Following on from my post below...(any stallion riders?)

E

express_75

Well-Known Member
Joined
27 July 2007
Messages
556
Location
Wales
Visit site
What's it like riding a stallion compared to a gelding or mare?

Someone once told me it was like having a converation with someone....?

So if you ask a stallion to for a transition and he doesn't want to do it your way how does he tell you and how do you discuss??
 
My- very small - experience of riding a (friend's) stallion way back when I still had the guts to do such thing. Flat work, hacking + jumping
crazy.gif
is: Tact yet being very firm; send very clear signals using aids with precision. First time I rode him was very impressed by the size of muscled neck in front of me
grin.gif

Nearly died a couple of times but mostly in hand going by the ladies
grin.gif

Biggest difference is the relationship (particularly with female rider
smirk.gif
) and overall sensation of sitting on power engine, especially on the flat.
 
Our stallion was pretty good really, he was a welsh section D, he was certainly more sensitive than any of our mares and you did have to work with him,he was very sensitive to your aids so you had to be really firm yet gentle with your leg, he was a funny boy, one wrong move and you might be bronked off! but once he warmed up he was better with the leg aids etc, and less springey!
 
i rode a young stallion for someone for a few years, tbh i wouldn't generalise... he wasn't anything like as difficult as some mares i've had. it's like saying men are always more temperamental than women, or something!
i've had easy biddable mares, and hypersensitive witches... ditto impossibly sharp geldings, and very easy ones. the stallion was somewhere in the middle... the only thing i didn't like was that he didn't seem to learn from his mistakes, but he may just have been a bit thick!
 
I'm with kerilli on this one.......i rode a stallion where i used to work, and he was lovely to ride - he did try it on the first time i got on him, but my friend who was there with me said not to let him get away with anything as he will try it on again and again, and more so
shocked.gif
so i rode him like i would anything else. yes he had a huge neck and was very powerful, but to be honest i think that was probably due to me not riding anything half decent and toned before!!

at shows we used to rub vix in his nostrils to eliminate the scent of mares, that seemed to work. i didn't question that because i had never worked with stallions before, but a lot of it is common sense lol!!
 
It's very interesting to have the great feedback..thanks.

I have a Welsh Cob mare; she's my first horse and want to treat her right! However she's a hypersensitive witch too!!

Im fascinated on ridden stallions though! Id love to ride one one day - a flashy section D! but im far from ready...lol

Do they prefer lady riders?
 
oh, the only thing i forgot... i rode this stallion at his first show ever, when he was 4 or 5. bearing in mind he was about 17h, very powerful, wb x tb... he proceeded to show off to everyone, in piaffe and passage (all his doing, not what i wanted at all) for about 20 minutes non-stop... he was so excited he didn't know what to do with himself, so he resorted to passaging and a bit of piaffe thrown in here and there, which was preferable to a bronco display as far as i was concerned!
i couldn't do anything about it at all, and ended up in fits of giggles, because people were telling me off for showing off... yeah, right, as if! i was just a passenger, with a tiny bit of input!
no gelding or mare i've ever ridden had THAT much energy or self-expression, i must say.
 
I've ridden a fair few dressage trained stallions and have to say they were no more temperamental when ridden than geldings, and some less so than some mares on an off day.!
 
[ QUOTE ]


Do they prefer lady riders?

[/ QUOTE ]

'prefer' not sure...Know the difference for sure ! They can take advantage of the lady rider if given the chance to. I found that you must impose yourself right from the start especially while handling, on foot, in box, etc...If you don't want to be walked on
crazy.gif

While riding a stallion, I'd say the 'conversation' is all the more civilized and rewarding if you keep in mind their over sensitivity and inclination to test their power on the "sexe faible"
grin.gif
The iron hand in a velvet glove type touch ?
 
I used to ride a stallion and found him to be a little similar to a mare, but alot more polite about saying no lol. He was very sensitive and could pre empt what you wanted to do, he had a sharp mind yet wouldnt dream of hurting anyone. He was set in his ways too. But I preferred riding him to mares anyday.

I handle a couple of stallions on a daily basis. I'm not the most confident person, and if I'm not on the ball one of them will pick up on that and although he's never naughty he will mess about and try my patience. You really do have to be on the ball when handling them. You need to be firm but not in their face. If all else fails I use bribery, they know i have a treat in my pocket and if they're good boys they might just get one!!
grin.gif


I'd describe them as being like big powerful toddlers. They're liable to spit their dummy out if not treated properly, but with tact and manners they're putty in your hands.
 
They are just horses, if I've noticed any difference at all, it's that they tend to be a bit idle. They are all different.

