130 SIDELINES JANUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
8 SIDELINES JUNE 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
e
Stallions & Breeding
Quentin and HH Dark de la Hart.
Photo by Katherine Hay,
#10.
VIP Treatment at the FEI Jog.
At each show, we have to jog our FEI-level horses for soundness
for the show veterinarian. Oftentimes stallions will get moved to
the front of the line so they don’t have to stand for a long time
around other horses and mares.
#9.
The opportunity to keep a
special horse.
These days in the top level of show jumping, horses are bought
and sold more often than they are kept. With some stallions,
their “second career” as a breeding stallion may give their
owner a reason to hold on to them and not sell them even if the
opportunity arises.
#8.
They are beautiful!
Pretty is as pretty does in our sport, but it never hurts to be riding
a handsome horse. So, even if you don’t have the best show,
you will surely get some awesome pictures out of it!
#7.
It’s a thrill to see your stallion’s
offspring.
We are lucky at Double H Farm to have some great stallions
who have offspring competing throughout the United States and
Europe. It’s thrilling to see one of your stallion’s offspring become
successful in the show ring. Our foundation stallion, Orlando, has
offspring such as “Ohlala” with Lauren Hough and “Calypso” with
Kirsten Coe winning at the top level, which is incredibly exciting.
#6.
Longevity.
In our experience, stallions tend to lead longer, healthier lives.
Maybe the increase in testosterone and muscle keeps stallions
fitter and more sound than geldings or mares. Whatever the
reason, we have found that stallions tend to keep themselves in
better shape, which leads to less health problems and a longer
life.
#5.
Stallions keep you on your toes!
Some stallions, like Dark, are just as well behaved as geldings
while some stallions are a handful to take care of. But no matter
what type of stallion you think you have, you better be ready to
deal with whatever they throw at you, because when the mood
strikes them – watch out!
#4.
You turn into a handyman!
Bringing a stallion to a show takes some extra planning. You
need to make sure your stallion cannot get too close to other
horses, especially through or over the top of the stalls. We
always bring plywood with us to increase the height of our
stallion’s stall walls, because you never know when there will be
a mare stabled behind your stallion. There have been more than
a few times when I have been hanging off a ladder trying to put
up plywood!
#3.
You get to make a grand
entrance.
You can do a lot of things with a stallion, but one thing you can’t
usually do is go unnoticed. When I get into a crowded schooling
arena, Dark starts screaming which lets everyone know we are
there!
#2.
Having a horse fight for you.
Stallions have a lot of power, opinions and personality. If you can
get those traits channeled in the right direction, you will have
a partner that fights for a clear round as hard as you do. There
have been quite a few times when I have asked a lot of Dark
in the show ring and, if his mind is on the job, he digs in and
gives me his all – and normally lets me know he has done so by
bucking when he lands!
And the number one reason is:
Having a stallion gets you more
involved in bloodlines and lineage.
Working with stallions and breeders gets your feet wet in the
vast and interesting network of performance-driven breeding.
As we have become more involved in the breeding market,
we have gotten familiar with many different breeds, bloodlines
and individual stallions. As we gain more knowledge, we start
to recognize desirable traits of certain bloodlines and can then
make better decisions for our own breeding program, which
we hope will pay off with Double H Farm bred and trained
champions!
