Comments on: Horse Training Tips – Stallion Advice http://www.horsetrainingvideos.com Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:46:05 -0500 hourly 1 By: Michelle http://www.horsetrainingvideos.com/stallion-advice.htm/comment-page-4#comment-25711 Michelle Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:21:33 +0000 http://localhost/dev.xintyr.net/sites/horsetrainingvideos1/?page_id=800#comment-25711 I have read your newsletters for a long time now. I just did a Google search on stallion behavior, and found your site (again)! I have a young Thoroughbred stallion that I'm working with. He came to me as a minimally handled long yearling. I've used a combination of simple "natural horsemanship," clicker training, and just common sense in communicating with him. He's a lot of fun, and certainly a challenge. He's also an exceptionally fast learner, remembers his lessons very well, and seems able to relate "this" information to "that" situation. So far, he's been respectful and aware of who his boss is. As long as he stays in that mind-set, he'll stay a stallion. I really appreciate your honesty and way of communicating with people. Stallions have lots of presence and personality, but they are NOT lap dogs. It's so good to see someone actually use "real" language to describe the potential outcome of being careless, even for a second, with these powerful, beautiful, yet hormonally driven horses! I have read your newsletters for a long time now. I just did a Google search on stallion behavior, and found your site (again)!
I have a young Thoroughbred stallion that I'm working with. He came to me as a minimally handled long yearling. I've used a combination of simple "natural horsemanship," clicker training, and just common sense in communicating with him. He's a lot of fun, and certainly a challenge.
He's also an exceptionally fast learner, remembers his lessons very well, and seems able to relate "this" information to "that" situation. So far, he's been respectful and aware of who his boss is. As long as he stays in that mind-set, he'll stay a stallion.
I really appreciate your honesty and way of communicating with people. Stallions have lots of presence and personality, but they are NOT lap dogs. It's so good to see someone actually use "real" language to describe the potential outcome of being careless, even for a second, with these powerful, beautiful, yet hormonally driven horses!

]]> By: Kathy Swanson http://www.horsetrainingvideos.com/stallion-advice.htm/comment-page-4#comment-25688 Kathy Swanson Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:49:46 +0000 http://localhost/dev.xintyr.net/sites/horsetrainingvideos1/?page_id=800#comment-25688 @<a href="#comment-25685">LarryTrocha</a>: Just got in from feeding (we leave them out other than stalling to feed.) He showed signs of aggression when I was near the bars of his stall - testing type behavior with ears back and putting his neck stretched out. I stayed there and just looked at his body, not into eyes, and made the "ack" sound. Within seconds his behavior started moving back to me being the dominant one. I usually walk him out with a halter but chose to use a whip with a long line. (Not familiar with the terminologies of the various whips, nor pretending to be - believe it is a driving whip) Holding the whip and making a loop with the line, slid it over his head, walked him out using verbals and holding the whip in such a way as to be able to tighten it on his neck a couple of times when he was not as responsive as he should be. He did very well. When we go to the pasture where I would take of the makeshift halter, he put his ears back and I used the "whip squeeze" to correct him. He responded, I slid the loop over his head to release him, he gave strong consideration and a little body language of thinking of spinning on me and realized he should go on to his hay and leave me alone. Now, my husband and a couple that have their horses here are involved at feeding time and were right there or I would not have taken any chances. Enough experience to know not to be stupid on that front! He was the easiest horse out here but we always kept the extras on just in case, ie a stud chain and calm/relaxed attitude but extremely alert and ready to respond quickly. We waited a long time after castration to let some of the testosterone settle but we were not handling him with the care that was given when he was a stallion. We should have! He was never acclimated to being part of a herd and the dynamics of the mares in season and the two geldings wanting him away from their mares. A lot of adjustment. My plan is to go back to handling him with care so he does not take on bad habits without realizing a quick response and for me to not go out of town anymore and leave him with others until he gets through this. :) He was never really handled by anyone else as the breeder had me work with him from birth and no one else touched him. He has had other contact over the past few of years but that has been very limited. It will be interesting to see how it goes but his life is turned upside down right now. Breeding was always in his "breeding pen/pasture" only and without any halter or handling. He was ridden with mares in season and around them but always on a halter or with tack. I think and hope this all helped and we will work through just teaching him acceptable behavior - that is to respect me as Alpha Mare. @LarryTrocha:
Just got in from feeding (we leave them out other than stalling to feed.) He showed signs of aggression when I was near the bars of his stall – testing type behavior with ears back and putting his neck stretched out. I stayed there and just looked at his body, not into eyes, and made the "ack" sound. Within seconds his behavior started moving back to me being the dominant one. I usually walk him out with a halter but chose to use a whip with a long line. (Not familiar with the terminologies of the various whips, nor pretending to be – believe it is a driving whip) Holding the whip and making a loop with the line, slid it over his head, walked him out using verbals and holding the whip in such a way as to be able to tighten it on his neck a couple of times when he was not as responsive as he should be. He did very well. When we go to the pasture where I would take of the makeshift halter, he put his ears back and I used the "whip squeeze" to correct him. He responded, I slid the loop over his head to release him, he gave strong consideration and a little body language of thinking of spinning on me and realized he should go on to his hay and leave me alone. Now, my husband and a couple that have their horses here are involved at feeding time and were right there or I would not have taken any chances. Enough experience to know not to be stupid on that front! He was the easiest horse out here but we always kept the extras on just in case, ie a stud chain and calm/relaxed attitude but extremely alert and ready to respond quickly.
We waited a long time after castration to let some of the testosterone settle but we were not handling him with the care that was given when he was a stallion. We should have! He was never acclimated to being part of a herd and the dynamics of the mares in season and the two geldings wanting him away from their mares. A lot of adjustment. My plan is to go back to handling him with care so he does not take on bad habits without realizing a quick response and for me to not go out of town anymore and leave him with others until he gets through this. :) He was never really handled by anyone else as the breeder had me work with him from birth and no one else touched him. He has had other contact over the past few of years but that has been very limited. It will be interesting to see how it goes but his life is turned upside down right now.
Breeding was always in his "breeding pen/pasture" only and without any halter or handling. He was ridden with mares in season and around them but always on a halter or with tack. I think and hope this all helped and we will work through just teaching him acceptable behavior – that is to respect me as Alpha Mare.