What they require is a competant and aware rider
 
I probably have ridden and produced more young stallions than anything else.
I would say you have to be clear as to what you want, and stick to your guns if they decide that want to question you. I think you cannot be intimidated by them you have to be totally focused and aware at all times when you are out and about of what could happen. Rather like defensive driving you have to do the same when riding in collecting rings , i have had mare owners waving their mares under my stallions nose to see if she was in season..... i kid you not.
I find that you have to sort of have an 'affair ' with a stallion. They are not so big and strong and confident as you would at first imagine. You dont want to squash their expresion just mould it. I have a joke about them shouting, they can do it so long as they do it in an outline!!I think women do better with stallions for this reason. They do not try and overpower the stallion they try and coax it [not with out some tough love on the way i can tell you, If you have to make a point you have to be there until you have really made thepoint]
Silly things will upset them and sometimes the testosterone will get the better of them.
i am however much more tollerant of their ways than say a mare!!! I would just think she was being a 'bitch'!! A stallion would have me thinking he was just being a bit 'cheeky'!
Saying that i have lost my heart to a couple of mares, i think Sandy Pfluger has said the same thing and now she has nothing but mares. It is nice to have a couple of non entires on the go as it does the blood pressure some good to know what you have from one moment to the next.
I love doing my stallions though, i love the raport you can build with them suppose its just my thing.....
 
my stallion can much easier to ride than my mare to you the truth, but we do have our days where he thinks he knows best... and yes its like having a converation with someone... but when he comes back to me , i tell you what i have never known a horse to try his best.... i have to say when im much older i would love to be able learn to handle more stallions, as im just wowed by them...
my one is a big baby at times and hinds behind me..lol
 
IMO there is no difference. I don't really think you can genralise like that. All horses are individuals, some horses are idiots, but that is due to their personality not their gender.
The only generalisation i would make are stallions tend to get "seasonal" like mares. But as with mares - sometimes you won't be able to tell and with some it will be painfully obvious.
grin.gif
Don't think that was really helpful lol
grin.gif
 
Both my horses were stallions: the Trakehner had a temperament of a saint and was the most wonderful creature I have ever ridden. He was a little vocal and would get excited at shows but you always had full control and he wouldn't dare to disobey - just very well trained. I bought him when he was 12yrs old and I was just starting show-jumping and he was the greatest of teachers.
I was always firm with him but no more than with any other horses.

Now, my young Anglo-Arab was a different story. He was 3,5yrs old when I bought him and buzzed up with hormones. Our first show consisted of constant whinnying and prancing about, he was very sharp and very excitable but then there are plenty of geldings and mares of similar temperament.
My tactics with him were to make sure he knows the boundaries and that I always have the last word in our "conversations"
smirk.gif

He went through an adolescent stage which I think is the only one very different than with a G or a M. You have to be very aware of how hormones influence them and do not expose them to stress unnecessarily (i.e. do not stable them with a mare in season as you will have a horse covered in sweat and climbing the bars the next morning). Once they know what is expected of them work wise I think they are the best animals to deal with.

I think you need to be a sort of a dominant mare when riding a stallion. Pretend you are doing what you are told but in fact it is you who is in charge
wink.gif


Forgot to add: from my experience with stallions I think they are the most affectionate of all and really have incredible personalities
smile.gif
 
I rode an ex advanced dressage stallion once. He was amazing! Did everything I asked, he knew how to use his back end, he was really easy to ride, I loved it! He just got a bit vocal when you rode him through the yard, same when I lead him inhand at work!
 
Years ago I had a chance ride of a stallion - me and a uni friend were visiting a friend osf hers in Yorkshire, who had this beeyoootiful white arab stallion. The lady said I could have a ride, when I told her I rode other horses. So, I went off on this white arab stallion, who was hardly ridden, apparently, having the most fantastic time at all gaits. He was polite, gentle, willing, steady, THE most perfect horse I have ever met. If I hadn't gone up there in a Ford Fiesta I'd have taken the beast home. It's something I'll never forget and I realised back then that most of a stallion's behaviour is about management, like any other horse. He was kept out 24/7 and very relaxed with it. I certainly wouldn't ever be put off by an ad which said, 'stallion', as some people are.
 
I have have ridden a few stallions over the years and TBH I expect them to behave largely the same, these were arabs, anglos and a welsh D. I used to take my anglo to group lessons at the local riding school and other than calling a bit you would never have known. Non of these had been used for covering at this point though so not sure if that makes a difference?
 
The saying goes that you can tell a gelding, you can ask a mare and you can discuss with a stallion.

I dont generally expect them to behave differently to any other horses. If i ask for a transition and dont get it, I ask firmer
tongue.gif
That stands regardless of what Im riding.

As Partoow said, imo its mostly more about awareness. You have to remember that you are riding an entire horse and that others can be blantently unaware of this. People WILL cut you up in warm ups, they will nip infront of you with an in season mare and they will ride up your arse. They expect you to be able to cope with that.

Im not sure you can generalise that they prefer male or female handlers. I think some do as ive known many stallions that are more sensitive individuals and they seem to relish the softer side of female riders. Again, though, thats very much stereotyping on riders as well as stallions.

You have to be confident with them. Theres no point putting a rider on board who is going to panic if the horse refuses to do as asked. In that sense its like riding anything else, you have to be prepared to stand upto them. If you ask for something, the horse doesnt respond and you back down with the justification that "its a stallion and i dont want to annoy him", the partnership is doomed from the start.

I like stallions. They have a lot of personality and imo, they're more one person horses than geldings (not necessarily mares though). Theyre not for everyone and they need to be with experienced homes imo, more due to the issue of them being entire and the practicalities that arise from that, than the way they ride.
 
tbh al the stallys ive ridden have been really good and well trained, better than most mares and geldings.
all high school schoolmasters.
i was a bit cautious at first but got more confident that they are all horses, and yes they felt ALOT more powerful and if there was a lady mare on the lesson they showed off, but they didnt dream of doing anything nasty!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top