Stallion Disposition?

[angelsdream]

From everyone's knowledge of Kiger's and the history, which stallions would you say has the best disposition and passes it on to there young? I read about Steens Kiger and how great his is, and seems to pass it on, but just wondering what other's are out there that pass that same spirit on. There's been one stallion Ive seen (not a kiger, a quarter horse) that had the best disposition and passed it on to all of his young. I broke one of his colts and road him for 2 years. Put him in his 1st parade a month after I broke him and he was perfect. Nothing ever bothered him. One of his colts went on to ride from Georgia to Arizona, I believe it took the guy 8 months (not quiet certain) to do it. He had it mapped out to where he new people and had set up stops and stays thru out the ride. The stallion was local so I was able to see his offspring.

I know many people put a lot of time into choosing there stallion for breeding. Is this one of the factor's you look at when choosing?

[kimk]

To me, disposition is on the top of the list when choosing a stallion. It is right up there neck & neck with conformation. Color comes last.

[fantasykiger]

A stallion can be drop dead gorgeous with great bloodlines. If he scares me (and I scare easily around stallions) I won't breed to him. I want to hear stories of how kind and gentle they are , I want to see it in their eyes and witness it in their actions. I have had only 2 Kiger Stallions charge me aggressively when I have walked by their paddocks. I have met several and been up close and personal with Steens Kiger, Steens Vaquero and Geronimo at certian times in their life. They were all exceptional gentlemen.
I have not been up close and personal with enough of these horses get' to say whether they pass it on so much, I certianly hope so. I have 2 Steens Vaquero fillies at my home my daughter's horse Cleo' who really acts much more like her Paint dam in personality, you can't help but love her even when she is annoying. The same could be said about Cleo's dam. Then there is Wickee she must have got some calm demeanor from her sire because she is not nearly as difficult as her dam Fantasy was at her age.

[nrly]

Riddle is a son out of Steens Kiger and his disposition is so good, I forget at times he is a stallion. I have seen Jim walk him past the mares and he will just give a hay ho, and that is it, nothing scary about him at all. Not to say he can't be aggressive but I don;t feel he will, that is why i asked the question in another post about Stallions.

[DianneC]

Many Kiger stallions are the best for personality, but some are even more of a puppy-dog personality. Bravo is even more mellow than Chinny. Even full brothers and sisters will have different personalities. They are just born with them.

[angelsdream]

I don't know much about breeding, what exactly does the stallion and mare contribute to the baby, as far as disposition? Is it better to judge the mare more closely rather than stallion?

[stormyranch]

Really, it can come form either one. I have seen a mare pass her terrible disposition on time and time again. And they I have seen the stallion's dispotion passed on. Like with Dino, all of his foals have gotten his extremely call demeanor. You also have to consider that the mare is with the foal for 5 months (give or take) and will teach the foal how to act around humans and other horses.

[angelsdream]

Thanks Lisa. Yes that does make sense also. The mare shows the foal how to act for the first part of its life. That's how I knew the stallion I was talking about earlier had to be throwing his disposition to his foals because the mare that had the colt is a very dominant - alpha and aggresive mare and every horse she's had has been the same way - except for this one. He is so laid back and dont really care about much. There were 2 of her previous foals still at the barn being ridden and both were very alpha and could be very aggressive towards anything or anyone if they didn't show leadership.

So I guess it's good to look at both mare and stallion when looking for a foal.

[DianneC]

I've sold a couple of really nice looking mares over the years because I didn't like their personalities. Chinny and Bravo both did a nice job of producing good minded foals from them. But I didn't want them in my herd regardless of how well a particular stallion modified their foal's temperament. I didn't enjoy working with them and felt there was a chance that their foal or grandfoal would take after them.
I think people in other breeds expect stallions to be aggressive, and the way they treat them encourages it. When looking for some conditioning for Chinny (who's been a pasture potato) I had one gal say "Oh yeah, I've dealt with stallions." Not the person you want for a trainer! But on the other hand, I would never breed to an aggressive stallion regardless of why. There are too many great minded ones out there, particularly in Kigers. When I was looking for my first horses I saw an aggressive Kiger stallion that had been "mistreated". I'm sorry for the horse if it was true, but would never breed to him.

