29 replies to this topic

[SWells]

This may sound harsh but I can see no benefit to putting a young horse that is hard to handle/manage out in a pasture with a bunch of mares to breed them...

If you are afraid of him and cannot handle him now then I would get some help and have someone work with him and teach him basic manners. The only thing putting him out with mares will do is teach him to respect the mares, but not you. He may even get hurt in the process...

If he is high strung or ill tempered do you really want a field full of his babies next year? Temperament does breed on.

Sue Wells
Sapphire Farms

[ponygirl]

I wouldn't do it the result could be much more expensive than you think including the loss of a horse that has a broken leg because of a kick to the cannon bone. Not worth the risk! Stallions have also been known to attack the mares as well.

[cecelia]

This may sound harsh but I can see no benefit to putting a young horse that is hard to handle/manage out in a pasture with a bunch of mares to breed them...

If you are afraid of him and cannot handle him now then I would get some help and have someone work with him and teach him basic manners. The only thing putting him out with mares will do is teach him to respect the mares, but not you. He may even get hurt in the process...

If he is high strung or ill tempered do you really want a field full of his babies next year? Temperament does breed on.

Sue Wells
Sapphire Farms

Agree completely.

[PINEWOOD ARABIANS]

This boy is not mean or aggressive at all.....just very full of himself. It was actually his trainer who suggested putting him with some mares. What we did was to stall him next to an older mare that we have been unable to get in foal. They have fallen in love with each other through their windows. We then finally turned them out together. Lots of sqealing and so forth, but no real major drama. They are now inseperable. The stallion is so much happier. He has calmed down and is much easier to manage. The mare is also quite happy and may actually be in foal if we are lucky. Wouldn't that be something after years and $$$$ of trying! Keep your fingers crossed!

[WSArabians]

I agree with HoofHaven and TripleH. My first stallion was put out with the mares and now that he's gelded, he is still turned out with mares because he was so well socialized.

My guy right now was kept isolated and when he sees a mare, he gets right up in arms. He is getting better, but it's a lot of work. I'll hand breed him first this year until he learns his manners, but I might end up pasture breeding him after.
I think socialization of stallion's is so important, especially as they get older and may need to be sold/rehomed.

[Hoofhaven]

I have one that I have hand bred multible times with no success but gets in foal pasture breeding first cycle every time ! Glad everything went well

[dragon]

Do you intend to show this colt at some point in time? If so, DO NOT pasture breed him or you just might have a hormonal rampaging ass at shows. Teach him to breed in hand with manners, have him learn about being washed prior to breeding, etc. Odds are, you will create a lot of problems for him and yourself. Have been breeding for over 40 years and this is a dumb idea. Why are you even considering breeding him now?

[Hoofhaven]

I pasture breed my stallion to one mare each year, and he lives with that mare until one month prior to foaling... he's been show extensively. I think he is BETTER at shows because of this because he is socialized. He gets regular contact with another horse, and knows that every time he gets close to a horse its not going to be for breeding. He's got a few good kicks for being too feisty and he knows the back end and teeth of a mare is dangerous. He's learned respect, and he bonds with his girls when they are together. I also of course taught him to hand breed...the pasture breeding made the hand breeding easier for the above stated reasons.

[windridge]

I don't pasture breed, mostly because I'm within city limits and I'm sure my neighbors would not be very happy. However, my young colts are always put with bred mares or older geldings to learn respect and manners, as they get older they do get seperated and placed in their own field ajoining the geldings. By nature horses are social animals and few things seem to make a stud more unhappy that living in solitary confinement.

[Briska]

I pasture breed my stallion to one mare each year, and he lives with that mare until one month prior to foaling... he's been show extensively. I think he is BETTER at shows because of this because he is socialized. He gets regular contact with another horse, and knows that every time he gets close to a horse its not going to be for breeding. He's got a few good kicks for being too feisty and he knows the back end and teeth of a mare is dangerous. He's learned respect, and he bonds with his girls when they are together. I also of course taught him to hand breed...the pasture breeding made the hand breeding easier for the above stated reasons.

My old stallion was pasture bred, and later schooled to hand breed. Getting him to breed in hand took some time because he was absolutely certain he'd be in big, big trouble. SunMan hauled with mares to go trail riding and was my go-to horse for weaning the babies.

Consider this when raising a stallion prospect (they are ALL prospects until they prove otherwise); are you giving him the social skill set he will need as a gelding? Are you expecting from him the same manners and good behavior you would expect from a gelding?

The stallion I have at this time could go straight to a youth home if his career as a sire ended tomorrow...which it might if the two mares he was bred to last year produce poorly. He has the skill set to allow him another career, and I firmly believe we are obligated to provide this to every horse.