Why do people think stallions are so unpredictable?

Question

I have worked with stallions for a number of years and I absolutely love them. I currently transported a colt (11mo) to a nearby stable, but have been hearing from a lot of people about how dangerous it is to have a stallion. I don't plan on breeding him, I plan on teaching him to dance (piaffe, etc.). He is Azteca. Anyways, any of you out there dealt with stallions without rediculously thinking they are crazy and dangerous? Any good experiences? The stallions I have worked with were so well trained that they could be placed next to a mare in heat and still not react. They all made excellent riding horses.

Answer 1

In truth, it takes a special person to handle a stallion - simply because there are so many people who don't have the ability or experience to properly handle a horse at all- much less a stallion (and 1200 pounds of libido need proper training and handling to be safe - for both horse and human.)

Also, certain breeds can be more challenging than others - the warmbloods for example, tend to be - well, more level headed. The hotter southern horses are more of a handfull.

but mostly stallions are frowned upon because so many people just don't know how to handle them properly.

I've known many stallions with fine even temperments. My favorite story was when I was a teenager my parents gave me a beautiful Appaloosa/Arab mare. She was perfect. Beautiful and sweet natured. I pastured her near my home. One day the stable manager put an antique stallion in the field with her because he figured she wouldn't beat him up during feedng. Oh my he was old. His bones creaked and groaned as he shuffled by. He had almost no teeth. He was OLD! I complained to the manager about a stallion in with my mare. He told me not to worry - he was too old to cut the mustard anyway.

That next spring I carried the sweetest little filly-foal out of that pasture.

Answer 2

I own a 15 month old stallion. He is very well mannered and behaves good around horses. Sometimes he acts up but all horses do. Now I did have a friend that worked with a woman that owned a stallion since he was born and trained him and ran him in barrels. She won alot of money with him. One day some people came to look at some of her horses and she was showing them her stud. She was standing next to his stall when all of sudden he reached over a bit her cheek off! You never know. She had no idea why it happened except that she let her guard down. So I guess it really is just the individual horse but I think that stallions are a little bit more unpredictable than other horses. Especially when an inexperienced person is working with them.

Answer 3

You answered your own question. First and foremost, the stallions are well trained. And second, you have experieince in handling them. What I see a lot of times is someone who has never owned a horse goes out and buys a stallion thinking it is going to be like in the movies. All hearts and flowers. It winds up more like ER. I have a two year old stallion that we have handled since birth. And he has been taught early on to behave. BUT this does not mean I can totally trust him like I would my geldings. At that age, he is still prone to being a bit foolish. But when a person has no experience in horses to begin with and then start out with a stallion, they are asking for trouble. And then when they get hurt (or worse), who gets the blame? That's right, the horse. That is why you see a lot about "crazy" stallions.

Answer 4

I think with stallions it is the same as with any horse good training make a nice horse to deal with. You need to teach them to respect you and your commands when they are younger and they will be good with proper training the rest of their lives. However if you get a stallion that does not respect you when there is a mare in heat or he thinks he is hot stuff you or someone less experienced then you could get hurt. I have a 10 month old colt now and he has no idea that he is a stallion yet. He goes out with mares and could care less what they are. He acts no different then his half sister, if anything he can be better behaved.

Answer 5

Some stallions ARE hard to handle. I'm sure it has a lot to do with manners training from a young age. I worked briefly at a farm where there was a young stallion who was barely ever handled at all, and the result was that he was an absolute nightmare.

I've known some stallions that were perfect gentlemen, and a few others who were absolutely unbearable to deal with - constantly aroused even by the sight of a distant mare or even from being groomed, nonstop nipping, always prancing instead of walking, and generally acting really studly and rude 24/7.

Answer 6

Yes I have. I own a wonderful paint stallion that I bred for and raised he is now 15yrs old and awesome to handle, ride anything. He is kind hearted and can be rode on the trail or in an arena or out working cattle with mares and he is fine. Of course I don't turn my back on him and I always know where he is when I am around and I think that is just common sense because stallions can be a little "studdy". I wouldn't trade mine for anything!!! He has always been wonderful to be around! During breeding season we are a little more cautious with him and thats only beause he knows what is going on and can get a little hyper and excited. But other than that he is great. I think its about how they are raised he has never been treated meanly or on the other hand babied and got away with alot so he knows that he must respect humans. We never feed him treats by hand they are put in his feed bucket. He is very well trained and is a sweet stallion.

We have two paint stallions and the other one well he is a little different he came from a breeding stallion station, been shown in halter and moved around alot never having a real human bond with anyone and I believe he has been handled more "strong handed" to fear people instead of to respect people. He is not as trusted as our other one but he doesn't have mean look in his eye I think his problems are all man-made from the way he has been handled.

I don't think and never have thought stallions are crazy and most of them aren't dangerous either. Raising yours as you are from a youngster and having hands on with him he should be great.

Answer 7

I have had many good and bad experiences with stallions. Two close friends of mine have been severely injured by stallions. One was out in a pasture trying to catch a horse and was charged, pinned against a fence and continuously kicked until we could get the stallion away(he is now a gelding). The other was riding a stallion and a mare got too close. The stallion continuously bucked and reared until he fell backwards on top of her breaking her back.

On the other hand I have worked with stallions that little children have been able to ride, groom, saddle, and climb all over.

I honestly love working with good stallions and believe that it all depends on the horse.

Answer 8

I have seen many stallions standing next to mares with absolutely no problems. I had one of my own. I also had one that you could not even tell was a stallion by his attitude. So gentle, laid back etc.
Then...I was hand breeding him.. not a problem. One day I went to take him to rebreed, and he reared up, knocked me down, stood on me..... He makes a GREAT gelding.
They are stallions... they can be "crazy" from the start or be a total gentleman.. til that one time. It's just in their nature and no blame can be placed on them. So I say crazy lightly, not to mean psychotic. LOL
Just remember that you should not TOTALLY trust one and don't let your guard down, and you will be fine. Stallions make just as good a horse as any mare or gelding.

Answer 9

There were five at a barn I used to ride at. All were used for more than stud service, and all were ridden. I'm not sure but I think one was a jumper or for some kind of show? Two were ridden by kids maybe 14 yrs old. We could go into their stalls, pet and groom them, and give them snacks. They were well-behaved gentlemen, so I assume it's more of an additude and training thing. They can be a handful, and some are quite dangerous, but I've only had good experiences.

Answer 10

There are numerous cases of people being killed by stallions. One girl was scalped and later died after being attacked by a showjumping stallion that she rode daily in Germany and I personally know of a guy that was cleaning the stall of a well known halter horse stallion who he had looked after for years and it bit him in the face, got him down on the floor and pawed him repeatedly. He died later from his injuries. Another very famous racehorse stallion was put down on a flight to Japan after coming uncorked mid air. We also had a very well known stallion in England and he was notoriously of unsound mind but he produced a lot of winners, the list goes on.
It is common practice on TB farms in England that women do not handle stallions and I am fine with that. I'm not talking about 2 or 3 year old colts, I'm talking about fully fledged breeding stallions. Anyone that thinks that all stallions are lovable and easy to handle has obviously never encountered one like those mentioned above and I think it's stupid to believe that you can trust them and can always be safe when you turn your back.
While there are some wonderful stallions like Zippo Pine Bar who was one of the kindest horses that ever lived, he is the exception to the rule and to think otherwise is foolhardy.