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  Discussion on HOW OLD SHOULD A STALLION BE
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Posted on Friday, Feb 22, 2002 - 8:29 am:

MY STALLION IS 9 MONTHS OLD AND 14 HANDS,SHOULD I WHAT FOR 2003 SEASON OR TRY HIM THIS SEASON?

Posted on Friday, Feb 22, 2002 - 8:50 am:

WAIT.

I hate to sound abrupt but you don't have a stallion, you have a colt-- parallel example, man versus boy. And not to sound like a broken record, read the article, it'll answer your questions. Better later than Sooner, grin.

Height, in this instance, has nothing to do with fertility and maturity.

What breed is he that he is 14 hh at 9 months?

Posted on Saturday, Feb 23, 2002 - 12:33 am:

Dear Mike:

We agree with Fiona and would add that a 9 Month old colt is still greatly inexperienced. Our Saddlebred gelding has a deep dent in his chest from his actions as a colt around a crabby mare. If you were to try to cover a mare with a such a young horse there are real dangers both physical and mental to your young stud. Let him mature, gain in fertility, learn to be a grownup, and then have him cover mares to his hearts content!

Beth and Dennis

(We are curious as to his breed also.)

Posted on Saturday, Feb 23, 2002 - 12:25 pm:

Hello Mike,
For more information on stallion maturation see, Equine Reproduction: Breeding and Foaling: Breeding Patterns in Mares and Stallions.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Feb 25, 2002 - 12:08 pm:

I would only add that just because a horse can breed or be bred doesn't mean it should have progeny. People should be choosing to breed "the best to the best." I don't think one can judge if a colt should contribute to the gene pool at such a young age.

Until an animal has reached maturity, demonstrated he/she has an aptitude and trainability for specific work, and the physical "where with all" to do their work without breaking down, I would only call them a "prospect" and hold off breeding.

There are quite a number of horses available that were bred for inappropriate reasons and are not placeable or end up at auctions.

Just because a horse is registered with some group, it does not mean they are breeding stock. That is why so many registries have performance testing for stallions at 3 and 4 years old. Not every stallion becomes licensed.

Additionally, the genetic problems of a stallion can become much more pervasive than that of a mare. We've only to look at HYPP to see this.

Just my 2 cents. If your colt is special and truly a stallion prospect, I would wait until he was older before testing his prepotency.

Cheers.
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