stallions with no turnout

jensheff26

jensheff26

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this is something thats been bugging me for sometime i hate the idea personally but wanted to see what others think is it wise to keep stallions in the stable all the time mebe rode twice a week ok they supposidly show at county level but surely on 3 feeds a day rugged up to high heaven (all i see is a fat unfit horse) is not right one of them dosent even go out as owner scared of him or so it looks like to me but who can blame the horse for being firey when it has no exercise its just something i came across a few yrs ago
 
they should be outside or at least have some turnout i cannot see how they do well at shows living like that poor things
 
Our stallion lives out 24/7.

A stallion is just a horse. Admittedly, a horse which needs better fencing, but still a horse, with all a horses needs - turnout, company, etc.

Our lad has his girls in the spring/summer, has a couple of months on his own to forget about covering tho he has boys nearby, then in the autumn/winter he lives with any geldings or colts we may have.

He has fantastic temperament, and it works just fine. We've been doing this for several years, with our old stallion too.
 
thats what i like to hear horses living as they should i know most horses like there stables at night but not in 24/7 they get no time to behave like a horse should varkie that bag in siggie is right cute
 
Have a look in Breeding at a post by Helen1. You'll see that not all stallions are kept like that
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I left a yard once for this reason - the owner had 4 stallions all kept in their stables 23 hours a day with just rubber matting and a sprinking of shavings. If they were lucky they'd get an hour on the horse walker - but it was so upsetting to see them trudging round in circles with their heads down knowing full well they'd be back in their stables straight after! I don;t think any of them knew was grass was! Hideous!!
 
it's disgusting and cruel, i know of a few showing people who keep stallions in this way, disgraceful.......Imagine the uproar if a dog was kept in a cage 24/7?? why then is it "acceptable" for a horse?????
 
My neighbour has a stallion she does dressage with. He's turned out every day, until recently with an older gelding who's boss of him! She's recently bought an Andalucsian colt foal & gelding is nannying him in the field now. I'm not sure if both stallions will ever be able to be turned out together. She won't be serving mares with either as she doesn't have stud facilities.
 
I know of someone who has three horses who never ever get turn out. Well unless you can count a 10 foot square piece of concrete in a back yard of a housing estate. One is a stallion, one is a youngster and one is about 10 years old. They very rarely get ridden and must be bored witless as they don't have anything to watch, no stimulation, inattentive owner etc. Trouble is WHW and the like aren't interested as long as they are seen to have some hay and water. The psychological effects clearly aren't an issue, sigh.
 
My friend has a stallion that is now in training in the UK. When he was in Germany he was never turned out and usually worked on his own, and they were considering cutting him because he was a pain at competitions.
Now he's turned out most days next to the arena in his own paddock , works with mares and is very well behaved. You have to have some rules - mares are never led past his paddock and anyone who handles him washes their hands after handling a mare to get rid of the smell, but he (and countless other stallions that this trainer has had) prove that stallions can have a good life!
 
I hate horses being in more than they have to. My friend breeds appys and mini spotteds and has 4 stallions and they are all only stabled at night in the winter. And they are all easy to handle.
 
I think the more you treat them like 'normal' horses the more they will act like normal horses. Yes you do need to be more careful with them but there's no reason they shouldn't have a similar life to a gelding.

My instructor had a stallion that apart form his size, you really wouldn't have known. He was such a lovely horse with a great temperament, and a great deal better behaved than some of the geldings!
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[ QUOTE ]
Sore point!
Yard I was on once had a stallion-never ridden, never actually left the yard in its entire life and never actually put to a mare!
Poor bugger was in his stable 24/7!

[/ QUOTE ]

i know a yard where the same happened. what's the point of having a horse if you're scared to do anything with it? in the end the YO told them to move it off the yard or do something with it so the owner loaned it to someone who knew exactly what they were doing thank goodness.
i hate to think how many other stallions are stuck in cos of the weather and the owners being too scared to do anything and too proud to admit there's a problem.
Personally i'd rather have a bruised ego for a while, than a dangerous horse.
 
