Standing a Stallion

Our industry is wonderful! You can talk with a hundred stallion owners and you will receive a hundred little bits of advice on handling and/or standing a stallion. I learned early on to listen very carefully and then to trust my own instincts in making decisions about how we would handle SPARTAN and the same now goes for his son, MISHAAH I often had advice that truly did not fit my stallion’s needs. Learn to listen to your stallion, he will make it very clear how he wishes to be handled, and guess what, he does know best.

It was not until I had purchased JK SPARTAN that I realized what a huge responsibility I had imposed on this wonderful stallion and myself. Now that MISHAAH has returned home and will take his Sire’s place, I again have that feeling of responsibility to Mishaah and the Arabian breed. Thoughts of what and how he will breed loom heavy on my mind. I have always treated the breeding of a stallion very seriously. Having beautiful foals that have performance potential is at the top of my list. As a stallion owner, we must give these foals a fair chance in this world. When our foals have Arabian type, when they are athletic and have correct conformation, they have such a better chance of having a quality of life. When we foolishly breed without educating ourselves, without forethought, without purpose, we are producing undesirable stock. By this behavior we are consciously creating a glut of undesirable foals and we all know that this is an adverse situation for the horse as well as for the industry.

The strongest and best advice I can offer anyone thinking about breeding their stallion is to please, please educate yourselves. Understand the decision to breed your stallion is not all about ego. Know your stallion and understand his pedigree. Don't be "barn blind". Learn and know as much about his exceptional qualities as well as his shortcomings. Understand that your stallion, and the Arabian breed, will be influenced forever by the decisions you alone make regarding your breeding program. This is an enormous responsibility and should not be treated in a caviler manner. Remember, not every mare is right for your stallion.

Standing a stallion is certainly a serious endeavor, but it truly can bring such satisfaction and a feeling of a real life accomplishment. Keeping our "big guy" healthy and happy is our main focus and actually very simple. MISHAAH responds to honest and fair treatment. He's like a young colt. He knows that he has limits and guidelines to live by and as long as he is treated with respect, he never fails to return the kind gesture. We feed him well, give him plenty of exercise and then he spends the rest of his day watching over his "ladies". Now you tell me, what more could a guy ask for?

Sandra Markoff
Alexandra Arabians