Stallions/Training

[guest@endurance.net]

Char Antuzzi char_antuzzi@hp.com
I don't post often but really felt the need after reading some of these
posts. I ride a stallion, the same horse that I use for working stock
horse, reining,western pleasure, english pleasure, halter, and endurance.
Riding a stallion "should" be no different then riding any other horse.
Horses are animals, no matter how much we want to humanize them and feel
they love us, which I am sure they do. However they are animals and will
act out the way they do, fight or flight. You as a rider need to know and
feel when a mishap is going to happen before it happens and prevent it,
weather your riding a stud, gelding or mare. If you know your horse spooks
and runs, train the horse not to bolt, but rather stand and look at what
they are afraid of.  Don't blame a stallion for causing a run a away,
blame the training or lack thereof for having no brakes on the horse. Are
there bad stallions out there, you bet, but I have seen some pretty rank
mares and sourpuss geldings out there also. Each horse is different and
will tolerate so much, it's your RESPONSIBILITY as a horse owner to find
out what your horse will and won't tolerate BEFORE you put other people
and horses in danger. If your horse's heart rate won't come down because
of a stud tied to a tree, perhaps this horse isn't cut out to be in
endurance, but rather a more isolated sport, don't blame the stud. Yes, we
as stallion owners need to be more aware of our horses and those around
us. Our stallions have instincts that run higher then in geldings and
mares, we as owners MUST have our stallions trained to do what we ask,
when we ask with no resistance, but this should be with any horse. If you
are on a mare and notice a stud, you need to take caution also, I don't
know how many times my poor fellow has been kicked by a mare coming by,
only to be cursed at by the mare's rider for having a stud on a ride, in
the arena, etc. Stallions don't think like other horses, their thought
process is different and quicker and we must have safe stallions at rides,
shows, etc. However just because the stallion is as gentle as a lamb
things do go wrong and it may not be the stallion or the owners fault.
What would your horse do if they saw someone charging down the trail on a
run away? Would your horse stand when you said WHOA as the horse flys by?
If your horse were to get kicked would he leap into mid air, kick back?
Then there's the classic, someone doesn't have a back cinch connected to
the front cinch and the horse is coming at you riderless with a saddle
under the belly, or someones horse is jigging down the trail with there
nose steam cleaning your horses rump? These are the tolerances I was
talking about, some will take it and others won't, regardless if it is a
stud, gelding or mare. We as owners need to know our horses and what they
are capable of tolerating or not, then train them to accept those things
that aren't tolerable. If we can't seem to get the horse over things that
are unacceptable and we use those things for our chosen sport, we need to
take a hard look and see if that horse is cut out for the sport we do. A
horse that wants to crawl under a rock and die when they see a steer,
probably isn't going to make a good rope horse. So what it comes down to
is training,weather you ride a mule, hackney, qh, stallion, mare or
gelding.