Slow-Starting Stallion

We just started using a 3-year-old Quarter Horse stallion for breeding. He is sort of interested and will rub his head on the mare a bit, but he drops about half-way, then up, down, up, down. He doesn’t seem shy or anxious, just lazy, like a gelding. Sometimes he’ll just stand for a long time, even with his head in the mare’s tail, or he’ll ditz around with her tail like a foal does with its

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We just started using a 3-year-old Quarter Horse stallion for breeding. He is sort of interested and will rub his head on the mare a bit, but he drops about half-way, then up, down, up, down. He doesn’t seem shy or anxious, just lazy, like a gelding. Sometimes he’ll just stand for a long time, even with his head in the mare’s tail, or he’ll ditz around with her tail like a foal does with its mom. He does eventually get ready and do the job, but you never know how long it will take! And sometimes he just pops up on her sideways without an erection. Sometimes when he has gotten a fairly good erection, he just rubs his chin on her rump and doesn’t go up. When he has bred, he doesn’t really get a complete erection until after he mounts.

Can medications help? When you have to stand in the breeding shed for an hour or more to breed a mare, it gets to be a bit much. I don’t even want to think about trying to collect this horse! We have heard there is something like Viagra for horses. We’ve been working with him since just before Christmas, and it’s now the first week in February. Before long his outside mares will be arriving, and the pressure will be on for real. Any input would be greatly appreciated.                  Anonymously Frustrated in the Midwest

While there are no silver bullet medications, some treatments can help boost a stallion’s libido, and we certainly do recommend them when people get in a pinch with a slow-starting novice breeder under pressure to get going, or an older stallion that has diminished sexual arousal and response with his book of mares backing up. I’ll get to them in a minute

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Sue M. McDonnell, PhD, is a certified applied animal behaviorist and the founding head of the equine behavior program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She is also the author of numerous books and articles about horse behavior and management.

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