Viewing Stallions

[alleycat]

There's a horse within a couple of hours drive of me (not saying who) that I've watched out for for years; I've always meant to go & have a look at him. He's often advertised, but never very well; stunning photo but no conformation shot, no pictures of offspring, etc., although his offspring are said to be good. The stud is competent but low-key; perhaps they don't like too many outside mares, though the fact that they advertise at all does suggest that they aren't totally disinterested. They have gone to the trouble of setting up a website but it tells you nothing.

So, why don't I just go & see him?

Fact is I've come to dislike going to see stallions unless I'm already 90% sure I'm likely to use them. In the old days before cheap video & the web, when there were fewer opportunities for research, I would go to see three or four horses with the intention of using one; and every time the stallion owner was so enthusiastic about their horse - as indeed they should be- that I felt it hard to be critical or discuss any possible negative aspects of the proposed mating, and I felt a bit awkward if I found I didn't like this horse as much as the previous one.

However, viewing one stallion, I learnt that the previous viewer had made a 2 day trip of seeing around 20 stallions; she lived way out in the sticks and couldn't rely on seeing them at shows & stallion parades; but she was only going to use 1 or maybe 2 of them.

So how do you stallion owners feel about this? We mare owners are by necessity likely to be timewasters. Do you mind? Is it OK visiting stallions in the spirit of research- eg. I know I'm very unlikely to use my mystery stallion this year or next, but I may be interested in the future; do I go & see him anyway? How much time do you have to budget for time-wasting mare-owners; or do you find that this pays off in that they buy youngstock instead?

I like to take a little bit of video of any stallion I view, as I find it difficult to assess everything straightaway (I take my hat off here to judges and graders, who HAVE to do this) but given that (for all the stallion owner knows) I might post this or show it to friends, is this a reasonable request, as less-than-stunning video or still photos can have a negative effect on the stallions' image (perhaps he's in his winter woolies that day, for example).

 

[Anastasia]

Anybody would be welcome to view my stallions, whether interested this year or the following. Although for me I would "prefer" it if people were honest and just say that they are looking at them as a future breeding prospect. We have sold several youngsters through people coming to view the stallions, whether its been the same year or the following year.

Our stud is open for anyone to view, whether its for mare owners, people looking at young horses, or just looking for advice. For instance we had people come and spend an afternoon with us and what they were looking for was advice on how to start up their own stud and what all was involved.

We will gladly show anyone our stallions, mares or youngstock, but as I said above, if we get some kind of dialogue from the people at to their intentions then that makes our job easier....

I certainly have never classed anyone who has visited us as a timewaster.......

 

[alleycat]

Great to hear that; and to be honest I've always found stallion owners enthusiastic & welcoming (though that can make me feel more of a worm if I decide not to use their boy

)

I would think that helping someone set up their own stud is over & above the call of duty! Did they tell you before they came?

Although obviously its not necessary where the stud has a comprehensive website with video clips, how would you feel about the videoing?

 

[Anastasia]

Why thank you. The people who were asking about setting up a stud was regarding Andalusians.....so really did not affect us....

They wanted to see what kind of setup they would need etc and just asked for general advice. They were looking at importing a stallion from Spain and starting from there.

No, did not get any advance warning....they were at a local tack shop and had asked them if they knew where we were based (as they had heard about us, but we dont actually have signs as to where we are.....thats on purpose BTW

). So they turned up at the stud one afternoon, and we chatted and showed them round all the horses etc...

Dont really have a problem with any videoing, but if its for the stallions or the stock we sell then we have DVDs for them all anyway.

 

[mlm]

i went to 2 stud places both local when i wanted to choose a stallion. there was over 10 stallions at one and 4 at the other. i also got the dvd from world class stallions. i then chose the first one i saw,

 

[Amazona]

I dont mind any one coming to view my Stallion. Like Anastasia said it would be nice to understand the reasons ... us breeders are always looking into the long term anyway
Alot of the time people come to see my boy if they are generally interested in buying one of the same breed and or looking for advise as well as looking to send there mare.So we are happy to show him off.

