Following on from the stallion post below...

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Minnies_Mum

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How many of you with stallions/experience of stallions would hack one out with a mare? The pony I ride when I'm at uni has been joined by an Andalucian stallion over the summer and I'm a little bit worried about what is going to happen when I go back in 3 weeks to ride again. At the moment he is being hacked out (I assume alone, as there is only the owner there) and is by all accounts well behaved and polite. But I'm wondering what will happen when I hack the little mare out with him. I certainly don't want him trying to get up to any hanky panky with her while I'm on board!
 
I would put him in front so that he is not looking at her bottom! Not being frivolous - we always keep the girls' bottoms away from stallions when we're at shows. Also don't let them sniff each other or chat, it's just not fair to him.
Generally people who ride stallions keep them well under control and their mind on the job in hand, even if this means being a bit tough with them when they're young.
Also make sure you wash your hands after handling your mare before you go near him and keep her rugs etc away from him.
 
I used to ride my Arab stallion out with mares and he was a perfect gent and never made unwanted advances.
However...
He was never used as a stud horse and had a wonderful temperament.

I would play it by ear, in your case. Is he generally well behaved and responsive to his rider? Is he used for breeding, or is he a riding horse? How competent is his rider? Don't write off hacking out together just yet, but do be careful. Obviously don't put temptation under his nose and ride out together if she is in season.
 
Thanks for the advice. He probably would be in front most of the time- the only time the mare I ride likes to be in front is on the road (she likes to think someone else is covering the a*se, as she's not 100% in traffic!). The only reason I'm worrying is that the owner hasn't had a stallion before, so I'm not really sure how much she knows what she's doing. He's turned out with the mares at the moment- I suppose if he gets them both in foal then they won't come into season, so he won't be so interested in them.
 
I used to have a stallion and he was fine to hack out and travel with mares. Diggerdog pretty much covers the important points above. I also found that putting a dab of Vicks VapoRub on his nose before he traveled/ hacked out with mares helped a bit as well! The most important thing is for both riders to be alert :-)
 
We have had our mares on yards with stallions in the past and had no problems. The stallions were both very well mannered and well handled by people who knew their job. I feel that an awful lot depends on the mount of knowledge the stallion owner/handler has. We met a ridden stallion out the other day and he was a bit loud about seeing the girls and tbh I would not have wanted to be going in the same direction as him.
 
There are plenty of stallions out competing on the endurance circuit. The only requirement is that they wear a blue ribbon in their tail. They all ride in lots of company at competitions - mares and geldings, whizzing past or they passing them... not heard of any incidents. Any stallion brought up correctly knows the difference between when he's being ridden and when he's in 'covering' mode.
 
All of mine that were entire were expected to behave once tack was on. No chatting up, no getting it out and no mucking about:-)

Only one was used for covering, but he was actually the best of the lot.

I do know of a stallion that I wouldn't ride a mare out with, despite his very competant rider, he's just a lout. So really it does depend on the stallion and his rider.
 
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