Showing Stallions, when their mind isn't on their job.

[La Gringa]

Went and watched the GP at Pebble Beach yesterday. It was hysterical..
Duncan McFarlane was on a great stallon named Mr Whoopie. Jumped clear, made the jumpoff. Placed 2nd in the class.

In the victory gallop Mr Whoopie had making Whoopie on his mind, and did the entire gallop "ready to play" .. in his full Stallion Glory. LOL It was hysterical, everyone was blushing and laughing. An X-rated Victory Gallop. I felt kind of bad for Duncan but he laughed it off ok. That horse has a very appropriate name, that's for sure! :eek::eek::eek:

Hahaaha. Nice entertaining way to spend a Sunday afternoon. :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

What do stallion riders/owners do to remedy this situation? It was funny but potentially dangerous really. If he had tried to mount another horse... OMG.

It was funny to watch though.

[Giddy-up]

Mr Trainer has 3 stallions living in the barn regularly (that also compete) plus he sometimes gets some in for training.

You make them work. Get their focus on the job at hand. 10 meter circle, change direction, circle the jump, lengthen, circle, shorten, etc.... I showed a stallion last year & in the schooling ring I really focused on having a working plan (as opposed to trot a lap, canter a lap, la de dah like I do with my geldings ;)). I also paid LOTS of attention to where I was placing him the schooling ring. Planning ahead so I didn't get caught in situations that he might have lost focus. The stallion was really a lot of fun to ride (very well behaved) & I enjoyed it, but it definitely is a big responsibility so you have to always be ready cause other riders are not always very smart (regardless if I was on a stallion or mare/gelding--they cut in front of you, shove their horse's butt at the gate in your face, etc...).

The 3 stallions at home when they are collecting also have a whole routine for that & know what is going on when the "routine" starts. They are allowed to "act out" more I guess you could say, but dangerous or being out of control behavior is never allowed in any situation.

[HobbyHorse101]

We just have a miniature, and we just make him focus on us. which was never very hard since he's barely 2' high, but a friend of ours had a western arabian that they showed every weekend, and he was breeding during the week, but they'd put vix in on his nose and he'd go around like an angel every time.

[beesknees]

hahah! That would have been so funny to see! I don't really have anything to add other than that haha!

Vix sounds like it would work--very interesting!

[showponies]

Vix is a good old stand by, I have used lavendar oil on my stallion..Can't smell the mares,plus adds a little calming effect...

[indygirl2560]

haha Mr Whoopie did that at the Pickwick Grand Prix too! Though after the first few fences, he decided to focus on jumping!

[Bravestrom]

We witnessed a horrible situation at a national dressage show last year - They took a stallion off the trailer and he was fully displayed. The rider/trainer and her husband starting kicking him in the belly so he would put it away. It was disgusting behaviour and happened more than once. I wish I had a camera - of course they tried to do it very discretely but in our full view.

Of course when they noticed us watching they tried to hide it.

I have heard of people whipping it too.

Oh - and where do you get lavender oil.

[ADD526]

We witnessed a horrible situation at a national dressage show last year - They took a stallion off the trailer and he was fully displayed. The rider/trainer and her husband starting kicking him in the belly so he would put it away. It was disgusting behaviour and happened more than once. I wish I had a camera - of course they tried to do it very discretely but in our full view.

Of course when they noticed us watching they tried to hide it.

I have heard of people whipping it too.

Oh - and where do you get lavender oil.
wow, seriously? thats awful

[La Gringa]

I think Mr Whoopie has his name for a reason. Some stallions are just silly and hard to manage. My horse Elf was a stud until age 10. I know he was gelded then because he was so bad at shows. He was very hard to manage.

Mr Whoopie though is a great jumper, but he's so animated. He bucks in the corners and is a total goof. The victory gallop was the icing on the cake.

:winkgrin:

[GinGin74]

That happened at the AQHA World Show in 2007. How would you like to go accept your world championship trophy with his full glory hanging out. It ended up in the "Winning Run" video and in he acceptance photo.

http://www.aqha.com/showing/shows/worldshow/winningrun3/amworkinghunter.html

[La Gringa]

That happened at the AQHA World Show in 2007. How would you like to go accept your world championship trophy with his full glory hanging out. It ended up in the "Winning Run" video and in he acceptance photo.

http://www.aqha.com/showing/shows/worldshow/winningrun3/amworkinghunter.html

OMG how embarrassing. LOL

[harveyhorses]

At least the rider was laughing it off! I love the name!
I have a random stud question.
Years ago we took two yearlings to an AQHA show, we parked sort of away from the main barn. We unloaded and started leading them to the barn, a guy from about 50 yards away started yelling at us to get the #@** out of there he had a stud! We went on to the barn, did our little halter class, and watched the Stallion class, there were about 6 in the class, and tho one from our 'incident' could barely be held, he was kicking, bucking biting rearing. Pinned second. I know it was conformtion, but sheesh.
Do many people show unmananagable studs? I've been around a few and they have all had some type of manners. Is this a halter horse thing?
It is really no issue to me now, since I serously doubt I'll show AQHA or breed again, just curious.

[Giddy-up]

We witnessed a horrible situation at a national dressage show last year - They took a stallion off the trailer and he was fully displayed. The rider/trainer and her husband starting kicking him in the belly so he would put it away. It was disgusting behaviour and happened more than once. I wish I had a camera - of course they tried to do it very discretely but in our full view.

Of course when they noticed us watching they tried to hide it.

I have heard of people whipping it too.

While I am not condoning the above behavior or discipline methods, what would you suggest they do? If they ignore it & the situation continues to escalate, what then?

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

While I am not condoning the above behavior or discipline methods, what would you suggest they do? If they ignore it & the situation continues to escalate, what then?

