Standing a Stallion

[Gabe Ayers]

We are well started on breeding season with our stallion Ridgewind Rubescent Rudra, Rudy for short. His photo is in the photo gallery under the favorite photos section.

He is an old experienced horse at this point and does a good job in hand or lead to the mare after teasing over the round pen fence to be sure she is in heat. We have never relied on pasture breeding to settle mares. Outside mares are never mixed in our herd, it is just to much upheaval in the herd calmness and another opportunity for injury to a horse.

We have a breeding stanchion or a couple of post and stout boards like a standing stall, off one out side of the round pen that allows us to tie the mare from moving to the front or backing up. This allows me to breed a mare without an assistant. That is where all our Suffolk babies come from. This horse has about forty off spring some of which are registered. I also had his sire, which came out of Canada and his sire was English.

Is anyone else on this board keeping a stallion and breeding any mares these days?

I guess we could post photos the breeding stanchion but it is pretty simple….

[becorson]

good work on standing a good “using” stallion. i don’t know how many people on this board keep draft stallions but where i’m from (central pa) there are still a number on Amish farms.
i used to see quite a few ads for morgan / percheron crosses , standardbred / draft horse crosses or other “draft chunks” for sale in local papers but not so much recently. today all the news is about the “unwanted horse” but those are largely pets, not working partners, right?
i wish i could clone my 15 hand, 1200 pound buckskin chunk. i’m afraid she is one of a kind. her daughter is a fine horse in her own way, but not a patch on the mother.

[Gabe Ayers]

B. Corson,

I wonder what color a chestnut and buckskin cross would turn out to be?

I still owe you for those cool back pad arch deals I haven’t slowed down long enough to try out – yet….. Maybe we can work out a good deal???

Having a stallion that is proven in harness as a requirement for reproducing should be an important feature and characteristic everyone that decides to breed working horses should consider.

Thanks for posting.

[ngcmcn]

Jason, We’ll take any advice you can give on stallions. We just got last fall a chunk Percheron stud colt, he’s a year now and has been out with three adult mares most of the time, and getting his little butt taught a lesson or two. He was started well with feet, and basic manners, he’s the low man in the herd. We plan to work him and get him along side the team doing hay this summer.

We too have much rain in Maine but the next stretch of sun will mean Hay.

Thanks

Neal Maine

[simon lenihan]

we have 2 stallions at present with a third on its way next week, the one on its way is also a pure ardennes [ d’hargi bloodlines ] our contacts in belgium have been looking for this bloodline for me for the past 3 years with no joy, it is a very old bloodline and nearer the original ardennes type, we actually located this horse only 2 hours from home. The guy that owns him is a very eldery man living on a mountain farm, he told me his dad worked ardennes during WW1 and always spoke highly of them, he said the shelling never fazed them they just got on with their work. I am taking this horse on trial and if he proves to be a good wood horse we will do a deal. I believe a stallion must really prove itself in work before it is allowed to stand at stud, i will not allow my stallions to cover any mares that are not worked, i have seen first hand what has happened over here to the shire/ clyde / suffolk, 90% of which will never have been worked and are bred purely for showing. There is no doubt that we could do with the money but the line has to be drawn somewhere. We have 2 mares due next week one from ireland and one down from scotland both these mares earn their crust in the wood and hopefully their offsprings will have a head start coming from working stock on both sides.
simon lenihan

[ngcmcn]

Simon,
Good points about breeding. I know percheron show breeders that only breed for a certain look and do little actual work with their horses. They sell a lot of foals. And a horse proving itself can take quite a while,or show quite early. I’ve had a few litters of Australian Shepherd dogs out of working parents and grandparents. Some would work. Some wouldn’t. So we’ll see. My stud colt came out of working parents. The dam was from a long line from an old very well respect farmer/breeder. My mares i’m not completely sure of their history, but they work well for me.

I appreciate your previous post. I always learn something from this forum

Neal Mcnaughten
Maine, USA

[becorson]

Jason, one of these days i would relish the chance to brain storm with you about how to incorporate the best features of Scandinavian harness into American harness systems.

re: color genetics, there’s a new book out on that subject, written by a fellow Virginian, Phil Sponenberg (sp?) he would probably know what we’d get if we crossed Rudy with my mare ….
re: breeding horses that can work:
you all probably know more about this than me, but i think in most of the European countries, a stallion has to be “approved” before his owners can use him for registered breeding. I have been lucky enough to attend a couple of these events in Norway, for fjord horses and for the the “doele” horses of eastern Norway.
the tests include conformation, temperament, and work-related tasks as well: standing quietly while harnessed and while the driver climbs into the wagon, holding the wagon still on a hill, etc. very interesting to watch!

[Andy Carson]

I case anyone is curious about horse color genetics, I found this handy-dandy horse color calculator in a search once. I was curious how my Belgian/Perch cross ended up bay, even though neither parent was… The calculator says a Buckskin/Chestnut cross will most likely be Buckskin or Bay, but could end up Palomino, Chestnut, or Black.

http://www.animalgenetics.us/CCalculator3.asp

[blue80]

We are keeping two stallions, but I’m not sure if they “count” They are registered foxtrotters, coming 3 and coming 5 years old, full brothers.
We got them cheap at auction, I intended to cut them and just train them for riding horses and possibly to sell, but am greatly intrigued by working with them. They of course have a different focus for life than the other horses I’ve worked and learned with, and have required different adaptations in training them.
It is interesting how some people have told me I have no business having stallions with a wife and little kids around, while a couple old timers tell me of the stallions being the smartest and strongest on the farm, and how some teenage girls have barrel raced stallions at the local fairs. So I am treading lightly and trying to be responsible; “never trust a stallion”- though my wife with very little riding experience now confidently rides the 4 yr old with a hackamore. The same 4 yr old that right after the auction, the trainer told me, “watch out, that horse will throw itself over backwards as soon as you get on it.” Turns out, the guy who initially broke him had the biggest spurs in the county…..
Application of lateral flexion is a dream come true, and they respond wonderfully to it, even when around our filly’s which have come into heat. So far it seems a weekly session in the round pen makes all the difference for their “respect factor” of those around them.
The overall possible plan is to purchase some stout draft mares and breed them to the foxtrotters to get us some stout pack horses for the mountains….Some percheron/foxtrotters locally weighed about 1200 pounds and made excellent packing and riding horses. I am wondering whether they would also do great in front of a mower?

And in defense of posting these play horses on a work forum, I am training the studs to drive, so far without harness. Just ground driving dragging things behind to get them in the feel of things. hey, it’s all I’ve got to “work” with….

Kevin

[Gabe Ayers]

Good story Kevin, no defense necessary – to quote the famous equne philosopher Mr. Ed, “a horse is a horse, of course, of course” and a stallion is a stallion.

Keep working with whatever you have. Thanks for posting.

~

Sincerely,

[CharlyBonifaz]

When I wanted to work with horses years ago, I applied at a racing stable; boss-to-be decided I was going to earn my money in the stallion barn, which scared the heck out of me, for up to then all I’d heard were wild horror stories about real bad freak-accidents with mean stallions……
was I pleasantly surprised to find them just as friendly as any other horse – provided you knew what you were doing; I now rather work with them than moody, bitchy mares……
today my ox stands on a farm that houses 4 stallions, 1 gelding, 4 mares and a filly; without problems. The horses are mostly handled/ridden by 18-22 year old girls after a solemn introduction; they know they have a huge responsibility and are doing a great job

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