Colts vs. Stallions/which to purchase

[remington]

I would like your advice on wether to purchase a young colt versus a breeding age/older stallion. What are the pros and cons you have experienced? What would you recommend? It seems like a big chance on the height and comformation of how the foal would turn out. Expecially when looking for a tiny stallion 29" or less. I have a very experienced proven stallion now, but I have never trained a colt to breed (wich is a whole 'nother post for the future!!). I guess I would almost rather raise the little guy up myself, but would be leary of height/conformation thing as he grew.

:

 

[ponyboi09]

i would recomend a colt. That is what i did and both times they turned out small. Just look at pedigree for hiegth and see what is dam and sire are. normally they will grow to somewhere in between. I love little colts because you never know the attitude of a stud but when you raise the colt yourself and it bonds with you before he starts breeding, you generally end up with a stud that is calmer and easier for YOU to handle. Now this doesnt applyin all cases, some colts could be wild, but i thinkt hat if you get a colt that is one-two years old that you can calm him down before he is able to breed. Also when you are looking for size, on the colts that are about one-two if their tail has hit the ground, then they are generally done growing up, i heard that somewhere and it worked on all my horses i have purchased and i purchased all my horses between one and two years old, and one weanling(fell in love with her

: ) Hope this helps and Good luck to ya.

Will

 

[Ashley]

I have a very experienced proven stallion now, but I have never trained a colt to breed

First you dont have to train a colt to breed instinct does it all :bgrin Sorry couldnt resist.

Me personally I would probably go for a proven stallion.

If you can see the baby with in the first few months then you have a good idea what it looks like. After that they start changeing so its hard to say. As for height, you can measure the cannon bone and times by 4 add 2 and that will give you a idea of how tall he should get.

With a proven stallion, you know and hopefully can see what he has produced. He know his height, and you know what he looks like. Not all stallions are bad, and I truelly beleive the bad ones are the ones that were not worked with or not worked with properly.

Sure we have had some stallions that are a bit of a handful and in a hury to go if they know mares are there. However none of them kick, bite or any of the other stuff people often think they do.

Of coarse we havent had one as mellow as Little John ever was though.

I defenatly would stay away from a yearling. This is the time for many changes and its really hard to say if that is what they will look like. Some go through a ugly phase. And some look nice when you see them but could completely change before they are mature.

one-two if their tail has hit the ground, then they are generally done growing up

There is no truth to that comment.

 

[ponyboi09]

it worked for my horses, so i keep that in mind often when i look...i know it isnt a fact but it has worked for me so far so that is just something i pay attention to

 

[Ashley]

If that truelly worked, then my 9 year old gelding would still be growing as his tail has never touched the ground. I also have yearlings whos tails touch the ground, but are not done growing.

A few horses to mature fast and do grow very little if at all later in there yearling year. *Most* but not all are done growing by 2.

 

[justaboutgeese]

This is a reasonable question but an easy one. Why would you buy an unknown quanity when you could buy a known one. There are so many things that can happen as an animal grows that might render him unsuitable for his intended purpose. Buy the stallion you like as a breeder and you will have what you want from the start. If disposition is important make sure he has a good one before going any further into his background. If you buy the perfect long yearling and at two he develops a bite like a hee haw mule what are you going to do with him ? No need to take that chance.

 

[Cathy_H]

If you are getting this stallion for breeding purposes & you find a stallion that fits your criteria you might want to consider him. I say this because you can see the quality of the foals that he has already produced.

 

[Sue_C.]

I too, say, go with the older, full-grown stallion. That is a KNOWN entity...and you won't get any surprises...especially where you want a small one. With a foal...you just never know.

Case in point; my stallion, Long Shots Texas Lakota. I have the customs and Vet papers from when he was a long-yearling...and they state he was 29.5 inches. (No, they didn't lie...) He finished at 34 inches... :new_shocked: Granted, his foals are small, and stay well under 34. (except for one mutant :lol: ) But he just didn't know when to quit.

 

[_minihorses4ever_]

I would go for an expirienced stallion too, because you know what you are getting.

: Good luck!

 

[AJ]

A very sucessful breeding farm started with a weanling and that stallion has since produced very many national champions. They told me that they could afford the foal, BUT would never have been able to afford him as a proven stallion. Just another point to consider, and I myself would stretch my weanling dollar and chance it.

 

[billiethekid40]

well, since I would never consider buying a stallion with poor temperment anyway, I would say to look for an older, proven stallion with ALL the qualities you want in a man! LOL That includes the right temperment. There are enough stallions out there that you can be choosy... pass over any stallion that doesn't meet your criteria for both conformation and temperment and you should have an animal that you get along well with, and will hopefully throw you some nice babies as well.

edited to add- most behaviour problem can be fixed with training. If you buy a colt who goes over height, or whose teeth go off, well, there is not a trainer out there who can (legitemately

: ) shrink him, or make his bite right, or fix any other conformational flaw that could develop.

 

[sedeh]

I went looking for a proven stallion but really couldn't afford one with the bloodlines and conformation I wanted. I was lucky to find a colt I liked that was affordable. Next year will be his first breeding season so we will see if my investment paid off. I have liked the way he has matured and he is my best buddy so I like that too! His sire and dam are both good producers so hopefully he will be too!

 

[wcr]

You have some valid points made for buying a proven stallion but there are always exceptions and one of the biggest is what goals you are trying to accomplish. You already have a proven stallion so what are your plans for the new stallion. Is it for replacement or plan on using both stallions. Are you into showing and willing to put a show record on him before breeding? Do you have enough mares to justify having 2 stallions? Are you keeping fillies from the older stallion and need a new one to outcross on them. How soon do you need another breeding age stallion.

I am knowledgible in conformation and can look through hair to see the true horse underneath. I can look at a young horse and tell if it is what I am looking for. If you have any doubts then have someone who knows what they are looking for go with you. Most important for me is they have that "look at me attitude". By that I mean that in a herd of horses your eyes go to the one special horse and everyone pales in comparison. They have the "it" factor. Judges see that in the show ring and that is what I want in all my horses.