Stallion Washing Aversion

My husband and I run a business of shipping semen from a few stallions that we board. We have some started ourselves, and some have started elsewhere. Most of them do really well with our simple collection routine. We bring them to the breeding barn, tease a little, wash them, tease a little more, then mount a dummy. Over the years, we have had a couple of stallions that we have had difficult

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My husband and I run a business of shipping semen from a few stallions that we board. We have some started ourselves, and some have started elsewhere. Most of them do really well with our simple collection routine. We bring them to the breeding barn, tease a little, wash them, tease a little more, then mount a dummy. Over the years, we have had a couple of stallions that we have had difficulty getting washed before breeding. Rather than hassle those stallions, we just collect semen without washing the penis and hope the antibiotic in the semen extender takes care of any problems. Last season we started one of these “no-wash” stallions. His first-year fertility turned out to be fairly poor. His 17 mares were spread out from February to September, so he had only a few collections per month. With the long collection interval, there was usually so much surface debris that it got into the sample. One thing we want to do next season is to wash this stallion, but whenever you even go close to his flank he will cow-kick like lightning. At the same time he loses his erection, so getting tough with him is just frustrating for everyone. There is the added danger that when you reach for him, he scurries away like he is really scared. He even fell down when kicking while cowering. He’s OK for touching his penis once he is mounted. I think he’s a very nice horse, but this problem is especially intimidating for us. What would be your advice for a stallion like this?          via e-mail


This is a common aversion for stallions. It can be a natural aversion, but more often is the result of having been physically punished for sexual arousal (having the flank or penis struck). We recommend re-training as early as possible with a therapeutic approach called positive reinforcement-based systematic desensitization. That means gradually getting him used to being touched and manipulated by rewarding successive approximations of the goal. We use the same methods you’d use to get a horse to pick up his feet on command, overcome injection shyness, or enjoy any mildly aversive, non-painful manipulation in exchange for a reward. We try to commit to all-positive reinforcement–calm and patient, without yelling, hitting, or getting frustrated. This has been successful for every stallion with which we have worked, and so we are generally very confident that stallions can learn to be washed for breeding.

We would consider starting this stallion’s training for washing in the winter when he might be a bit more mellow sexually, and at a time when we can devote 15-30 minutes once or twice a day for a week or two specifically for the training. And for seriously scared stallions like this one, we might start the retraining in the stall or paddock–some new situation other than the breeding area where he has been successfully avoiding penis contact

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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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