 

[the watcher]

I looked at one other stallion before finally settling for the horse that I eventually used. The first one was lovely, and I would have no hesitation in recommending him to anybody else, but when considered in conjunction with my mare he just wasn't right for her.
My visit wasn't wasted though, I keep singing his praises and I am sure that as a result one of my friends will use him eventually

 

[Fahrenheit]

Anybody would be welcome to view my stallions, whether interested this year or the following. Although for me I would "prefer" it if people were honest and just say that they are looking at them as a future breeding prospect. We have sold several youngsters through people coming to view the stallions, whether its been the same year or the following year.

Our stud is open for anyone to view, whether its for mare owners, people looking at young horses, or just looking for advice. For instance we had people come and spend an afternoon with us and what they were looking for was advice on how to start up their own stud and what all was involved.

We will gladly show anyone our stallions, mares or youngstock, but as I said above, if we get some kind of dialogue from the people at to their intentions then that makes our job easier....

I certainly have never classed anyone who has visited us as a timewaster.......

 

[maestro]

We have plenty of people coming to view and dont mind at all. Indeed it keeps us on our toes and at the end of the day we know our stallion wont suit everybody, but we would happily advise on others. You always need to remember you are the customer and there is always another day and reputation is everthing.

 

[lisaward]

interesting topic as i fall in love with lots of stallions but am not always confident that the will suit my mare/s
i enquire and sometimes request stud cards ,its not that i am messing people about i just want to be as sure as possible i am matching my mare to her best abbility

 

[Sambertino]

Visitors are very welcome to come & see our boys too, I think its all part of the service, even though we have DVD's, I can appreciate that a lot of mare owners like to meet them in the flesh.

We are also planning a stallion show early next year for the German based ones, which gives mare owners a chance to see them all working & show some of the new seasons foals, if it isnt too early!

 

[Hollycat]

Although it is not really practicable to visit stallions abroad, I would always want to visit one standing in the UK. I like to see him in person - how he moves, what presence he has, and most importantly how he is to handle and what his foals are like if he is at a stud as opposed to a comp yard. Recent research indicates temprement is passed down the male line (sorry don't have article - try sciencedirect maybe?) so really want to see if he has a personallity I would click with.

I have been to studs that have their stallion on tight cross ties and have not allowed to go in and see him. That raises alarm bells. Another stud asked if I wanted to ride their 17.2hh warmblood - thats going beyond the call of duty!!!!! I did buy a foal of his though and ended up staying for a few weeks to ride their stallions as their groom was sick.

I agree with Caroline - its best to be up front about your intentions and what you are looking for. Even though no doubt the stallion you are going to see for your mare will be long forgotten as you head home from the stud, box filled with a 6 year old gelding you had no intention of looking at!

 

[Anastasia]

[ QUOTE ]
Even though no doubt the stallion you are going to see for your mare will be long forgotten as you head home from the stud, box filled with a 6 year old gelding you had no intention of looking at!

[/ QUOTE ]

Now I wonder who that was......

I dont mind people going in with the stallions but I am very very careful in the current climate of people who would sue you for anything, I am very particular about safety etc, so if the stallion is in his field I would not be going in with an entourage........

 

[Penniless]

We stand a TB stallion (has sired racers, show horses, polo pony, endurance, show-jumping and dressage) and we are more than happy for anyone to come and view him whether its with a view to using him in the current/coming stud season or in the future, but I must admit, we would prefer it if you were to tell us you were only looking for the future, but we've no problem with that. Bear in mind, it's only time-wasting if you're just being plain nosey - we would hate to do extra grooming and changing routine on our yard to accommodate potential clients and then find they've no intention of even covering their mare in the future. As far as anything else goes - we're more than happy for anyone to go into the stable with our stallion, feel his legs, touch him, etc. We then take him outside his stable and stand him up to show him off. It's rather awkward to trot him up and down on the yard as he has his sons and daughters stabled alongside him - and his wives! We generally then sit down with a cup of tea/coffee and show a video of him at work, rest and play. After that we turn him out so they can see how he leads past the other horses and then let him off either in the outdoor school or if he's been kept in waiting for those prospective clients, then out in the field for a few hours. Once he's out, we can then show off his sons and daughters and anyone is welcome to go into all their stables. During all this, we are keen to answer any questions and usually ask more details about the mare (having asked before the clients come what age, breed etc their mare is and what her competition record is like). If we feel that our stallion isn't suited to your mare, then we will honestly tell you that - we're not the type of stud to take your money and you get what you get! It doesn't do our stallions reputation any good if it's not the right type of mare to him. As for videoing and taking photos - more than happy for you to do that. But none of the above applies to clients looking to breed a racer from our boy - they just look at his pedigree - see he's by Warning out of a Kings Lake mare and just book their mares in over the phone. And quite often, we never ever meet the mare owners - the mare arrives, is left to our vet to do everything whilst she's with us, and then once confirmed in foal, transport is arranged to take the mare back home. Needless to say, so much easier for us!

