Hi, I have just bought a lovely 17month old colt, that i plan to keep as a breeding stallion. I have put him in a yard that has mares (and a paddock stallion that runs with them) on one side, and a couple of weanlings on the other. He is very mature for his age, and keeps "flirting" with the mares over the fence, and running around all excited and squeeling. He is locked in a stable of a night, and let out into this yard through the day. None of the mares are cycling as they are all pregnant, but he just gets so excited. I am planning on putting him over 2mares this coming season (he will be 2yo) and i am worried that he will be a real handful when it comes to him having access to the mares. Is there something i can start doing with him now to have him a bit less excited when the time comes? He is wonderful to handle in all other aspects, and even when i am holding him near the mares he is still ok, he just gets excited. Any input or ideas to make this situation a little less exciting for him would be great!! Thanks...
hi! I cannot stress the point more to have him riding before you breed this young stallion. He needs to know what is work and what is play... Think of it as a 17 yr old boy getting it for the first time, after that his mind is only on getting it again. LOL. that is bad to say but We have done this with our stallion and have heard others that have done this as well and all has turned out very well with us. he has a certain halter when breeding time comes and he has a certain pasture as we do live cover...2 yrs old is a little young for that as well. Most wait until they are at least 3 or 4 to start breeding. mature or not that is what i would do as we have several stallions and that is what we do with all of ours. If he gets very excited now and has not been bred before, think of what he will be like afterwards...Do you plan on training him for a certain discipline or just use as a breeding stallion/ either way he should not be bred so young.. just my 2 cents worth...
Good ground work is essential. Vocal commands - walk, whoa, and "no" are important words! Teaching him to differentiate between a sexual situation and any other situation is important - as is allowing sexual behaviour in that sexual situation, but discouraging it elsewhere.
Above all, remember that he is a horse first and a stallion second! Although it is important to make sure he is well-behaved, it is equally important to make sure that he can be "just a horse". Keep giving him access to turn-out and visitation rights (visually if not physically) with other horses. Isolation is a disaster for stallions.
Thanks for the input Jos and Beverly. Sorry i should have mentioned. He is a miniature, so he wont be used for riding. He is very well trained in halter, and listens to all voice commands. He has proven himself as a show horse and is always well behaved on the end of a lead. So his education is already in place. And he does know who is boss when i have him. Beverly, does the "breeding halter" have to be a different style of halter all together, or could it be the same style, just a different one (could he tell)?? This colt is smaller than most of my mares, so i have also picked a spot that he will be breeding which will put him a little higher than the mares. Jos, i agree with not isolating stallions. I couldnt do it. I have another stallion that i bought up from a colt, and he is so much calmer and happier when he has his paddock mates, and he's so easy to do anything with. He now runs with the mares the whole off season, and looks after them. Essentially i would like this colt to be able to do the same, but i dont want him being introduced to mares (in the same pasture) yet, as i worry that he would try to mount, and end up hurt. So i have just kept them in yards along side eachother. Is there anything else i could do to have him ready and not so excited?
We too use different "equiptment" for our stallions. It just needs to be different, just so they sense which is breeding and which is pleasure or show.
Something that may be helpful is to "vicks" the colts nose when you introduce him to the others. This will mask any smell for them and turn off most of their instinct to do anything. NOT a complete quarentee but does the trick most of the time,it will slowly wear off while in the paddock with the others and he will slowly regain the smell sense after he has been with the others for a period of time.
Hi Renee, No the breeding halter does not have to be a different style, but make sure it is a different color used just for breeding...Also make sure you use the same lead rope with that halter everytime. You need to have those set aside jus for breeding purposes. He will soon learn which is which.
Great thanks guys. Ill have to find a colour that isnt in my multi coloured tack room!! Thats a great idea with the vix kim, I will try that! All my mares are really quiet and patient, so i dont think there would be any problems, but better safe than sorry i think! This would be a good thing for shows during the breeding season too, wouldnt it? Just for when we first arrive to ease him into the surroundings and smells of the area and other horses. A very useful hint. thanks. I got him out of his paddock yesterday and led him around the larger paddock which is mostly the fencline of the mares paddock and he was still well behaved. He wanted to look at them lots, but wasnt naughty, so he really is a good boy when handling him. I will just have to make sure i stay boss as the breeding season nears.
