stal Who doesn’t admire a stallion?


The arched neck, fiery eye, waving mane and flagging tail captivate


and enchant us. Stallions embody the mythology, the instinct, the


majesty of Equus caballus. In many horse sports, male horses remain


entire due to their potential value as breeding stallions. In the wild, excess stallions band together in


bachelor bands, each knowing his place, as only a select few win the war and step up to be herd sires.


By Bobbie Jo Li eber m a n 28 October 2010 • WWW.TRAILBLAZERMAGAZINE.US


n the world of recreational trail riding, geldings are prized for their easy-going temperaments and lack of hassle. Stallions require intensive management at home and on the road. A loose stallion in camp poses an extreme hazard to both people and horses; an escaped gelding or mare will probably do lit le more than knock over a few buckets and steal his neighbor’s feed. T at’s why, when stallions appear at organized trail


rides, they are something of a novelty. Of course, the best are “stealth” studs, as no one really knows they are intact. Bedouins preferred to ride mares into bat le because they were less likely than stallions to neigh and give away their position. A quiet stallion who minds his manners and doesn’t “talk” to other horses is the ideal.


WHY RIDE A STALLION ON THE TRAIL? For Kat Swigart, a trainer based in Orange County, California, who


has ridden two stallions in endurance and other equine sports, “I like the relationship with a stallion. I tell people that stallions are enough trouble to house and manage that the only good reason for owning one is that you happen to like stallions. If you don’t then they aren’t worth the trouble.” In addition, trail stallions, particularly on the endurance circuit,


have a reputation for being “lazy”—they won’t do any more work than they absolutely have to. “I have found that stallions have a tendency to conserve themselves more readily (excessively?) than mares or geldings, especially geldings,” Swigart said.


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