My home bred RID stallion lives out with a shetland gelding for company 24/7, they have a shelter and adlib hay so can decide for themselves to be in/out , he is now 9 and I only offer AI (chilled) with him, he is hacked out 3 times aweek and schooled twice, before the snow that is! I did keep him in during the winter a couple of years ago because people kept telling me I could not compete him from the field, well he is competed from the field at affiliated dressage with no problems.
I am affraid I do not know how to post pictures on here but you can see some if you visit www.avantistud.com
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its the reason i left the livery yard i hated it once when my daughter was riding the owner had it on the yard hitting it caus it wouldnt stand still it scared my daughter to death and took her 3 weeks to get back in to it i personally think that horses should be able to behave like horses good on all the stallion owners that think like that too

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I hate seeing stallions kept like this and unfortunately it is not uncommon round here.
What are they? - most county level showing classes are for mares or geldings - not stallions, the most obvious exception being native classes.
There is a breeder fairly local to me who is VERY succesful showing welsh cobs and his stallions rarey see the light of day, they are kept in permanently with their top doors shut, apparently it makes them more 'lit up' and flashy when they go in the ring!
 
MORE LIT UP, OMG I cant believe anyone could do that most stallions have a naturel presents, they are on their toes most of the time anyway when you get to a show no matter how quite they are at home.
I would like to think that most stallion owners treat thier boys better and I agree with the above post about a sturdy and high fence.
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Welsh cob stallions are always a contentious issue in the show ring. On the one hand I am always impressed by the movement and sheer presence, and on the other it is all so OTT staged.

One of the reasons I'm not bothered if I don't go very high in my showing - I'm not restricting a horse's quality of life for the sake of a rosette.
 
the stud i used was lovely
very relaxed horses, stallions kept in normal large boxes next to each other, turned out each day in high fenced field, worked like any other horse...
think its becoming more like that now though- in the 'olden' days i think most sports stallions were kept in 24/7.only coming out for breeding and work cant be good for them....
 
My stallion has the same routine as the rest of the yard except that he does not have a field companion at the moment but can see everyone else. Right now in at night and out all day.

He will soon be running with his favorite mare. I don't approve of any horse living in 24/7.
 
Agree with all the comments about keeping stallions in hamster boxes.

We had two stallions kept opposite my old mare for 3months .... they were very well behaved i must say - but i was scared to death that they would one day get out, espeically when my girl was in season.

I saw one stallion ridden twice - he was turned into the outdoor school a couple of times - but jumped out, and he would occasionaly get an outing to the "sperm bank" - where they collected his sperm from a dummy horse. The other stallion i only ever knew went out of the stable once when he was taken to a ODE and never came back - i was always suspicious about him being sold as i had not seen him worked in 3 months so did not know how he could have been fit enough to compete..

Sad life they have
 
We currently have 2 and they are worked every day (long reined , lightly lunged and walked in hand), go on horse walker and get turn out together in indoor school. As they are both young ( 3yr old colts) they seem to quite like each other.
 
I think the problem is that most livery yards do not have the facilities to offer stallion turnout so if you have a stallion they hae to be kept in.

Stud farms and people with their own land can be more flexible and provide suitably fenced turnout.

My pony gelding is an ex NF stallion and for two years ran on the forest with his herd of mares. In the winter the stallions come off the forest and some of them even live turned out 24/7 together in a stallion only group over the winter so stallions if they have the right temperment can live together in harmony.

If they are not being used for breeding I can't see any benefit to the horse for keeping them entire as it is much nicer life for them being a gelding and not having to worry about hormones and not being able to fulfill their natural urges.
 
Just to add - my friend has a stallion who lives out happily in a field next to her other horses. He has a lovely life - goes out to shows, is ridden and just lives like a normal horse!

I don;t know how those who are in 24 hours a day do well in the show ring - it must show in their coat / eyes that they are not good!
 
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