What stallion behavior is acceptable?

[DancinWithDiamonds]

What do you tolerate in your boys?

My colt is 3. He's VERY well behaved on the lead. He ties respectfully and listens well. 95% of the time.

If there are geldings around...look out. He'd rather charge the fence then breed a mare in raging heat. He paws at the gate, rears. He never shares a common fenceline...there is 50' between fields. He has 2 acres, plenty to eat but he's at the fencelines constantly.

What do you tolerate? What is 'stallion'acceptable?

I often contemplate gelding him because I want to enjoy him more however his is precisely everything I ever wanted in a stallion...all I have left to see is what passes on to his foala....

 

[Marty]

Its nice he is behaved on the lead so that tells me you've done your end of the job quite well. . However when he is loose under his own steam, I wouldn't give 2 cents for a stallion that acted like that at all. I would be constantly worried he is going to get himself hung up and hurt somehow on the gate or in the fence and hurt somebody. . A horse that keeps himself all worked up would be a warning to me that the end result wouldn't be good. If he is all you ever wanted in a stallion, he would be so much more as a gelding. `Besides, the miniature world doesn't need anymore foals.

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

Honestly, speaking as a stallion owners self my guy gets zero free passes because he is a stud. He acts like a dead quiet gelding or he gets in trouble. At shows even if another stallion puffs up at him I have him so respectful he knows he better not dare and doesn't bother. If his hormones made him aggressive he would not be a stallion. No, he can't be turned out with geldings with a mare too, but he's fine any other time. If he were so aggressive he would charge tfhrough a fence line I would held in a heart beat. The halter tag he plays with my welsh is fine over a fence, but trying to fight through it? Nope.

Geld.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Geld him. It might take some time to lose the behavior after gelding. Keep working with him on manners and be very cautious about turning him out with other horses until you feel he would be safe.

I say, there is nothing wrong with owning a gorgeous gelding, even drop dead gorgeous geldings are great. Geldings don't have to be horses that are not pretty enough to not be stallions, they can be absolutely stunning, and gelded, so don't feel guilty about considering gelding your boy. I would do it in a minute, that behavior would drive me crazy. That fence charging is dangerous for you, other horses, and for your boy. If he ever got loose and got in with another horse it could end up in tragedy too.

You are smart to consider gelding him. I am here to give my vote to YES you should do it.

If you have second thoughts... video or photograph his behavior, put it on your computer and look at it over and over and ask yourself, do I really want to look at this every day? Stepping back and watching a video or looking at a series of snapshots of it can often make you see it in a different light, kind of like having somebody video you driving your horse.

good luck. best wishes. Good question for the forum, thanks for posting.

 

[bevann]

I had a very young stallion who was a mess.I put him in with some mares who were older and it was horsey rape.I decided he needed to be cut.He was gelded and is an AWESOME gelding.He is 17 and was recently given to a family with 2 young girls.They entered him in our state fair and he won multiple ribbons,driving,lead line, costume, showmanship.He is such a nice boy now.I had people waiting in line when I decided to re home him.If you want a foal send your mare out to a stallion.Geld your boy and cut down on stress.

 

[DancinWithDiamonds]

Thanks guys. This confirms it for me. My husband is bent out of shape about it because I paid good money for him blah blah blah. But my dream is to show, and I have young kids. If they were able to show my 'new' gelding too that would be so fun for me.

I love that this forum is here. And Marty you have an excellent point about minis not needing more babies. After raising an orphan foal....its just not something for me. I had heartbreak breeding big horses and the heartbreak is certainly no less in the wee ones.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

Actually- I'd wait. 3 is still very young, and he's still adjusting to his hormones. If he's totally handleable on a lead I don't see a problem. Our guys are permitted to be themselves when turned out.

Now, if he's a raging maniac on a lead, off with his brains! The dangly brains....

 

[Dein]

Just a thought I don't know how expensive it is but if he is every thing you wanted and you are planing on gelding him why not freeze some of his sperm for later just in case you find the perfect mare you would of wanted to bread him to jmo

 

[Jill]

Since you're asking, I have to figure you're finding the behavoir somewhat unacceptable. Are your reasons for keeping him a stallion worth the hassle to you? I love my boys, stallions and geldings alike. We have had stallions gelded that won a lot of ribbons as stallions, and we've never regretted it once. However, we thought about it pretty hard beforehand. Best of luck!

 

[Barefootin]

We have 7 breeding stallions, 5 mini and 2 large, plus 4 yearling colts. We expect the stallions to behave the same as any of the rest of our herd. We only have 1 stallion that can't be turned out with the others and he is fairly new to us. This is even during breeding season. Temperament is the FIRST reason we will geld one. If a stallion doesn't have a great temperament we geld. And personally, when looking at an outside stallion to breed to, I don't care how many Grand and Reserve Championships he has if the temperament isn't there I cross him off my list FAST. We have a saying "It takes a good stallion to make a great gelding."

 

[Marsha Cassada]

We have 7 breeding stallions, 5 mini and 2 large, plus 4 yearling colts. We expect the stallions to behave the same as any of the rest of our herd. We only have 1 stallion that can't be turned out with the others and he is fairly new to us. This is even during breeding season. Temperament is the FIRST reason we will geld one. If a stallion doesn't have a great temperament we geld. And personally, when looking at an outside stallion to breed to, I don't care how many Grand and Reserve Championships he has if the temperament isn't there I cross him off my list FAST. We have a saying "It takes a good stallion to make a great gelding."