]]> By: LarryTrocha http://www.horsetrainingvideos.com/stallion-advice.htm/comment-page-4#comment-25685 LarryTrocha Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:26:36 +0000 http://localhost/dev.xintyr.net/sites/horsetrainingvideos1/?page_id=800#comment-25685 @<a href="#comment-25681">Kathy Swanson</a>: Hi Kathy. That horse better be pretty darn special to justify the risk of losing your arm. If you can't halter him safely, rope him and snub him up real short. Larry T. @Kathy Swanson: Hi Kathy. That horse better be pretty darn special to justify the risk of losing your arm.

If you can't halter him safely, rope him and snub him up real short.

Larry T.

]]> By: Kathy Swanson http://www.horsetrainingvideos.com/stallion-advice.htm/comment-page-4#comment-25681 Kathy Swanson Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:32:59 +0000 http://localhost/dev.xintyr.net/sites/horsetrainingvideos1/?page_id=800#comment-25681 We "cut" our 13yo stallion in April and just introduced him to the herd (8 months waiting. He had been taken to the regular barn from time to time and when the other horses were in their stalls. Ridden with no problems, handled great on the ground, and knew my "ac-k-k-k" meant that's the limit and stop whatever. Now that he is in the pasture with 9 other horses (mares and 2 geldings) they are slowly working things out. Put the alpha mare with him in his pasture before moving him so they could come to terms. He is doing well with the herd, not totally accepted but close. He is not an aggressive horse BUT, he has begun showing aggression toward the people. I have had horses all my 57 years, trained, read the body language, given the body language and know to stay calm and relaxed but always alert and ready to respond within that 3 second time rule. Now, he bit a horseman that was holding him while my husband got meds to treat a cut on his face (have been cleaning it for a week and he had no problem with it), he has not shown any aggression toward people unless they tried to approach him when he was eating hay (we did not bother him when he was eating in the stallion pasture.) Now he has decided to put his ears back and go for your arm when you try to halter him to take him out. Never a problem before, it is not worth having someone hurt and I have dealt with many a rank horse but this is a sudden, awful and dangerous situation. I need to get him under control asap and know enough to not let him get away with this. I am going to just open the stall door and let him out (he had not been stalled and will tear the walls down if I try to leave him in) until I know how to best deal with this. Otherwise, the more times he gets away with intimidating someone, the more set the behavior will be. Please give me some good advise on getting that halter back on his head. He knows when he has the halter on he is mine, although he did not do too well with the guys holding him and that was a first. Don't want to loose anymore ground with what was a super stallion and now a pushing the buttons gelding. We "cut" our 13yo stallion in April and just introduced him to the herd (8 months waiting. He had been taken to the regular barn from time to time and when the other horses were in their stalls. Ridden with no problems, handled great on the ground, and knew my "ac-k-k-k" meant that's the limit and stop whatever. Now that he is in the pasture with 9 other horses (mares and 2 geldings) they are slowly working things out. Put the alpha mare with him in his pasture before moving him so they could come to terms. He is doing well with the herd, not totally accepted but close. He is not an aggressive horse BUT, he has begun showing aggression toward the people. I have had horses all my 57 years, trained, read the body language, given the body language and know to stay calm and relaxed but always alert and ready to respond within that 3 second time rule.
Now, he bit a horseman that was holding him while my husband got meds to treat a cut on his face (have been cleaning it for a week and he had no problem with it), he has not shown any aggression toward people unless they tried to approach him when he was eating hay (we did not bother him when he was eating in the stallion pasture.) Now he has decided to put his ears back and go for your arm when you try to halter him to take him out. Never a problem before, it is not worth having someone hurt and I have dealt with many a rank horse but this is a sudden, awful and dangerous situation. I need to get him under control asap and know enough to not let him get away with this. I am going to just open the stall door and let him out (he had not been stalled and will tear the walls down if I try to leave him in) until I know how to best deal with this. Otherwise, the more times he gets away with intimidating someone, the more set the behavior will be. Please give me some good advise on getting that halter back on his head. He knows when he has the halter on he is mine, although he did not do too well with the guys holding him and that was a first. Don't want to loose anymore ground with what was a super stallion and now a pushing the buttons gelding.

]]> By: Jane http://www.horsetrainingvideos.com/stallion-advice.htm/comment-page-4#comment-25388 Jane Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:36:01 +0000 http://localhost/dev.xintyr.net/sites/horsetrainingvideos1/?page_id=800#comment-25388 The cookie treaters have never been part of or have witnessed a stallion attack. It is all theory and no materiel. I agree with you. The cookie treaters have never been part of or have witnessed a stallion attack. It is all theory and no materiel. I agree with you.

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