manners

[ManyMinisFarm]

At a show last year my Mini Stallion was crazy. He kept neighing and jumping around, and kept pulling the lead. And he wouldn't really listen to me. And he was showing himself in front of the mares. The judge said I had a beautiful horse but he just needs some manners. How do I get my Mini to pay attention to me in the showring and respect me, and stand their and be quite.

Here is a picture from the show.

 

[Danielleee]

Your best bet is to probably geld him he'll listen better around other horses then

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

GELD. In my book theres no such thing as a stallion that's not a perfect gentleman - they're called geldings.

If he's pulling on the lead and not listening, he needs a wake up call to respect you. Work on moving away from pressure, moving away form you, and paying attention to you.

As for the 'showing' himself, my guy always got a swat on his belly then i'd take off running or back him up real quick, he learned real quick it wasnt allowed. And he wasn't ever allowed to be 'up' about things. He got looking, sniffing, etc, he got in trouble before his manhood made an appearance.

Pretty much my rule is this - if he was 19 hands tall and 2200 lbs would the behavior be allowed? If the answer is no, he gets in trouble. If he were 19hh and 2200 lbs and a stud that acted liek that would he be gelded? If the answer is yes, its time to call the vet.

 

[Minimor]

You will need to work with him at home--does he behave when you work him alone at home? If not--that is where you start. If he is good when there are no other horses around then you will need to work him with other horses. Have a friend come and handle one of your other horses (do you have others or just him?) or get together with a couple friends and their horses. Until he behaves in company there is no point in taking him to a show. Judges do not like unruly stallions; neither do the other exhibits and neither does show management.

You are going to have to be right on him if you have any hope of training him to behave--with some stallions it takes a lot of doing to make them behave in public, and quite honestly there are some people who simply are not capable of training such a stallion. I have no idea of your capabilities, but it is something to consider.

Gelding may very well be your best option. There are so many well mannered, agreeable stallions out there, it simply isn't worth the effort to train and show some of the less agreeable and more unmannerly ones.

 

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

Option 1) Geld. He will settle down and not be as interested in the ladies. There are some gelding who love the mares, but shouldn't act as crazy. As some one who owns a mare, I always worried about being around stallions at show, especially unruly ones. People will not be happy if your stallion mounts their mare at a show.

Option 2) If you don't go with option 1, practice, practice, practice at home. Start with a real halter or a performance halter. You will have trouble getting control with a cable or traditional show halter. You may want to run a chain under the chin if you are having trouble gaining control, be firm, but fair. Teach him to have a good "whoa," so when you say that nothing else matters--he needs to stand still. If he moves or dances around, shank the lead and say "whoa." I have also heard some people suggest that you put Vicks around their nose so they can't smell mares as easily at a show.

 

[Barnmother]

I have to add my two cents worth here. From personal experience. I owned a 5 year old miniature stallion, he was incredibly well behaved at home, and yes I had used him to bred mares. Personally I don't care what sex a horse is, I demand manners from all. Now a little more about my 5 year old stallion:

We took him to his first show and holy moly he was a real jerk. Halter Class or performance in hand (he wasn't broke to drive) he was "on the muscle" all the time. We jokingly asked the judge if you could get "peter" faults in Hunter and Jumper classes, that is how he was most likely to knock a rail off. Unfortunately our next show was only two weeks away and already entered (although the thought crossed my mind to leave him at home). I will say we did not let him get away with an inch, he was disciplined for every little wrong move and any loss of focus at the first show.

Took him to that second show and he was a completely different horse. Calm, never on the muscle, never trolling for a woman. I really think it was just he was over stimulated on his first trip away from home. Several of the judges at the first show were at the second and couldn't believe the difference. Honestly I can tell you that we did NOTHING differently, he traveled in the same trailer with the same horses (all geldings) and was handled in the same way. We were prepared to scratch him from all classes and just handle him on the show grounds as a life lesson in manners.

i have since gelded him because he was being sold to a family relatively new to horses. They didn't care if he was a stallion, I did. The purchaser paid for the gelding and I took care of getting it done and the aftercare etc that way I knew it was done and he was all healed up without any complications. He was delivered to them a happy gelding six weeks later. (He sure has packed on the weight since then!)

if I would of kept him he would still be a stallion. He was really one of the easiest horses to handle, except for that first show.

