderful temperments. I can walk up to any one of my stallions no matter where he is & rub on him or take him wherever I want him to go. They will walk up to anyone in a field to be petted. But they don't crowd or get pushy. They love people & attention but they also learn immediately that what I say goes & that they must respect my space. All without intimidation (they're much bigger & stronger than I am) & made much easier because they're not raving lunatics from being isolated & craving horsey contact. Even the stallion who has been given some reason to distrust people loves attention. The only residual affect is that he will, on occasion, lift his head away for fear of being hit. He's not really headshy but the conditioning was established enough that every great once in awhile I guess he forgets that he's never going to be hit in the face again.
I hand breed my stallions by myself (once they "know" their job). If I owned one who I didn't feel safe around, I wouldn't own him. I'm not so foolish as to ever forget that I am dealing with stallions & hormones but I also have no need to "prove" that I can dominate one. I can't even if I wanted to. While it's important to always remember a stallion is a stallion, if I owned one who was rank & dangerous & couldn't be rehabilitated, I would resort to "brain surgery" & if that didn't work, he would be put down. Regardless of his value or potential as a stallion. No amount of money or status is worth someone's life or safety.
I guess my point in this long-winded dissertation is just to illustrate how how wonderful & kind stallions can be, & are, when treated & trained properly. I strongly believe that keeping them in a herd environment, rather than isolated, is a very important part of that.
TSQH (198.107.233.26)
Posted on Wednesday, January 09, 2002 - 06:13 pm:
I agree that it is best if a stallion can be turned out with other horses. BUT it is not always possible IF he was not raised this way. Some studs that have been raised in solitary confinement will try to do serious bodily harm to another horse if given the chance. And I'm not just talking about other studs or geldings.
Anonymous (205.207.148.254)
Posted on Friday, February 08, 2002 - 06:02 pm:
But what over gender of horse could be put out in the paddock or around them? I new of a person who had a donkey for a paddock buddy, would that be ok?
krystl ahrens (209.148.194.71)
Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2002 - 02:41 am:
stout- grumpy ponies can be great- especially if the colt is young. My boy was out with a hunky (17h half perch) paint who was a pony horse at the track. PERFECT paddock buddy- didn't put up with anything from my boy but was steady eddy at the same time. Unfortunatly he was sold. SO my boy is alone BUT has horses on both sides, he can reach over the fence easily to talk through but can't climb to fight. (we have electric running on the inside). This way he gets lots of interaction, with mares, foals and geldings (the horse's rotate on his one side of his paddock). We are hoping to build him a bigger paddock this spring but will have it attached to our other stallions paddock- (a peruvian). It is incrediable the relationship two or three stallions cna have on one farm. T hey really do become 'buddies' Paladin is quite concerned (not upset but 'watches') when i take T away. and they always say hello to each other either with a small nicker- or a full whinny when one is returned. They sit and stare softly at each other over their stalls (opposite sides of the barn). They rule that end of the barn. When we had the three stallions (texas- dutch, paladin- peruvian and Nanning- freisian) they all had a different voice- Paladin is the oldest- and definatly the "real king".
Another note- a barren mare can sometimes be a good paddock mate as well. but every stallion is different i think if you can not find someone to be with him- find someone to be beside him which he can interact with this seems to be working quite well for texas.
Kelly (63.172.47.184)
Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2002 - 03:56 pm:
The best choice would be a dominate gelding. I would not suggest just throwing them together right off the bat. Let them get used to each other over a sturdy fence first. After they have introduced themselves and are bored with the interaction, then consider turning them in together.
An older gelding is usually better suited for the job. They have spent some time in a herd situation, establishing their place in the pecking order. You would not want for a younger gelding to become too submissive to your stallion. It would be best for the reverse to happen. For that reason, I would want to know that the " buddy" was a dominate one first.There has been many times that a younger stallion has been put in with an older gelding to teach him manners and keep the aggressiveness in check. It is not uncommon to have a dominate herd member attempt to dominate you! Let the gelding be a buddy and a training tool.
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SO my boy is alone BUT has horses on both sides, he can reach over the fence easily to talk through but can't climb to fight. (we have electric running on the inside). This way he gets lots of interaction, with mares, foals and geldings (the horse's rotate on his one side of his paddock). We are hoping to build him a bigger paddock this spring but will have it attached to our other stallions paddock- (a peruvian). It is incrediable the relationship two or three stallions cna have on one farm. T hey really do become 'buddies' Paladin is quite concerned (not upset but 'watches') when i take T away. and they always say hello to each other either with a small nicker- or a full whinny when one is returned. They sit and stare softly at each other over their stalls (opposite sides of the barn). They rule that end of the barn. When we had the three stallions (texas- dutch, paladin- peruvian and Nanning- freisian) they all had a different voice- Paladin is the oldest- and definatly the "real king". 
