the phrase "what a stud"....

[Minimor]

I think some are being a little too sensitive about things....in this case, yes, the original post did say that the little stallion is now staying across the road, not being brought back home only to get out & dash off across the road again....but I have the impression that where he is now he is with the big horse mares, and he is trying to breed them...that's how it sounds to me, and I suspect to some others. At least one person expressed concern about that, because it's a known fact that big horses do hurt little horses, often with very tragic results. Some insist that it is safe to have Minis with big horses.....but in reality it is safe only up until something happens and the Mini gets hurt. People say things out of concern, and those on the receiving end take it as criticism and get all defensive.

As I see it, there isn't a whole lot of point in saying anything in these situations (though that's unfortunate too, if someone truly doesn't know and truly does care if their horse gets hurt, and a warning would cause them to take note and change the situation before their horse does get hurt)--but then when someone's horse does get badly hurt, they come on these boards crying about how upset they are about what happened to their horse. When they do that--it's impossible for me to feel any sympathy for them (though I do cry for the poor horse!!!)--then I simply want to say WE TOLD YOU SO!!!

 

[MountainWoman]

If anyone experiences negativity, I still hope they don't go away. I think all of us are at different points in our lives with horses. Some have had them for years and others are just beginning. We all start somewhere and we all make mistakes and learn along the way. I've certainly made my share of mistakes and I have tons more to learn. I also know there are also a lot of lurkers on these boards who are thinking about getting horses and are trying to make some decisions. Stallions are wonderful and no one is obligated to geld their stallion but I don't think it's exactly wrong to point out they do need special housing and accommodations as a mare in season will definitely get their hormones raging and you need to be prepared for this to happen if there are mares nearby. Maybe it's easy to cope with in an under 30 horse but some people have larger stronger size B minis and if you're not ready for stallion behavior and are a newbie to horses, you're going to get some surprises. As RabbitFizz pointed out a horse at large (or even a dog running loose) can cause a serious accident. And a special thanks to the MareStare board Aunties who have taught me so much with humor and grace.

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

I agree the negativity on this board can get way ridiculous. I asked about magazines once to advertise my stallion in to maybe advertise for public covers and the response was "OMG GELD IT" and the likes of "You do know you need a barn to do that?" obvious kind of stuff without so much as a pic first. I was annoyed, but, I learned quickly who was worth tuning out. There will be opinions, especially with horse people involved. Welcome to the interwebs. My philosophy? Don't like that he has balls? Cram it. I know Im qualified, don't need a comupter's approval. You don't feed my horse.

However, some things are obvious. The original post would be like going to a parenting forum, posting "My toddler runs across the road to get to the neighbors house whenever he wants! Isn't it cute?" and expecting a positive uplifting happy sunshine-y reply. Sorry, you need to either geld your horse, get a better fence, or sell him. Human safety is always first, and a horse on the road isn't safe for anyone involved.

I support it when members encourage others to geld ugly, dwarfy, unregistered, or evil little creatures. However, mine is staying in tact, because I have stated before, he is none of those. But you can bet if the little begger ever had a testosterone moment more than looking at a mare, puffing up a little, and maybe a squeal, was running at large, unruly, or just plain not fun to be around because of the hormones, o you can bet they will come off faster than you could ever think.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

And my take is this on breeding. The backyard breeder is always the first one blamed for many of the ills in the breed (no matter which breed), from poor quality foals to flooding the market with foals. However it isn't the backyard breeder who may or may not have 1 or 2 foals a year or so. It is the big breeders who breed 50-100 mares per year. And contrary to popular belief, they are not 50-100 perfect, show quality babys, there are only a handful if the breeder is lucky, the rest range from dwarfish to upper pet quality. I currently have two very nice mares that are unregistered. Both came from a huge breeder of miniatures, shetlands and show ponies. I have their email to the person who purchased them and inquired about papers for them. Kind of an interesting response from one of the "leaders" in the industry. So to all of the big breeders who keep telling everyone to geld their stallion, maybe you need to look in the mirror sometime and realize just how much you have contributed to the overpopulation of minis.

This^^^.

I have a friend who went to a "big name" farm auction (on their place) who breeds dozens of foals a year. He decided to wander around, went into the back fields- which were full off poorer quality horses. REALLY poor quality animals! Someone saw him and said he wasn't allowed back there.... yeah, I bet he wasn't!

 

[Tab]

And my take is this on breeding. The backyard breeder is always the first one blamed for many of the ills in the breed (no matter which breed), from poor quality foals to flooding the market with foals. However it isn't the backyard breeder who may or may not have 1 or 2 foals a year or so. It is the big breeders who breed 50-100 mares per year. And contrary to popular belief, they are not 50-100 perfect, show quality babys, there are only a handful if the breeder is lucky, the rest range from dwarfish to upper pet quality. I currently have two very nice mares that are unregistered. Both came from a huge breeder of miniatures, shetlands and show ponies. I have their email to the person who purchased them and inquired about papers for them. Kind of an interesting response from one of the "leaders" in the industry. So to all of the big breeders who keep telling everyone to geld their stallion, maybe you need to look in the mirror sometime and realize just how much you have contributed to the overpopulation of minis.

Not in response to OP, but to this. Agreed, it is not the farms that are producing a foal here and a foal there and often sell to non-breeding homes. A lot of farms just get too big for themselves and that is when they disperse. That is a BIG part of the problem, and it is affecting the entire breed. Someone is getting out of minis and people keep letting me know. Oh, everyone is so excited (those that don't know the whole story, that is) I am not interested. It is a BIG farm that doesn't keep track of papers, puts one stallion in one week a different stallion in the next, doesn't know who is bred to whom, and doesn't handle the foals. Continues breeding lines that produce dwarf foals. They just let the mares fend for themselves come foaling. Sorry, I'm not going nor am I going to advertise for them. If you breed for you and sell most to non-breeding homes, even as a small-scale breeder we are not the problem. Don't get me started on "backyard breeders," that is a term generally perpetuated by farms that don't last long, end up getting too big too fast, and dispersing. Been there seen it over and over. End tangent.