2 year old stud

Question
Lana,

We are planning on buying a 2 year old Quarter Horse stud, with a great bloodline, i know the owner personally, but as i was doing researched, i read it was not good to breed before 3 or 4, she already has breed him.

I will be new with having a stud and i want to make sure i train/retain, continue to train him right, if we make the decision or not to keep him as a stud.

I have two mares that i was planning on breeding him with, but sounds like it is too early.. The owner now, just breed him to 6 of her mares.

Is there a good handbook/book that i could pick up and read through to make sure i handle this boy correctly in all ways?

Thank you for your time.

Christie


Answer
Hi Christie;

I believe the reasoning behind not breeding them this young is because he's a baby, and thus mentally and emotionally immature.  He's very obviously physically mature enough to reproduce, but does he have the temperment and personality to be able to handle everything that is involved in breeding at this age or is it going to 'blow his mind', so to speak?

I'll also say at this point that you will make mistakes with him.   Everyone does and there's an old saying that says you have to wreck a few before you get good.  It sounds to me though, that you've got lots of common sense, are consciencious and are willing to do the research and learn, which puts you way ahead of most and almost ensures that regardless of any mistakes made along the way, they won't be major ones and you'll be able to fix them.

Because he's a stallion, doesn't mean he should be trained any differently than a gelding or mare.  It doesn't mean that your expectations for his behavior should be any different than a gelding or mare.  

It does mean that you've got to be aware of things that can happen, especially during breeding season, or at a show with mares etc...  It does mean that you might have to consider a change in housing practises with a stallion and things of that nature.  It does mean that you can have a harder time keeping his attention on business at hand and not wandering to the field of mares.

You'll want to know exactly what her procedure is for breeding him.  Does he live cover, does she collect him?  If he's collected does she use a jump mare, a mounting dummy?  Which AV does she use, etc...   Some stallions can be quite fussy about how the 'procedure' is done.  You'll want to know how she houses him, how he behaves around other geldings or stallions...is he a fighter, or does he get along?

I suggest you go and watch her breed a mare with him so that you can see how he behaves and that he's not a holy terror or something unacceptable like that.

Unfortunately, I can't think of a stallion book off the top of my head, but if you go to Amazon.com and search for equnie breeding stallion practises (or some such key words), I'm sure you'll be able to find a book or two on the subject.

Best wishes!

Sincerely,

Lana Reinhardt