 

[JanetGeorge]

[ QUOTE ]


I dont mind people going in with the stallions but I am very very careful in the current climate of people who would sue you for anything, I am very particular about safety etc, so if the stallion is in his field I would not be going in with an entourage........

[/ QUOTE ]

My bloke is SO laidback I could take 40 x toddlers in with him as long as he had a pile of haylage! Half my visitors end up having a ride on him.

I once had a girl come to see a 4 year old who was quite - shall we say - onward bound. I didn't know how well she rode so offered her a ride on Raj first so I could see if she'd be safe on the 4 year old. It DID occur to me afterwards that if there HAD been an accident - and she'd sued me - I'd be on the stand saying: "Well I didn't know if she could ride so I stuck her on the stallion first!" And be found guilty immediately!

But he's actually the SAFEST horse to put an unknown quantity on - if they CAN'T ride, he just plods around or comes and duffs me up for sweeties. If they can do walk to canter transitions on him, I know they CAN ride!

 

[volatis]

I will go and see a number of stallions once they are on my short list and obviously wont be breeding to all of them. But even if I think that particular stallion is not right for me, at least I can offer a first hand opinion of him if someone else asks. A few times I have suggested stallions that I havent bred to myself to other people who have used them, so the SO did get a breeding out of the visit in the end!

 

[Hollycat]

This is so true:

[ QUOTE ]
I will go and see a number of stallions once they are on my short list and obviously wont be breeding to all of them. But even if I think that particular stallion is not right for me, at least I can offer a first hand opinion of him if someone else asks. A few times I have suggested stallions that I havent bred to myself to other people who have used them, so the SO did get a breeding out of the visit in the end!

[/ QUOTE ]

There will always be a shortlist so some of the shortlist will not make it - not because they are a bad stallion - just not the right one for your mare. With the advent of the internet more and more people are coming to sites like these for info. If you have seen a stallion who is not right for your mare but is lovely, you will tell everyone how fab he is then other people will think maybe he is for them, go to look at him and the law of averages mean the stallion owner should get a few 'hits' I mean look how many people visit this forum every day! If I had not come here to this forum there is more than one fantastic stallion I would not know about and hence never known to consider.

Carolines stallion for example is awesome - but I would never type SSH stallion/foal into google when looking for a foal simply because I live in England and the SSH breed society is not as recognised in England as say hann or trak or dutch. Or I would look at the upcoming verband auctions in Germany - despite the fact I believe in supporting British breeders. Let face it - many people have office jobs with internet access and what's better at lunchtime than having a quick peek at foals for sale if you are in the market for one. Having chatted with Caroline on this forum and seen her website, her foal crop will be on my shortlist next time I am looking for a youngster (next year I hope) so the intenet and other people's feedback really does make a difference.

 

[henryhorn]

We never mind anyone viewing, neither do we mind if they decide he isn't for their mare.
I tend to show them lots of progeny, try and persuade them to take him or one of them out for a hack (they are the best hacks ever believe me!) or try him in the school.
The stallion then sells himself.
I would not like to see pics on a forum and have him ripped to bits, as we can all take unflattering ones of even the nicest animal, but wouldn't mind any going via pm. We tend to post vids of our stallion competing anyway so there is no need for more to be posted. I wouldn't mind any vid being made provided they assured me it wasn't going on Youtube!
I have viewed lots of stallions over the years, we always used to send our mares away, and make my mind up right away, if they don't look what I want I am honest and say so.
Sometimes I return with my husband for his opinion too.
I would never consider a mare owner a timewaster, more a selective shopper.. after all no-one can choose a stallion from a photo or video, you need to assess his temperament and wow factor.
We don't advertise ours a lot because we aren't that interested in having outside mares, our real aim is to sell the youngstock.
I would go and view any stallion you think might suit, most owners are only too glad to show them off and talk about them..It's what they do!