Equestrian

i see what you mean - its unnatural to lock them away, as in the wild they mix with females all the time

pure_joy... there is something about the first one that stands out - i think i prefer the first one

The first one had a lovely character, very trainable- I broke him and trained him myself and had completely no problems. The stallion was very well-trained already and he was an amazing mover, with really nice gaits. I personally liked both horses, they were very different, though.

Botticello- I used to ride a lot of stallions before - I was riding in a state stallion stud (like the ones in Warendorf or Celle in Germany). Some can be a bit crazy, especially in spring, when their hormones start to get in the way. Basically, stallions are not dangerous killers (as some people think), but you have to be a bit more careful with them, both when grooming and riding. Most can be quite easily handled, but you shouldn't trust them too much- e.g. never walk a stallion on a headcollar and leadrope, always take a long lunge and a bridle. In general, stallions seem to have a stronger will than most mares and geldings, so it takes a bit more effort to keep them in line, but if you can make them cooperate, they can perform really well.

Lucky you We have mud everywhere now, the snow has just melted.



Those two are really nice horses then. Of course stallions can be worked like any other horses. It's just that it's worth to be extra careful for two main reasons- first, stallions can get really excited easily (or more easily than most mares or geldings), so they can be more difficult to handle, and you do want to keep them obedient all the time. So why give them an opportunity for getting stupid.
Another thing- if a stallion manages to run away, it's a big problem. The place I ride in is really big, 3 large stables for more than 100 horses. The area is a few square kilometers and there are lots of other horses around and a main road is not very far away, so it's quite dangerous when a horse runs away. And a loose stallion can cause more damage than any other horse and it can be more difficult to catch, so it has more time to hurt itself. This is why there are a few extra things we try to be careful about with stallions.
Of course, usually the stallions behave ok and you just turn out to completely not need extra precautions. But sometimes a horse gets crazy and it's nice to be able to avoid accidents.
I'm not talking about anything dramatic, just simple things like always walking a stallion on a bridle, never leaving the stable door open, even for a few seconds, not coming too close to other horses, not turning them out with other horses.
I agree with you that upbringing is very important- not only with stallions, with actually all horses.

Has anyone here ever rode Western?

I've been riding English for about 8 years now, but in a few months I'm going to be on a ranch where it'll be Western. Can anyone tell me the differences or how hard it is to adjust?