Franklin Levinson's
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Young Stallion Behavior
Hello Franklin
I have a three year old colt that we have started to breed with. He is normally well behaved and quiet. We have hand served several mares with him without too much fuss, apart from the normal excitement.
We recently decided to try to introduce a mare to him in the paddock. We introduced her after he had just served a mare so that he was not over keen and all went well he ran her around a tiny bit but realising she wasn't in season he left her alone. The mare would approach him and squeal occasionally, he hardly gave her a second glance.
However tonight he was chasing this mare non stop he would not give up even after she kicked him several times, it was not until they were both totally exhausted that I was able to intervene and remove him. This mare does not seem to be in season although is due to come in and did smell of urine, we teased her in the normal way and she did not show any signs.
I would like to introduce this stallion to mares in the paddock environment as I hate to keep him in solitary confinement constantly. He has been broken in and has been paddocked next to geldings and mares etc never with any problems.
But after tonight not sure what to do he nearly chased her through a fence several times after she went into a corner.
He was not savage at her just excited. Any ideas on this behaviour?
Thank you, Michelle
Australia
Hi Michelle,
What I would suggest is a lot more inhand work, play and dance with him, as well as 'at liberty' training. It seems that he needs more in hand work and bonding experiences with you as his handler than he has. Even some trick training will greatly enhance your abilities as his great leader when you do give him a verbal cue. He really does need more training on the ground than it seems you have done. You can also bring mares around him and train him to pay more attention to you than the mares. This takes some time as 'nature' is a strong pull for him. The more he breeds w/o more training, the worse the situaltion will get. He is very young and very green. The more you can do with him the better. It will pay off I can promise. Once he is really getting great at his inhand training then start bringing a few mares around him and make certain he remains a gentleman. He will always notice and be interested in them, but not to the point where he becomes unmanagable. His training should go hand-in-hand with his breeding schedule and take actually precidence over the breeding for a while until he gets more mature, somewhat more managable and more of a gentleman. Leaving him in a confined area (small paddock) with a mare doesn't sound like a good idea at anytime. They should always have lots of room. You set up a dangerous situation doing that. Please don't do that as someone will definately get hurt. Allow some pasture breeding in a large area if you want. But never close him up with a mare in a small space. VERY DANGEROUS! Sometimes leaving him in a paddock with certain geldings will work out fine. He is way to young to be fully trusted.
I am coming to Australia to teach this March. My coordinator there is a wonderful woman named Dr. Michal Schneider-Kolsky. Please contact her at: michal.schneider-kolsky@med.monash.edu.au. She will have all infomation about this coming trip Down Under. I am also taking a few folks to S. Island of New Zealand for an 8-day horse trek beginning March 14th. Info is on my website. Perhaps you might be interested.
Good Luck and please keep me posted.
Sincerely, Franklin