Why is my stallion SO calm?

[champagne.echo]

So i just purchased myself a gorgeous 3yr old champagne stallion, ive heard raving reviwes about babies from his sire. most people raving about how easy they are and how quiet but my guy seems eerily quiet lol. Hes 3 and only ever had ground work done and some small saddle time 6 months ago. He is a month into training at my trainers facility and you'd think he's 6 months under saddle seriously he side passes and spins and slides already. You can literally throw anything at him and he wont bat an eye. You jump and run around him and wave things in his face and he acts like your not even there really. Hes been accidentally teid on a fence between two mares and he didnt even look at them. when hes turned out with the one other stallion and two geldings he runs and plays so i know he is not sick. he's definitely not a dead head hes very quick on his feet when you ask him, im just stumped hes 3 years old and behaves like a 12 yr old mare... ive included a pic of him, him being tied next to a rowdy mare, and him in training week 3. He is hollywooddunit bred so has anyone else experienced this with a hollywood horse??

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[spookypony]

Maybe he's just a laid-back sort of dude? I can't see the down-sides, tbh!

I know it's common in Western disciplines to start them earlier, but I'd be a bit worried at how much he's doing at 3yo...

 

[TPO]

What's his breeding on both sides? Is he on all pedigree website?

Sadly Spookypony starting at 3 is late for quarter horses... In USA there are big purses in the futurity; money does not make it right but you can see the appeal. In the UK they are started before 2 and take part in 2yr old under saddle classes. No big purse, relatively small pool yet the motivation to ride babies is still there. Maybe it's me that's out of sync...

I worked with a 4yr old QH stallion years ago. He was the "pony" for an 8yr old girl he was that docile. He could be strong at times but that was more greeness than anything else. He was perfectly behaved around mares not even noticing them. That all set alarm bells ringing... He had a very slight raised lump/bump on his head so common consent, including a visiting vet, was that he'd had a "dunt" on the head when he was younger and was slightly brain damaged. Not what I'd be letting my 8yr old ride.

Not saying your boy is similar but to be acting so abnormally for age and the fact he's entire I'd be wanting a vet to check him over and to have a clean bill of health.

Are you going to gels him?

 

[spookypony]

TPO, I was wondering if maybe he was just sexually underdeveloped?

What happened to the calm 4yo in the end?

 

[Enfys]

Quarter Horse? They ARE calm by their very nature, they are bred to be calm. Stallion or not. They can run barrels or produce amazing speed and as soon as they are out of the ring you ca tie them to a rail and they'll instantly switch off. I would never complain about a calm stallion


Nuture is part but not all of their natural laidback personalities.

 

[TPO]

Spookypony- they turned him away with mares during the wet season (was in Northern Territory of Aus) but then pulled him back in when folk started talking about the boss for doing so. He hadn't bred with any mares at that time. Other than that I don't know what happened to him. The manager moved to a different cattle station and I didn't hear or see anything further about the wee stallion so idea if they left him or sold him on.

 

[Orangehorse]

Working horse stallions mix with mares and geldings, so maybe he is just laid back, but he does look immature still.
I know of a mare and stallion that were a driving pair.

 

[pennyturner]

OP, I have 5 stallions who are routinely hacked out with the geldings by small children. A couple of them are only 4, and make seaside donkeys look twitchy.
You should see this as a huge bonus. That you can treat him the same as any other horse means you will have a much happier life together.

I encourage you to go to a few driving or dressage events. Half the horses there are stallions, and they work alongside mares happily and quietly. In my experience the one thing guaranteed to make a stallion 'behave like a stallion' is to treat him like one. If you love your horse, don't!