The Secret Life of Stallions
CHALLENGING THE CULTURAL TOTEM
Fighting stallions have been a common subject in equine art for centuries, which is not at all hard to understand given the titanic clash of physical speed and power that this represents.
So powerful is this image, and so deeply ingrained as a cultural totem in our racial memory, that for many of us primeval aggression and violent power have become synonymous with the very notion of this animal, resulting in a form of cultural monomania.
And it is precisely this notion that is long overdue for serious challenge.
In the next month we are going to peel back the 'hype' and 'spin' that overlay the nature of the entire male horse and look at what lies underneath.
NATURAL COURTSHIP
In the natural courtship process the mare and stallion are together well before oestrus, and the progressive hormonal cycle produces a gradual, and mutual, heightening of interest. The normal point of address for a stallion to a mare is initially from the front and side, with particular attention being shown to the front 'arm-pit'. This allows the mare to kick out vigorously and emit the squeal that typifies her not being quite ready without doing the stallion any injury.
It is not at all hard to understand that a great number of maiden mares will react badly to the lack of any such courtship during in-hand service, and kick out in fear. The experience is clearly very stressful for the mare, and, with due deference to those whose sensitivities might be offended by such a notion, equates, in my opinion, to a form of assisted rape.
HE IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
It has long been considered, if only on an unconscious level, that the stallion contributes little to the raising of foals. Of course this is entirely understandable given that our central concept of fatherhood is that of the 'bread-winner' (or, more exactly, the 'meat-winner') a role that has no equivalent in grazing animals.
