Arabian stallions thrive on human relationships: Nivalis with Joanne and Lorraine

Visitors to our own yard have been impressed by the responsiveness and obedience shown by our young pure-bred Arabian stallion, Nivalis. He is extremely gentle and well-mannered, while retaining all the inner fire and spirit of his breed and sex. He absolutely adores human companionship and being fussed over, and loves to rub his head all over his human friends, as well as indulging in mutual grooming with them. This lovely temperament is a hallmark of Arabians, but stallions of many other breeds are just as easy to manage.

In many of those countries where stallions are ridden as a matter of course, obedience and good manners are taken for granted. In Spain and Portugal, for instance, no one thinks anything of riding stallions in company, or tethering them next to each other. Because these entires are not segregated from other horses, they do not regard them as threats in the same way that stallions kept apart may well do. The same applies to the stallions of, say, the Spanish Riding School; they are continually in each other's company, and while jealousies and rivalries do of course arise, so do mutual friendships and attachments.

Properly handled stallions can be extremely obedient: Nivalis can be ridden bareback in a headcollar

Many people feel it is unfair to keep a stallion entire if you don't intend to breed from him. However, many of the horses referred to above never breed, yet there is no real evidence that they suffer psychologically. Much depends on the circumstances in which they are kept, and whether their lives are sufficiently rich to compensate for the lack of a sex-life! Some horses do undoubtedly benefit from being gelded; I know at least one Arabian colt who was not at all a nice person until he was gelded, upon which he blossomed into a thoroughly likeable character, and there are many more like him. However, I would question whether, given knowledgeable owners and adequate facilities, stallions cannot be just as happy as geldings, and perhaps even more fun to have around.

Obviously, keeping stallions can pose a few problems in an equestrian culture where handling them is not a matter of routine. Many livery yards won't have an entire on their premises, because of concerns about the safety, not only of the other horses being kept there, but also of those members of staff who might have to deal with the horse. This is understandable, as the equestrian culture referred to earlier means that comparatively few people, apart from those working on stud farms or with competition stallions, have experience of handling them.

In addition, such livery yards may not have a suitable enclosure where stallions can be turned out safely. Even with the best-mannered entires, there is always a danger (especially if they have served mares in the past) that their hormones will get the better of them and they will break out in search of a mare. One should not underestimate the possible consequences: a stallion intent on having his wicked way with a mare can wreak havoc. Similarly, two stallions fighting over mares can inflict serious injury on each other, not to mention on anyone who gets in the way. The same warnings apply to the stallion owner fortunate enough to have their own land.

Two stallions confront each other. You really need sturdier fencing than this to separate them! Electrified tape is not a bad idea

However, such potential problems can be overcome by using a little common sense and ingenuity. High quality modern electric fencing, in conjunction with good old post-and-rail, will deter most stallions from going walkabout. Siting the turnout paddock away from mares will also lessen the temptation to roam. In addition, stallions who are kept mentally occupied, with suitable companionship and lots of human contact, will usually be content enough to want to stay put.

Companionship is one of the main factors that determine how even-tempered and manageable a stallion is likely to be. There is a common perception, fuelled by popular literature and films, of the stallion as something of a loner, living outside the herd. However studies of feral, free-ranging groups of horses, as well as of domestic family groups, show that stallions do take an active part in equine family life. They need companionship just as much as any other horse, and ideally should be allowed to live with a family group of their own. However this often is just not possible, so compromise is necessary. If they are allowed to continue socialising with other horses throughout their early development, even mature, serving stallions can very often be turned out with geldings, or even other stallions, provided (in both cases) there are no mares about for them to fight over.

Family groups are the most natural way to keep a stallion: Arabian stallion Pharis (right in photo) with Arabian mar Bel and her foal, Tiff, by another stallion

Obviously this requires a very careful choice of companions (and not too many of them), and an equally careful introduction process (one way is to allow them to meet initially over a fence, while being controlled on a lunge-line). However numerous people have managed to keep stallions and geldings together like this successfully, without too many problems. One stud in the north-west of Britain turns serving stallions out together! Contrary to popular belief, horses are not really territorial in the sense that they have a clearly defined territory that they defend. In the wild they have home ranges, but these can overlap considerably. It is not the home range that stallions defend so much as their family group, as well as their personal space. Since there is no family group, stallions turned out with geldings or other stallions will (so long as they are compatible) tend to behave much like the so-called bachelor groups which form in the wild, among feral colts and young stallions who have left the family group but who have not yet formed a family group of their own.

Continues........

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