[angelsdream]

You're right Dianne, some mare's are just pissy. Which is also bad for the whole herd because there is constant fighting. The mare's will continuously try and dominate. Ive seen that the last place I boarded, this same mare I talk about and her daughter were the top 2 on the list and they displayed it everyday. Constant fighting, I don't like that at all

Ive not had to handle many stallions before. So from everyone's opinion, who are some of the great kiger stallions out there?

[DianneC]

What are you going to use the foal for? A stallion you would use for trail riding is different than one you would use for dressage. What do you want in height, color, energy level? Which mare will you breed and what does she need? If a mare has an area of weakness you want a stallion that is strong in that area, not one that has the same weakness. The hardest things to get in Kigers are a great hip and a great neck, assuming that the back is the correct length and the legs are straight etc. and the temperament is good.

[fantasykiger]

DianneC is correct in that there is alot of nice Kiger Stallions with good dispositions, so you need to go next on your list and consider conformation and use of the foal your considering producing. Do you want a pleasure trailriding horse or a performance show horse?

[Michelle Clarke]

There is definately a process to choosing a stallion. Like Diane said, you first need to consider what the foal will be used for. Then take a hard, honest look at your mare and list her faults then put them in order of hinderance to what your goal for the foal is. Like if you want a foal for dressage, and your mare has flat movement, that would be high on the list as far as a fault and something that would need to be improved upon.

Next is choosing a proven stallion that already has multiple foals on the ground so you can see them and make an educated decision on what traits the stallion is prevelant in passing. In the rare occasion, you will get a breeder who actually knows what the stallion passes - not just his nice temperment (they all seem to have that!!), or his long mane and tail! You need to know if that stallion has the stronger genes in the area your mare is weak to up your chances of producing a better foal.

That is the main reason I use JPs' stallions. JP knows exactly what his boys produce with what type of mares. Like for Chilli we were looking for a stallion who throws better bone and movement on a flat mare. Not that you can guarantee these traits will cover the mare over, but with a knowledgable breeder you can better the odds because they know thier stud. You never know what genes will come together.

You should be able to go out into a pasture and pick out the foals by that particular stallion because they stamp them...just make sure they stamp them with the qualities you want!

I do look at temperment, but in the Spanish type breeds, most times you don't have to worry about that too much. Another thing is that pocket ponies are not always the easiest to train later in life - yes, they are sweet and adorable and lovely to be around as foals, but in the training pen they can be over confident, pushy and even lazy.

In the foals of a stallion, I look for ones that are curious and friendly with people, but also have a somewhat independant spirit and keep themselves busy. The hardest part when evaluating foals is the environment and previous handling have so much to do with thier disposition, that sometimes it can be very hard to make a true evaluation. You also have to really consider the mare and the energy of the herd they are with, as those are major factors in who they are.

In all honesty, considering the X Factor and all the genetics a mare passes down through the foal, the mare is a HUGE consideration in your breeding, some breeders belive they are even more so than the stallion. Even the stallions dam needs to be looked at hard, because that is where most of the genetic information is coming from in what he is passing on too.

[fantasykiger]

I take into account the mare herself very seriously when considering the foal. I feel she will determine alot about the foals confidence level. Her conformation as well needs to considered.

[angelsdream]

Thanks everyone for your explanations. Im not a breeder and never will be, so I don't have as much knowledge about this as you guys do. It all sounds pretty interesting and complex. I would hope that all the other breeder's out there take into consideration all these issues also. I know some don't, Im more about producing better horse's and not just throwing horse's out there to make money. There are already TOO many out there that are suffering.

I agree with the curiosity in foals. Usually makes pretty smart horses when they are eager to see what's going on.

Yes I think a mare also has much to do with the baby. Like Lisa said, they are with the mare for a while when first born and are tought how to act towards other horse's and humans at an early age.

I was just so surprised that the gelding I was talking about that was so calm and relaxed came out of that mare. She was the total opposite, very high strung also. As was all her horse's before and after him. So I figured the stallion has a lot to do with that.