I was so thrilled to open my inbox and see an email from one of my readers with a suggestion for an article. Jena Strachila had all sorts of questions about what she should do with a great little yearling colt she has. She was trying to get a better handle on what constitutes a stallion prospect and what she would be dealing with if she left him a stallion. She and I both thought this could be a topic other readers were curious about. There are a lot of components to owning a stallion, but here, I'm just going to address what kind of qualities make a good stallion prospect. I posed this question to Roger Saur because he rides a lot of great 2 year-olds (including two of mine this year) and has a really good handle on how to identify potential in a young horse.
What do you think are the things to consider when evaluating a young colt as a potential stud horse?
The question crosses almost everyone’s mind when they see their colt take his first steps or his first ride. That’s a tough question to answer for someone else. What I may think is an outstanding stud prospect may not be yours, but there are three qualities that I would consider:
A stallion must have a desirable pedigree. This means that the sire and the dam’s pedigree must be outstanding. This generally includes a performance and/or production record. Sires get so much credit for their offspring. Naturally, it’s due to the large pool of youngsters produced annually compared to a dam’s ability to produce one a year. Embryo transplants will change that to some degree. A stallion is generally promoted, advertised and in the public eye, while the mare is in your pasture. Another concept pertinent to pedigree is the idea that the horse industry has become very specialized. Each discipline – halter, reining, cowhorse, pleasure, gaming, and jumping, to name a few, has bloodlines that have proven successful to create traits that are suitable for that activity.
Preferred conformation is a must when the "to geld or not to geld" question comes up. The classics of long neck, short back, and long underline come to mind. Sound legs, pretty head, good feet…the list continues. A good rule of thumb is to let geometry come into play. Look at the horse from the side. You should see a trapezoid when comparing the angle of the shoulder to the angle of the hip and how they connect to lines of the back and underline.
The final consideration is the horse’s ability and trainability. This includes athletic ability and attitude. The horse you wish to keep a stallion must have an athletic ability that is desirable for that discipline. Cowhorses and reiners need to be light on their feet, race horses need speed, a hunter under saddle needs reach, etc. Again, many disciplines, many needs. A stallion can have impeccable bloodlines, conformation and all the ability in the world, but a trainable, willing attitude will get him a long way. We don’t give horses enough credit for the ability to absorb information, synthesize it and then perform. The potential stallion needs to be able to do that.
Frankly, there are too many stallions out there that should be geldings. A good stallion makes a terrific gelding and a great, great stallion makes a great stud horse. Consider your reasons for having a stallion. Do you want to breed your own mares? Do you want to make money? Will you make more money if you sell it as a stallion? Should you stand him to the public? Standing a stallion is expensive and hard work. Give it careful thought. Furthermore, get educated. Align yourself with an expert that you trust and who is knowledgeable about your discipline. Get publications that pertain to the discipline you’re interested in. Read the articles, see who and what horses are winning. Research those bloodlines. Attend major events such as world shows or futurities. Be observant. Be open-minded to trends. You may not approve of them, but they’re the reason we buy or breed new horses.
I really want to encourage all of my readers to email me with their questions. It was really fun getting to know Jena and her son Jamison and have them come to my ranch!
Thank you so much Jena for your fantastic questions and input! –Allison
Contact Allison at coastalequine@aol.com or through the Ask The Experts section of www.nwhorsesource.com.
Roger Saur is a farrier and horse trainer of 35 years. He has shown horses in reining, cowhorse, halter, pleasure, hunter under saddle (yes, he wore breeches) and cutting. Roger specializes in starting two year olds, which have been purchased and shown by Bob Avila, Mike Helsen and Shawn Renshaw at the Snaffle Bit Futurity in Reno, Nevada. His wife, Sally, is an elementary teacher and trains paint pleasure horses. They reside in Everson, Washington.
Jena Strachila lives on the farm she grew up on in Washington's Acme Valley with her husband, Jim, three children –Jessica, Jameson, and Jarin – and seven horses. The family enjoys all aspects of having horses, from learning on finished lesson horses to breeding and raising foals from their favorite mares. Jena enjoys learning as much as she can about horses in general and has been a student of trainer Kim Roe for about 5 years. Using a combination of ApHC and AQHA pedigree research along with taking the advice of experienced and respected horse people in her life, Jena has achieved foals with athleticism, eye appeal and brains. Jena and Jim are taking careful steps toward building a horse farm that they can enjoy into their retirement years. The key to making informed decisions on their part has been to ask a lot of questions of people who are living the horse life and in return answering a lot of questions for those just beginning.
