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Re: [RC] stallions at rides - heidiOk I have looked and can not find anything in AERC preventing stallions from doing endurance. A friend told me that if the ride managers or AERC get news that a stallion is ILL mannered at a ride that stallion can be band from competing. I have a stallion and he is very green and no where near ready to compete but if a stallion talks or acts up sometime can he be banded forever. I will not take my stallion to any ride till I THINK he is ready but they are animals and I have a mare that has totally bucked and almost got me off when she got excited. What happens IF something bad does happen with a stallion. They are animals and no one can predict them 100% of the time. <sob> I just wrote a lengthy reply to this, and hit "send" and web mail ate it... I'll try again.... Angela, there is no rule preventing stallions from competing, but there ARE rules that allow ride managers to disqualify or refuse entry from ANY horse that is unruly and endangers other horses and/or riders. There have been many very successful stallions in the sport over the years--and in general, when they are in camp or on the trail, no one is aware that they ARE stallions, unless someone looks underneath and sees testicles. As far as I'm concerned, that is the ONLY reason you should know there is a stallion in camp.... No one can predict ANY horse 100% of the time. But one CAN do one's homework and greatly increase the odds! The first rule with stallions is that they are first and foremost HORSES and need to be treated as such. They need to be properly socialized at home so that their heads are screwed on straight to begin with, and they need to be made to behave in group settings just like any other horse. No excuses, no special deals--just behave. At home, stallions need to be in settings where they can hopefully at least be nose-to-nose with other herd members. If they have a comfortable herd setting at home, they don't need to try to find one everywhere else they go. They also need to understand that home IS their herd, and that wherever else they go, that is NOT their herd. They go away from home to work, not to do anything else--and that division needs to be strictly enforced, IMO. They need to be socialized about group riding experiences also--do that first in small, controlled local groups. Go to small local shows. Go on campouts with friends and trail ride together. Get your stallion to the point that traveling, working in public, and camping out are No Big Deal BEFORE you come to an endurance ride! Talking is, IMO, unacceptable. EVERY vocalization in public should be quickly interrupted, and the stallion's mind brought back to you. When you handle stallions, you (hopefully) learn to have a subliminal running dialog going with them at all times so that you keep their attention on YOU where it belongs. Tell them "no" quietly when they are just THINKING thoughts of vocalization or of getting chummy with another horse. This can (and should) be so subtle that those around you don't even realize you are doing it. Be aware of what they are doing at ALL times. Untoward attention directed at other horses means that YOU did not see the potential situation first and direct the stallion's mind away from it. The brain is still the biggest sex organ in the body--I always want to go whip people who are out there whipping their stallion's erection, when it was their fault in the first place that they didn't direct his BRAIN away from the stimulus (or from just daydreaming) and keep it occupied. Yes, you might part company from a stallion, just as you might from any other horse. It has happened to me and mine on a handful of occasions over the years. But they have been well-socialized fellows that most anyone could catch and lead, and in most cases, they have either just dashed off a bit and then waited for me to catch them, or if close to camp, they have gone right back to their trailers. If they are not that well socialized, they are not yet ready to be there. Period. So yes, well-behaved stallions are welcome. But bad actors need to stay home. And if you are insecure about how your stallion will behave at a ride, odds are he is not yet ready to be there. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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