For your stallion - Was it his first show? Has he done this before? Does he do this at home? if the answers are No, yes and yes, then geld him and make him happy.

I am not sure how old you are, your profile doesn't say, but I know there is an age minimum for handling stallions. I think it is 16, if you are less than that I would definitely geld him.

 

[ManyMinisFarm]

He behaves great at home. I have him with a mare. And I'm not going to geld him because he has great conformation and would make beautiful foals. Last year I had him alone before the show before I got my mare. But now he's with her. What are some different ways besides gelding him?

 

[amysue]

Work with him every day and keep a zero tolerance policy on bad manners. Backing him off you when he muscles you around is important to teach him to respect your space. If you keep him with a mare, he will always be prone to exhibit dominant stud herd behavior as that is what nature tells him to do. Any stallions that we show stay by themselves to keep them from becoming dominant like. We handle ours a lot and bring them around other horsrs often so they do not not assume they can scream and jump every horse in sight. To teach him to be respectful in the ring you may have to train with a whip and GENTLY tap his belly when he drops. If you use him for breeding be sure to praise him when he is polite with the mare and scold himvand back him off when he is rude. Sometimes a stud chain on the nose is necessary to remind him of his place. Though it does no good to keep it taught all the time as he'll learn to muscle through it. Tension when he is bad and immediately release when he gives will stop that habit but you must consistently practice or he'll resort back to his bad ways. If he drags you around, keep backing him up tobget him out of your space and if he runs through you make small circles to show him you are moving at your pace, not his. It willbhelp him re focus his attention. To teach him to respect you it will take consistency as well as patience and praise of good behavior. You may want to try bringing him to "spectate" at open shows if they allow stallions to practice his manners around other horses. This is something thst takes practice at home so he does not ruin other exhibitor and spectator's shows. Good luck and have fun with him. He should look forward to your work outs and training sessions.

 

[Casey0Lee]

Geld him.

Simple as that.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

SO easy to find a stallion to breed your one mare. SO hard to keep a stallion who only has one mare happy- worse than none, often. A lot does depend on the horses attitude- I am sorry I can't remember how old your boy is but he is not that old, right?- but of course he is like that at shows and not at home- he has no reason to be "like that" at home. Try taking him away from his mare for a week and then bringing her back to her, on a lead rein, and not actually letting him go up to her and you would see a marked difference! I do have a "not at shows" rule, to which my entires all adhere, so no-one draws or ever has, it is just a requirement and it comes about by magic it seems- I cannot ever remember actually teaching this lesson, they never are allowed to start so it never becomes a problem.

Sorry, not much help, is it?

I would say geld him. No horse ever born has been "too good to geld"

 

[ManyMinisFarm]

He's 3 years old, he's perfect at home. I had him walking around the paddock earlier with the mare and he didn't pay much attention to her at all.

 

[Minimor]

He will be since he is with her all the time. You need to have someone else bring over an unfamiliar mare--or possibly any horse, and see what you have got then when you work with him.

 

[Minimor]

You do realize that most shows have a rule regarding unruly animals being asked to leave the ring? It didn't come into play last time, but do know that another time, at another show, it might. His behavior could get you excused from the class. Just something to be aware of.

 

[ManyMinisFarm]

I have a friend that has a bunch of big horses and a few little ones. I'm going to see if she will let me bring Trilogy over there to let him get use to other and new horses.

 

[Tab]

One of the most wonderful ladies in the history of the world told me to pop them in the "belly" with the end of the lead and say "put it away"

Practiced enough at home you should see results at home and in the ring. Snap them with the chain when they whinny and act up. There is a time and a place and a stallion needs to learn the distinction when shown or in the breeding shed. If gelding isn't going to happen, there you go! Some horses, though, are not showring material as mature stallions. No matter how well you excel at training and practice, or how well they did as weanlings and yearlings. I do believe there are a few that the hormones will override good manners.

 

[Marty]

I think taking him to your friend's house is a good idea. As long as you are going strictly to work with him there and nothing else. Do it like you are arriving at a show; unload him, groom him at your trailer, and bring him relatively close to the other horses behind the fence of course and ask him to set up, stand quietly, trot, set up and give his ears again and so on. Make him stand for periods of time just like you'd have to wait around in a class. Don't forget, whatever happens, as long as you are in the ring, you are still showing, so practice properly. Do this once or twice a week. Having a mock show is a good plan. Now you are using your noodle.