Re: [RC] [Guest] Stallions, Mares and Hormones - Heidi Smith
>It is
not difficult to teach a stallion when to breed and when not to breed.
Stallions, by nature, just don't do all that much breeding. In the wild,
they live all day, every day in close contact with multiple (maybe) mares
and if they are lucky they probably get to breed about 5 times a year. The
rest of the time, they are just horses. Smart stallions, no matter how
horny they might be, know very well how to take "no" for an answer.
It really isn't very hard to teach them that they don't get to breed with a
saddle on.
kat, this is a very important thing
you've said, and one that too many people don't understand in raising and
housing stallions. Horses are social animals, and stallions are just as
social as any others. But breeding is NOT a part of their daily
existence. That said--in order to properly socialize a stallion, he MUST
be around other horses, and learn to understand that socialization and breeding
are not always one and the same. Too many stallions are kept isolated, so
that when they get in a crowd of horses, they haven't a clue what proper
behavior is about--even from a horse's viewpoint. In nature, a stallion
doesn't just go rushing into a group on his hind legs with a hard-on--he's apt
to get half-killed if he does! But too many "housed" stallions are
separated from other horses at weaning, and only ever get skin-close again at
breeding time. No wonder some are confused about public behavior...
<sigh>
