Q: The question I have is not about any one horse, but rather a general topic that I am asked about from time to time. It concerns what is best for young stallions in terms of introduction and exposure to breeding while they are in training or work. I have had several clients here in Texas ask similar questions over the years about when to introduce young performance stallions to breeding and what effect collecting semen from these young stallions may or may not have on their performance (mostly cutting horses).

A lot is asked of 3- to 6-year-old show stallions in this area, particularly when it comes to juggling performance and breeding. Clearly, I don't think there is a cut and dried answer to this question, but I wondered what your experience has been on this subject. There are some strong opinions on both sides locally, particularly about 3-year-olds that are having semen collected regularly.

Probably the majority of trainers strongly hold the opinion that they prefer not to have colts start breeding when they are still performing, expecting that it will be a significant distraction from their work or that they might get out of hand sexually when in work. But the minority opinion, in some cases based on actual experience with some stallions, is that breeding can actually benefit the performance behavior.

The reality is that once these stallions get going well in performance, there is a demand for semen. So sooner or later the questions arise