I've never ridden a stallion (I think... unless they didn't tell me about one...), but I have often ridden a "bully" (I think he's a gelding,) and had to deal with horses we suspect may have mental problems.
I discovered -in a "sink or swim" fashion- when gentleness doesn't work, authority does. Ever since I did I've been one of the few in the stable that can handle the more unruly horses -but I don't enjoy it very much.

Personally I wouldn't bother with one. At most displays we go to there are other riders or equestrian sports represented and a stallion sets all the mares off and vice versa. Therefore I think it is discourteous to the other riders if you use a stallion.

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URL=http://www.jousting.co.nz

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URL=http://www.jousting.co.nz

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I've always found that most of the problems with stallions come from the people, not the stallions.

I work reasonably frequently with three lusitano stallions, two of which regularly do displays of classical dressage at equestrian events without any serious problems.

I wouldn't suggest that you could do this with just any stallion - this pair are trained to high school dressage, to the point where training can over-ride instinct - but it shows it can be done.

However, you have to know exactly what you're doing, and can't ever switch off - not because the stallions will consciously take advantage, but because things can go wrong very, very quickly indeed.

Practically, I don't think this is possible for any reenactment show, where you have far too many other things to worry about to be able to exercise that sort of attention.

To answer Destichado's original question, Stallions tend to a) be more muscular than most of the horses you'll work with, and b) more excitable. They aren't necessarily any worse tempered, unless you treat them wrong.

Handling them - well, the short answer is "experience" - it's not something I'd recommend for a novice. Calmness and confidence are important.

Plan ahead, and make sure you don't get into situations that'll give you a problem - even if it means you move the other horses out of a feild before you move the stallions through it, then move them back afterwards.

I also can't overstress that you need to know the limits with stallions - unlike most horses, they do have an "attack" response, and trust me, you really don't want to trip that particular switch!

I'd say the biggest factor has to do with your confidence as a rider/handler, and how well socialized the stallion is around other horses. I'm not a believer that stallions should be isolated from all other horses. This leads to the horse conducting himself badly when around others. Of course some stallions don't do well around other horses, but most that are socialized from an early age do well.

If you are worried, the horse WILL pickup on this and be concerned.

I don't have a stallion, I have a very "opinionated" and spirited mare. When I used to get nervous about something, she would get nervous. Now, if I blow it off as nothing/don't react to a "potential horse eating monster", she is fine or if she spooks, it's a start in place rather than a full bore "Pitch and run" reaction (no she hasn't thrown me yet) .

If you are going handle stallions, my advice would be to work with and observe someone who has one and watch how they conduct themselves. You'd be surprised by the subtlness of some corrections.

If someone has to beat a horse to get them to do what they want them to, then my advice would be to steer clear of that particular handler. Brute force methodology is flawed in the extreme: human vs. 700 lb + horse LOSES. Once I saw a guy strike his daughter's horse when he wouldn't get in a trailer, the guy smacked the horse on his neck and ended up hyper-extending his bicep and his arm ended up in a sling for a couple of weeks. The horse didn't really feel a thing and didn't get in the trailer: so who won?

I suspect that the horses that you think may have "mental" problems are the result of just such treatment. These horses will take time to regain their trust and respect.

I think a horse that "bullies" people hasn't been taught appropriate ground manners. If they bully you, they don't respect you so like the horses in the field, you have to teach them what is proper.

For example, when I was first working with my mare when she was a yearling, I would walk her outside the fence. She had a tendency to crowd me. So I started carrying a lunge whip (the tail was wrapped). I would carry it in my left hand and if she started to crowd me, I would angle it across my back until the tip of the rod would touch (not strike) her flank and she'd move away. Now she doesn't crowd me.

Horses are individuals, you will have to assess their personality and work out a course of action. Some horses are more difficult than others and once you have a plan of how to work with them, you have to be consistent, if not, they will slip back into their old habits. They like the path of least resistance and if it's easier to walk over you, they will, but if you teach them that it is easier to walk around you, they will do that instead.

Jenn

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Originally posted by Fire Stryker:
I suspect that the horses that you think may have "mental" problems are the result of just such treatment. These horses will take time to regain their trust and respect.
... a horse that "bullies" people hasn't been taught appropriate ground manners. If they bully you, they don't respect you so like the horses in the field, you have to teach them what is proper.

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I agree. Quite a few of the horses at the stable where I ride have come from backrounds ranging from questionable to bad, and the general suspicion is that something traumatic happened to the horse when it was young, and was never able to get over it. A few of these horses, you could be riding along at a trot, and for no apparent reason they'd suddently break into a gallop in the ring, or offer to buck, and be uncontrolable for several minutes.
To my mind, whether or not there was something real that caused the horse to behave erraticly; the fact that it did, and another horse in a similar situation wouldn't have, is a "mental problem" that one can either deal with, or avoid.

Actualy, I really liked the horse with the reputation as a bully. He was a huge, deep and wide-chested draft with a short, THICK neck and short legs. I'd put his hight (guestimate) right at 15.5 hands. He was amazingly strong, and he could run forever if you wanted him to... My brother described him as a "proud" horse, and I must confess I felt like one of the Riders of Rohan every time I climed into the saddle.

The first few times I had to get him out of the feild, no one thought I'd be able to catch him. Then again, no one else had ever been able to run after him and keep pace with him at a canter. The horse certainly didn't expect it
After that, and a half dozen or so incedents where we determined who was the boss, we got along spleandidly. It even got the to the point where he would walk up to me for a carrot -a miracle where that horse was concerned.

Unfortunately, he was bought by an incompetent, highly overweight woman (she only bought him because he was the ony horse with the strength to hold her up.) She's new to riding, and now Curly KNOWS he's the boss -and he's right.
I've been able to ride him since, as part of an agreement the owner has with the stable, and he's become a completely different horse. He doesn't listen anymore, not unless you FORCE him to listen, and it pains me to do that, remembering how well we used to get on together...
So, I decided to stop riding him for the time being, until his owner becomes more competent and make him mind, or until she gets so frustrated that she sells him back, and I won't have to constantly repair the damage she's doing to her horse.

This brings me to my current situation. I don't own a horse, but I have virtualy a stable-full to chose from to try out and ride, and I wanted to know more about stallions and what they're like, to keep my options open.

The real problem comes when a mare is coming into or has been recently in heat. And sometimes that is genuinely hard to tell. And most often, the focus of the stallion is on the mare and becomes a pain in the X to handle. I had one stallion in the dressage arena do that to me and I lost valuable points due to the "focus" problem.

Unless I were looking for a stallion for a specific purpose (be it racing, jousting, etc.), I wouldn't bother (unless I was intending to breed a registered stallion). I'd rather have a gelding...

YES...I have seen and dwelt with both....good and bad, and honestly I ahve seen and met geldings and mares that were more of a pain than some studs. I have met some that you could throw a kid on, and no worries......as said before usually the problems with stallions, aren't with the horses at all...its the people they have been raised by, or who are around. (but there are ALWAYS exceptions, just IMO thats the general idea)

take care
CourtneyB

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