, Yes Renee, we have never had to use it for show but that is where my idea came from the many of folks that have had to use it. It is especially usefull as during a paint show(don't know what the other breed shows are doing) the judges tend to like to line up the yearlings and two year olds and three year old head to tail, so it is tempting for a young colt to test his waters and you horse better be under control !!
Your color of halter doesn't need to different from the rest of the tack room, it just needs to be different , maybe even a leather halter or a rope halter--- just different. For us we use a differnt lunge line for breeding too, with a full size horse even a good strong parachute rope is ok. Just different than the rest of the equiptment used for show, work, pleasure something just for breeding.
A halter of different color will not make a difference. Consider that first off, the halter is on his head and therefore, difficult to see. Number two, studies have shown that horses do not distinguish between a variety of colors.
Try a heavier halter or prehaps use a nose chain just for the diffenece. You do not actually have to use the chain, just have it in place for effect. You would rather have a chain and not need it rather than need a chain and not have it.
Right ok then. Thanks heaps guys. You've been alot of helP! He has calmed down a bit with the mares as he has settled in a bit more. I can quite easily halter him up and walk him straight through their paddock past them all and he's fine. He just got a bit excited with them living right next door to him i think!! I will start shopping around for a different halter then. TX Breeder, how should the chain best be worn do you think? Over his nose? He's never had one on, and ive never used one, so any recommendations would be great. Thanks again guys!!
be careful the first time you use this chain whether over or under the nose. If it is pulled to hard (accidently or purposely) he may rear up and paw out... i imagine it hurts... And with him not knowing what it is he may shy away just because he doesn't know and pull it himself.. when we put one on our stud, which is very rare, we put it under the chin. I have seen a lot of people with them over the nose though. i guess either way works well as long as it is not abused. Good Luck!
interesting question..have had a number of stallion over the years that have come pre-made as far as how they are handled before during and after breeding. Have used chain over the nose if colt alittle silly, under the chin, and have used staright bar bit when breeding only and snaffle when working under sadle...and he knows the difference. All depends on whether or not he behaves... you may just have to use slight chain under OR over when trg him to greet and be patient meeting the mares. the stallion I have now... if pasture breeding halter only with fuzzies no chain under or over even though he is all macho...he listens to the handler ( me) simple voice commands of stand , wait , okay and back when he is dismounting mare...he'll back 200 yds and stop if you want him to, if covering in hand live cover... he has been taught to breed in bridle head stall with straight bar bit. Then when we switch to "work" not play time... he is worked calmly in a snaffle wiithout any problems. You have to do more than just get another colored halter as they see very little color and once it's on him..it's just a collar. I had a draft stud 2100lbs, that the owner had trained him with a single jingle belle put on halter right befor ehe would cover a mare. Doesn't reach to any otherbell sounds except this specific one. Big kjoke was santa better watch out. Alot depends pon his libido and establishing correct brhavior in the very beginning. Good luck with what you decide on...but be consistent EVERYTIME..same routine and if you have NO experience GET someone who does who can set down the ground rules from day one... it certainly makes for excellent coverage....when it's done properly.
Beverly & J.R Hamilton, Thanks for the info. He is very responsive to me, as he is a miniature and has been shown in hand quite extensively, so when being handled, he knows all my commands, which will come in very useful when he is learning to breed. I think that i will try him in a heavier leather halter, with a chain just so that it is there if i need it. I will be setting up a breeding chute for him before the season arrives, as he is quite a nit smaller than my mares, and will need to be elevated a bit anyway, so he will always be bred in the same spot. I have taught my other stallion in his first breeding season, and i couldnt be happier with how he turned out. He is a very well behaved boy, and always listens to my commands. This colt though is alot more excited around mares than my last stallion was at this age. So i just wanted to establish if there were something i could do to prepare him and calm him a little around the mares. As time has gone on, he has become used to living in an adjacent paddock to the mares, and its not so exciting for him anymore. Thanks again everyone
Renee, It sounds as if you have made progress with him! And certianly if you have raised on colt with good sucess for breeding i am sure you are on the right track with this one. We too use a chain over any stallion that we have raised, normally once they turn two or so. Just to have it in case you need it and they know its there too and can make a difference in their behavior. We really never have a need for it much but with a full size horse sometimes we use it just to get his attention when he is preoccoupied with a mare . We are just begining to work with a yealing and teaching him what we expect, and after having a well behaved fellow for 14 years (one that we did the work with- and knew how we did things) it is worrysome to a degree, just getting past those testy moments .
Kim
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