I was wondering the same thing...I know some may respond and say "well my boy would never do that" but for arguments sake let's say you were in this exact situation and had a stallion acting "study" at a showground on a lead. What would you do differently? Just curious...

[AmandaandTuff]

Showing in hand with a stud I was told to rub my finger in his mouth where the bit would lie to get him to put it away, worked everytime. Nothing in his nose in a class with both mares and studs, behaved himself.

[bigyellowmoose]

We witnessed a horrible situation at a national dressage show last year - They took a stallion off the trailer and he was fully displayed. The rider/trainer and her husband starting kicking him in the belly so he would put it away. It was disgusting behaviour and happened more than once. I wish I had a camera - of course they tried to do it very discretely but in our full view.

Of course when they noticed us watching they tried to hide it.

I have heard of people whipping it too.

Oh - and where do you get lavender oil.

Seen this too, in some local shows. One particular "trainer" (I use that term loosely) who was very proud of her ability to show at halter and showmanship with stallions, resorted to kicking her poor guy in the willy in class to try and get him to put it away. He later broke away from her and mounted a mare in the parking lot.

The way I see it, if you get so frustrated when your stallion "displays' himself that you resort to kicking/hitting/whipping (or for any other reason!), you shouldn't be showing that stallion in the first place.

They're boys, it happens :) Get on with your show!

[bigyellowmoose]

While I am not condoning the above behavior or discipline methods, what would you suggest they do? If they ignore it & the situation continues to escalate, what then?


Get the horse out of there, it's not fit to be shown-- at least not THAT day.

If you had a mare or gelding who was freaking out in a show ring, you'd leave, right? I don't see any difference between that and a stallion who isn't being controlled properly.

[beesknees]

Showing in hand with a stud I was told to rub my finger in his mouth where the bit would lie to get him to put it away, worked everytime. Nothing in his nose in a class with both mares and studs, behaved himself.

What if you have a bit in their mouth? I wonder if this would work on my "studly-gelding" haha!:lol: I normally laugh it off and try to turn im so I'm blocking it haha!

[Equine Reproduction]

Unfortunately, all too often stallions are horribly mistreated by people who truly have no business handling them. We teach over and over and over again to IGNORE the penis and deal with the behavior. If you are handling a stallion that is being factious and inattentive, put them to work!! Deal with the behavior just like you would if the horse was a mare or gelding. Normal, healthy stallions will masturbate every 90 minutes!

Performance stallions can be tough to manage! It's why you get to hear and see all the horror stories about people that take whips to a stallion's penis, or "trainers" that put stallions on Regumate to make them more manageable. But, truly good trainers are not abusive and do not need "crutches" to make a stallion more manageable. And, some stallions have a considerably higher libido than others and will be quite happy to show ALL of their attributes at the most inopportune moments. So long as the stallion is remaining focused on the task at hand, an erection should be completely ignored. What is truly tragic is bad behavior in stallions is more often than not, the result of poor and often abusive handling and training.

We often end up with many stallions that have been managed and handled inappropriately here to collect for breeding. We can usually pretty darn quickly tell you what has gone on with a stallion by the way he reacts to our handling of him. What often is not taken into consideration when "trainers" go after a stallion for dropping is what will happen when that stallion is taken into a breeding shed. Stallions that have had their penis abused will often take considerable exception to someone stepping in to wash them before collecting/breeding or stepping in to divert them into an AV - sometimes quite violently! Others will just simply put things away and good luck trying to get a collection!

So, what do "we" do when we're working with a stallion that drops or doesn't remain focused? We put them to work. Like most males of any species, they are quite simply, unable to multi-task. Asking them to back up can often be extremely affective. We absolutely never, ever touch the penis or "discipline" it. As much as a shock as it will come to some people, the thing truly does not have a brain of its own <smile>. Exposing a stallion to new situations as often and as safely as possible helps! Start young. Don't suddenly haul a three year old colt to a show for the first time and expect him to behave like he does at home. Chances are he won't. And, if you arrive at a show and you suddenly discover that you have a 1200 pound orangutan at the end of your lead rope, foregoing the class is probably a really good idea. Work on training and keep him focused on what you are asking of him SAFELY!!

Having shown stallions for years, I can assure you that show management often doesn't read your application. Arrive early so that you can request moving if necessary and scope out the grounds to find the safest way to move your horse. Quite honestly, you will be held responsible for all the idiots that decide to park their estrus mare right under your stallion's nose and unfortunately, the onus will fall to you if anything goes wrong.

Stallions have an incredible sense of fair play. DO NOT PICK at them. While many stallions will tolerate it, many will not and the end result can be explosive. Be fair. Be consistent, and do not hold grudges. As soon as you are done with whatever discipline, move on. Working and riding stallions can be incredible. But, you must always, always, always be on your guard for everything that is going on around you and be thinking ten steps ahead.

Stallions that are difficult and dangerous to manage probably should be gelded and truly dangerous ones, regardless of the reason for the behavior, should probably be humanely euthanized. Our focus is on human safety first and foremost. While we recognize that most dangerous stallions are made not born, the chance of human injury or worse just can't be risked.

It always makes me sad when we see and hear of some of the "training" tactics adopted by so many individuals when handling stallions. Hopefully the information above will assist those that are having issues. With regards to Mr. Whoopie, obviously he remained focused on the job he needed to <smile>.

[AmandaandTuff]

What if you have a bit in their mouth? I wonder if this would work on my "studly-gelding" haha!:lol: I normally laugh it off and try to turn im so I'm blocking it haha!

Finger under the bit :D He's a gypsy vanner, so he has to be shown in a bridle with a surcingle and side reins. Just a slip of the finger just under the bit and he calms himself.