riding the young stallion

[chris_j]

A bit of a spin-off from tobago's post. For those who back & ride young stallions, what do you do differently to a gelding??

Personally, I've always found that keeping them 100% focused on you is crucial, but this can be harder with the very young stallion because you can't put him to work with lots & lots of transitions, voltes etc which I use with the older horses to get them really focused.

So for me it's a tight rope between keeping them mentally occupied without pushing too much physically, so I get a brain workout as well by stringing together exercises for focus that aren't too hard physically.

I also tend to lunge/do in-hand work before I get on, more regularly than with the others, to make sure the focus is there before I hop on!

What does everyone else do?

 

[stanhope]

Our three year old stallion is now broken and in work and I have to say I do nothing differently. He has learnt from day one that he has to behave himself, lungeing before getting on etc is fine but if they get into the routine then when you go to a competition you will hit problems as especially over the winter there is not the space to lunge at most events. The two dressage competitions he has been to would not have had room to lunge. I may just be fortunate as he may just have an exceptional temperament like his father, Mill Law, who was also treated as a normal horse right from day one. I do tend to do varied work, mixing flat work, hacking, jumping, pole work and lunging but I would do that with any young horse I was breaking in. He has had semen taken off him so he does know the facts of life, but I believe in discipline from day one, he has separate tack/equipment for ridden work compared to covering and he knows the difference and acts accordingly.

 

[Fleur100]

We don't treat them any differently from any others that we are breaking. The only thing I would say about the stallions are that they are less brave than mares or geldings.

 

[cruiseline]

[ QUOTE ]
We don't treat them any differently from any others that we are breaking. The only thing I would say about the stallions are that they are less brave than mares or geldings.

[/ QUOTE ]

We don't treat them any different either in the stables, during backing or once ridden away.

I also agree that stallions are less brave than mares and geldings, big wimps really

 

[timmy1977]

i also dont treat my young stallion any differently to any of the others on the yard. to be honest ive found him the easiest to break in and train so far.

 

[joeathh]

Only ever backed one stallion (my own) so do not have experience of riding/backing many to compare.

He was no different to back to the geldings I have. But he is so laid back he's horizontal. The only difference I now note is that with a gelding you can push them through something, if they protest a little - whereas I have to have a bit of a discussion with Will - and let him think it was his idea, bit like dealing with the human version

Interesting comment about being wimps. My boy is very brave and the one I trust in any situation to stay level headed and go for it and not wimp out. Suppose they are all different.

 

[cruiseline]

[ QUOTE ]
Interesting comment about being wimps. My boy is very brave and the one I trust in any situation to stay level headed and go for it and not wimp out. Suppose they are all different.

[/ QUOTE ]

I should have explained that better

What I mean is that when confronted under saddle, I have found that my stallions back down and get on with it far quicker than all of my mares and most of my gelding, they wimp out of an argument, where as the mares go round saying 'bring it on' and the gelding say 'If I argue enough, I might get away with not doing it'

I don't mean that they wimp out over the small stuff, in fact in competition situations, I have found the stallions to be far braver than the rest, hence why I enjoy working with them.

 

[Rollin]

I would never have entertained the idea of owning a stallion had I not employed a magic trainer to help with one of my arabs who did not settle. He will back and school my young stallion.

The stallion is certainly a delightful whimp, but another I looked at not so. If I had read Pat Parelli's website on Stallion Savvy I would never have risked it.

Interestingly my trainer has a great deal of experience with stallions and says that they are more intelligent quicker to learn than geldings. Poor man female friend and I dissolved into giggles 'you have just confirmed what all women believe about the location of the male brain!!"

He works a la Monty Roberts, in a circular pen and with long reins before he backs horses. When he schools my horses he worked in hand before he rides them - always. He never has help to back for the first time as he prefers to work alone with a horse.

He demonstrates his techniques all over France and is a real crowd puller.

I will post some photos next year when he has done some work with my young horse.

 

[Blanche]

As others have said I just treat them as any other I back whether they have been used at stud or not .

 

[joeathh]

As I was browsing, I noticed these techniques for riding a young stallion. Mmmm....

http://www.horsemart.co.uk/AdvertRef/HM8...HorseDetail.asp

Advert ref is HM843O79G if link fails.

 

[JanetGeorge]

[ QUOTE ]
As others have said I just treat them as any other I back whether they have been used at stud or not .

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep - that's the way to do it. We've JUST backed my rising 4 year old ID colt (17 hh and 10.5 inches of bone already!) and the hardest thing about it is getting him going!

But he'll learn (I hope - or my rider's legs might fall off!)

 

[Foxfolly]

Felix is my first stallion and only the 3rd horse we have backed so we were in at the deep end!!

But he has been a star, he's very laid back and does a very good beach donkey impression when you have worked him in the school and he thinks he's done enough!!

We actually had our first pop over a tiny x pole on monday and he was good, he's been very brave about everything we've done, and so long as I ask him and don't fluster (as you would with any youngster) him I have found him generally pretty keen to do what I ask, but agree with cruisline that my chap certainly doesn't like an arguement, and if he's being a twit and I growl at him he usually gives in and stops being a spaz!! He can be a bit cheeky and try to walk round puddles rather than through them.. he's a bit precious at getting his toe toes wet.. bless!!!

He has been great about being in a school with other horses, but is very good at growing at least a hand in height when he sees a new horse go past... especially of it is a lady horse!! He trots round nicely but grows as he goes past the gate, and has to look out and do his impressive deep whinney... One day he is going to trip over his own feet from not looking where he is going and he'll land flat on his face... maybe he'll learn then!!

 

[Rollin]

Ho Ho. Same problem with a young mare - great in trot but would not canter with a rider on board. I spoke to another breeder '..they are all difficult to canter at first. But we have been breeding them to trot for several hundred years'.