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Veteran
Posts: 154
 
Location: Tennessee | Just out of curiosity.....
What would be the reasoning behind standing a stud to the public at the age of 2??? I know it is frowned upon by many to breed mares that early, so I was just curious as to why you would start breeding a stud that soon also?? I am by no means trying to cause a fuss! I just have noticed some breeders offering new stallions in their programs that are only 2 & to me that seems young..... Don't get me wrong they have a phenomenal set of papers and good conformation for a 2 year old, but.....
Please enlighten me! |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
 
Location: Oklahoma | Trying to get foals on the ground... that way they can see what he produces. Plus, he'll still be younger as the foals hit competing age. |
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Veteran
Posts: 154
Location: Tennessee | TwistedK - 2014-12-15 1:51 PM Trying to get foals on the ground... that way they can see what he produces. Plus, he'll still be younger as the foals hit competing age.
That makes sense!
But...
If you were to start riding/competing on this stallion that you have already started breeding at the age of 2, is it harder to keep their minds focused during training? I am sure a lot of it has to do with the horse/pedigree/temperament and how well they can keep themselves together.... It just seems like a risk, do you as an owner start breeding your stallion early to get foals on the ground quicker so you can bring in $$ sooner (if they turn out the way you are expecting), or do you wait and let your stud mature some and get some training under him so that you can give him the best chance at having a good performance record which in return would possibly bring in more/better clients/mares? |
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  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | If a colt is good enough to think about leaving a stallion then I see no reason to give him a test crop of a small babies. Otherwise, if he is a barrel horse and you wait until he finishes his futurity year, you have a pain in the butt to deal with (studs can be a real test) just to find out later he is is a terrible producer. Also a stallion can get ran down if you breed too many mares to him as a 2yr old, but it makes more sense to let him cover a handful than to have a 2yr old filly carry a baby. They are so small structurally. |
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Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | S_W - 2014-12-15 1:01 PM TwistedK - 2014-12-15 1:51 PM Trying to get foals on the ground... that way they can see what he produces. Plus, he'll still be younger as the foals hit competing age.
That makes sense! But... If you were to start riding/competing on this stallion that you have already started breeding at the age of 2, is it harder to keep their minds focused during training? I am sure a lot of it has to do with the horse/pedigree/temperament and how well they can keep themselves together.... It just seems like a risk, do you as an owner start breeding your stallion early to get foals on the ground quicker so you can bring in $$ sooner (if they turn out the way you are expecting ), or do you wait and let your stud mature some and get some training under him so that you can give him the best chance at having a good performance record which in return would possibly bring in more/better clients/mares?
I have bred 2 stallions as 2yr olds and rode them in the meantime. They were made to behave from the start. The one was bred to 3 the other to 2 mares. They were hand bred and I used a special halter for them. I do think the halter and chain vs just a halter can make a world of difference. |
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 Guys Just Wanna Have Fun
Posts: 5530
Location: OH | We bred our Sun Frost son to two mares when he was a two year old. I bought him as a baby to use as a stallion and wanted to get his get on the ground and competing as quickly as possible to let them prove his worth. I never had any intentions of competing on him and getting a performance record. Everyone has different opinions on this and I admire people that compete on a stud---it is a lot of extra work. |
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 Can You Hear Me Now?
Location: When you hit the middle of nowhere .. Keep driving | I'm breeding one of my girls to a young stud. I like the way he looks, his papers, and what the owners are going to be doing with him. I am taking a huge chance but I feel comfortable doing so from what I have been watching and quietly following. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | This all makes so much sense now that you all have explained it. i used to frown upon it to be completely honest. Now I can see that was foolish of me. Makes sense.
Also props to the riders who compete on studs. I rode one for a guy for about a year and all I remember is fighting with him outside the arena. Inside the arena he was calm and focused. Outside you may as well forget it. People dreaded being around him. His owner even hated him LOL but we loved the money we got from him and he was gorgeous to look at. He turned out alright after he got older. But my lord he was a pain to deal with as a 4-5 year old!! |
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
| I bred my 2yo DFP colt. My reasoning was that he was going into training by the 3yo breeding season so wouldn't be home to breed, and wouldn't have been home for his 4yo breeding season if things would have gone as planned. Things didn't go exactly as planned with his training so he's back home now as a coming 4yo and will breed another mare this spring before returning to barrel training. |
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Guys Just Wanna Have Fun
Posts: 5530
Location: OH | I have said this on here before so if you have heard it before please excuse me, but taking a stud into public can be a real tricky proposition. You had better have thick skin and be able to handle the scrutiny that will follow if he steps out of line the least little bit. On top of that he better be clocking with the top horses or people are foing to say, why do I want to breed to a horse I just outran. |
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