I agree with this. Temperament is so important. And, imo, a breeding stallion is not a dynamic I would want on my place with young children; they are too unpredictable. If a child got between him and one of his mares, or some other horse he felt a threat from, a child would be at risk. Because they weight 250# instead of 1100# makes them no less a stallion. But I'm older and have moved into the grandmother mentality!

 

[baltoist]

good behavior duh

 

[DancinWithDiamonds]

I dont like his behavior in pasture because he seems stressed. Like he's constantly trying to micromanage everyone's location in regards to his mares.

He doesnt seem happy? I shouldnt say that....in his stall whe I tie him (part of training) thats the only 20mins of the day he seems to relax and fall asleep.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I also try to think about if I ever had to rehome a horse. Would anybody else want to live with that behavior. Can you imagine advertising him and what you would have to explain?

I know he is young... it might go away, but there are too many perfect mannered stallions out there to put up with that fence charging behavior.

What can be scary is when they are looking at the other horses and running up and down, and aren't paying attention to the humans and run right over top of somebody.

I honestly don't see the need to breed just because somebody has a stallion. There are too many minis now, if you want babies, it would be easier and cheaper probably to just buy a foal.

 

[HGFarm]

If he is well behaved while it's 'work time', whether it's being groomed or driving or anything else- that is acceptable. It is absolutely natural to be protective and defensive in the 'wild' state of being on pasture and when there are mares around. He is doing what stallions do. I have never really had one that tolerated another male much- unless there was sufficient space between them (not sharing a fence line).

 

[amysue]

Some stallions exhibit extreme examples of wild horse behavior in social situations in which natural instincts kick in. In the wild, the dominant herd sire fights off other stallions to maintain his dominancy and acts aggressive to keep the mares to himself. Thats probably why he appears stressed to you. If he behaves well in all other situations then there is the option of keeping him in individual turn out. I do not put my stallions out with others. I know some people do, but it often initiates the behavior you are describing with your herd. Sometimes the behavior wanes if no other males are present, but keep in mind that he may become posessive of his mares too. If you geld him, it will take some time for him to learn his place in the hierarchy once he is not the top dog. If you are not dead set on breeding him, geld him, both of you will be happier.

 

[Barnmother]

I had a stallion that I ran with my mares and geldings. He was about 2 when I put him in with them, yes I intended to breed the mares. I was NOT doing so to sell them they were for my own personal enjoyment. He had however never been with a mare or bred a mare so there was a lot of trial and error in it. I have never seen a mare PG from getting her neck or ear bred. What it did teach him was there was a time and place for it those mares mannered that stallion better than any stallion I have ever owned. He was a saint about the farm, my then 4 year old grandson could take him anywhere. The first horse show I took him to he was a walking hormone. We asked the judge if you could get "peter faults" in hunter and jumper because although he wasn't ill mannered he was in a perpetual state of readiness. There was a considerable amount of "talking" on his part. He was of course told that this behavior was unacceptable. Two weeks later a different horse at a show. We didn't enter him in much expecting a repeat performance, he had been fine once back home. He was a perfect gentleman friends were asking what I did to him. Answer was nothing, absolutely nothing. Ultimately as a 4 year old he got one foal on the ground and the pairing was not was I wanted in quality so he was gelded and he and the other geldings moved to a different pasture so as not to harrass the mare and foal. The mares and one foal in another. When I utlimately tried to put all the boys back into a group with the mares (since they had always all been together) the mares savagely attacked the former stallion, and only him. Ultimately he and his daughter moved to my sisters home as her projects and they live together quite happily now. I say give him a chance, can he experience a herd living situation, in my opinion this really helped my horse to learn his place and appropriate manners around other horses. Like I said he was always a gentleman to handle.

 

If he is well behaved while it's 'work time', whether it's being groomed or driving or anything else- that is acceptable. It is absolutely natural to be protective and defensive in the 'wild' state of being on pasture and when there are mares around. He is doing what stallions do. I have never really had one that tolerated another male much- unless there was sufficient space between them (not sharing a fence line).

I couldn't agree more, Laurie. I've had many stallions - up to 15 at a time. Your stallion's behavior sounds acceptable to me, as well. As long as he is well mannered and respects your space when "working", it's fine for him to be a "horse" when in pasture. I've had stallions that could be put in a bachelor herd if they were not being used for breeding, but if they knew they "had" mares, then I would expect them to be alert and a "herd protector". Perfectly allowable as long as they respected me as the "lead". I personally like a stallion to "show" me he is a stallion, but then I LOVE stallions with personality, that respect my bounds.

 

[MountainWoman]

I also was going to chime in on this. A stallion's main function in life and in his mind as well is to breed mares. He's not going to care if you have him on 2 acres or 20 acres or if you have the finest of foods in front of him if he's turned out with mares. When he's turned out with mares and he's breeding, he sees those mares as HIS herd and he's going to protect them from what he perceives as a threat to his ownership. It doesn't matter that your geldings are 50 feet away. He sees them, he's worried about him and he's going to make sure they stay away from his girls.

You can't tell a young stallion has a bad temperament from this behavior especially when you say he's fine on the lead where it really matters.

I don't pasture breed and I know many people who don't pasture breed. My boys are together and a happy bachelor band and if and when I breed a mare I take both to a separate location and I supervise.

Gelding always makes sense and I'm pro gelding and geldings always are better companions than stallions but I don't see his actions as a problem with his temperament doing what nature has programmed to do in turn out with mares.

 

[cassie]

Can I ask a side question? Is it ok to have a colt/ stallion running with a gelding or is it always a no? I have a 3 week old colt that when he is weaned I'm thinking of putting with his big brother (gelding) and if he stays nice enough i want to keep him a colt and keep him with his brother... Is this an ok plan?