by Charlene Strickland
In his first season, you hope for your young stallion to fulfill his purpose as a breeding animal, maturing from a rambunctious colt into a skillful stud.
However, it’s important to remember that you are asking him to behave naturally in a controlled setting. In order for this to happen, you need to envision how you expect your young stallion to behave, and then train him with mutual respect. Here’s how:
Discipline Before Pleasure
The handler determines the horse’s conduct. “The most important thing is to have your training thoroughly in place,” says Steve Alred, breeding manager at Plum Creek Hollow, Larkspur, Colorado.
“The stallion has to get it in his mind that when he’s out, away from home, that there’s absolutely no possibility of even getting familiar with a mare. When a stallion is started that way, there’s no question in his mind.”
Even when sexually aroused, the stallion must yield to pressure applied through the lead shank. Dean Scoggins, DVM explains: “Teach the horse to respond to the command ‘Whoa.’
“However, don’t expect the young stallion to stand quietly still at this stage – just teach him that the handler can stop him and control his direction.”
Stallion and handler must respect each other. “Stallions tend to act somewhat territorial in their stall and/or paddock as they become sexually mature,” says Scoggins. “Aggressive stallions are most apt to become threatening when approached if they have not learned respect for the handler.”
Alred defines the boundary: “If he gets into me with his shoulder, I move him back over where he belongs. When he’s in that position with his shoulder, his head is past what I call ‘the magic line.’ If he’s behind me a little bit, I watch his shadow. In an instant, he can move, and you’re on the ground!”
Gentlemanly Courtship
Repeated training establishes a routine that makes the stallion feel comfortable. The horse becomes accustomed to a pattern, and he develops habits when he learns what to do.
“Teaching a stallion to breed is like training any other animal to perform,” says Paul Mennick, DVM. Mennick handles stallions and jacks at Pacific International Genetics in Rancho Murieta, California.
“We’re asking the young stallion to do something which – to him – is relatively pleasurable. He just has to learn what to do; to reach that pleasurable end point.”
The handler must also teach the young stallion its limits. As part of the breeding routine, the stallion must learn to wait in the breeding shed. And, prior to mating, he must stand quietly for cleansing.
“It’s all in the handling,” says Mennick. “We don’t tolerate striking or rearing, or kicking while being washed. The horse is reprimanded quickly and appropriately, and then we carry on as if nothing ever happened.”
A wise handler waits until the stallion is at least three years old before breeding. The horse needs to be mature enough to comprehend breeding behaviour, and not to attack the mare or lunge toward the mount.
Alred controls his stallion’s progress during live cover. “If a stallion wants to rush in, I stop the whole thing. I’ll bring him down and have him back up. We might go back to the barn, or start over.”
The stallion handler must walk the fine line of controlling the horse without inhibiting its natural expression. “You look at the animal’s frame of mind,” says Mennick. “You assess what he does, and why he does it, and you change your behaviour accordingly.
When teasing a mare, the stallion can become overly energetic. “Typically, he will smell, snort, and nibble, and you want him to be aggressive, to chew on the mane and maybe be a little ‘lippy,’ but you don’t want him to chew the mare apart,” says Mennick. “If he tries, you reprimand him immediately and let him cool off.”
The Older Novice
Alred trained the farm’s home-raised stallion, Wendesohn. The horse had been in training and on the show circuit for four years, before he was introduced to his first mare.
“He had no idea that he could breed a mare,” says Alred. “He couldn’t believe that he was allowed to get close to one, or that he was allowed to mount. He kept looking at me.”
Alred took care to choose an older mare for the stallion’s first experience. “We were extra careful that the mare wouldn’t kick or wiggle around. Once you have a horse at that point, where he’ll breed the mare, then the libido kicks in.”
The handler should allow time for the novice stallion’s training. Mennick notes that it might take two hours, perhaps in three or four sessions.
In the breeding shed, handlers should remain quiet. Try to give the horse time to do whatever it is he wants to do. “You can’t pretend that every stallion is the same, and tease them for 15 minutes only on the neck of the mare,” says Mennick.
“Some like the neck; some like the wither. Once you breed him four or five times, you’ll learn what to expect.”
He suggests allowing the stallion some leeway, and to not direct the horse’s every move. “Patience is of the essence. If you get mad at the horse, he can lose his erection.
“You have to think: ‘Do what you have to do’ – as long as it’s not dangerous.”
