Ridecamp: Re: [RC] horses that kick

> Once again, it seems to come down to human behavior and decision-making,
not
> animal behavior.  The head in charge is supposed to be the one with the
> helmet, not the one with the bridle.  It seems to me to be one thing for
> mares in heat to come into passing contact with a stud on the trail.  I
> don't think it's too much to ask a stud to behave in that situation--but
it
> boggles my mind that anyone would expect a stud to spend hours side by
side
> or nose to tail with a mare and not be tested beyond either his or his
> rider's ability to control his baser instincts.

Or, I might add, the head that is supposed to remain reeled up inside the
sheath when he's busy working...

I disagree that it is too much to ask of a stallion to control his "baser
instincts" for hours side by side with a mare in heat, at least not if there
is indeed a helmeted head on his back and a bridle on his own head.  (The
front one, that is.)  I wouldn't suggest that he not become interested in
the mare if there is not something else to do and someone else in charge,
but given a task and a boss, he should be able to stay focused.  If he
doesn't have the sort of mind that can do that, then I don't want him in the
breeding barn, either.

It has been my experience that we've ridden side by side with mares in heat
on our stallions on multiple occasions and not even had the mare owners KNOW
we were riding stallions.  I do agree that no mare owner should jam the mare
right under a stallion's nose--nor should any rider jam ANY horse right
under ANY other horse's nose.  But I DO expect my stallions to mind me when
brief encounters of that sort happen (I agree with Kat that it is not about
punishment but about correction, and would go one step further and state
that when another horse is tailgating OR cutting in front, I communicate
with my stallion FIRST, before he has a chance to respond wrongly, and
remind him that I'm here and I'm in charge--that communication may only be a
twitch of a finger on a rein, or a light squeeze with a leg, but it gets the
point across), and I don't consider a mare in heat trotting along in the
adjacent jeep road track to be a "close encounter" of that order.  I'm sure
many of the folks who have jammed their way into a water tank where one of
our stallions is drinking and who have left again without incident have
never even been aware that they've "intruded" on a stallion's space, because
I'm perfectly capable of seeing them coming too, and reminding him that he
has to remember who's in charge before he has a chance to even chuckle.  If
a particular stallion is not sufficiently socially advanced to be able to
handle that kind of proximity, then *I* back off.  (It really isn't any
different than knowing how much of the jam at the start a green horse can
handle, and arranging his proximity to the crowd accordingly.)

Stallions are perfectly capable of discerning the difference between an
appropriate breeding situation at home and a working situation in public.
The ones that aren't need to have a little bit of corrective surgery.  (Or
in some cases, maybe their owners do....)

Heidi


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