Stallion Behavior?

Honestly, I have never really been around stallions, and, I have been told that you have to be more assertive with them than geldings and mares. Where I am keeping Cowgirl, I feed the B.O.'s two stallions, clean their pens, etc.

It seems their ears are always pinned back when I'm around. They don't seem as friendly of horses as others sexes. Is this always the case? They never try to do anything mean, they just don't seem that friendly. They are also more high strung. My B.O rides a 12 yr old APHA stallion a lot. The horse is very responsive and works amazing with him, but for me, or other people, he disregards and acts more snobbish. Are stallions generally one-person horses?

Just wanted to know more about their personalities. And how I should act around them for saftey purposes and stuff.

You need to treat every horse as an individual. Just because it's a stallion only means that you need to be more conscious of what's going on. But do not treat them any differently than you would a mare or gelding. I've dealt with stallions that would attack you given one second me not paying attention and then I've had my stallion who I would easily trust with my life any day of the week regardless of the situation.

You wouldn't let a mare or gelding get pushy with you, bite, kick, run you over, etc. A stallion is no different.

When I bought my draft he was a stallion. You'd have never known. He was no different then than he is now as a gelding. But I've seen stallions that would rather kill you than to look at you.

They are very individual creatures.

I don't believe in treating a stallion any different to how you would treat any other horse. You should always be aware of your horses mood/intentions if any. I work with 73 horses and 71 of them are absolute sweethearts however, I would never take 2 eyes off a horse. Always keep at least one eye on them :)

Its exactly the same with stallions. Between my own stallion and colt and the 7 or so that we have at work I spend a fair bit of time with them and if I went into their box or their pasture and was afraid, they would probably eat me alive. That's the biggest thing I've found...confidence and complete lack of fear. Those stallions are no more likely to hurt you than any other horse but even on a subconscious level you are afraid when you enter their box and they know that.

BUT...having said that the importance of teaching correct behaviour and playing the dominant role in the relationship is vital. If my stallion had the lines between dominant and submissive blurred I would have real trouble. Be he knows his place because I taught him his place early on. If he does have a go at me he will go a certain distance from me and randomly kick in the air. I don't mind as long as he knows not to do it to me. Once again though, I always have one eye on him while im doing anything with him because end of the day, they are more unpredictable than geldings or mare.

As far as them always having their ears back that, from what I've found, can be a stallion thing. Both my 'boys' will walk up to me with their ears back looking all cranky then get to me and drop their head for a scratch all the while still holding their ears back. And never at any of these points have they actually been cranky at me or tried to do anything to me. But once again...you know it...always keep one eye on them ;)

Agreed. I have been/worked around almost exclusively extremely docile, well trained and personable stallions. Keep in mind that the life of a stallion tends to be a lonely one, so unless they're handled and treated like pets, they don't have a chance to become social and will probably be a lot more standoffish then the average pet horse - I wouldn't attribute that so much to stallion behavior as I would general work/ranch horse behavior.

I got to work with a 17hh Hanoverian stud who's owner loved him and handled him daily - he was a big furry munchkin. I'd take him out to graze on the lawn and just read by a tree. He was a perfect gentleman, perfectly trained and just perfectly behaved.

I agree completely with the poster above me - you really shouldn't ever take BOTH eyes off ANY horse. Of course stallions can be a little more silly then the average horse when the hormones hit, so yes, you do have to watch them a little more especially around mares. But a non-stallion can be just as prone to biting and kicking without proper training, so really it ALL boils down to poor training and has almost nothing to do with gender.

But no, stallions aren't all standoffish. I've met many standoffish mares, sometimes it's a personality trait, sometimes the way they're handled, and sometimes the way they're trained, but there are JUST as many happy go lucky docile cheerful studs out there!

I've seen the ears back thing in mares more than any gelding or stallion.

^^ hehe yeah I thought about our wb gelding after that who has been nicknamed 'ears' cause he always has them back. Same with my mare BUT they don't do it to me. Its usually always at the others horses or the dogs

My Stallion is no different than a gelding so far, he's my first one so its been a great experience so far, all the little probs I've had with him has been nothing to do with being a stud, just being a young horse, he's more well mannered than any horse I've ever owned.