What are tricks of the trade to bring a reluctant stallion into the breeding mood?
A. Not too different from strategies for humans, really–parading teaser mares may help, or providing novel partners (the Coolidge effect), or letting him voyeur as other stallions perform, says “The Merck Veterinary Manual, 8th Edition.” Hormonal treatment can be useful, but bad experience is usually at the root. If mating injury occurred, an artificial vagina may help along with anti- anxiety drugs as he relearns the basics. Often, it’s simply a problem of overuse for breeding or overzealous application of antimasturbation devices in show or performance horses. Pickiness too can puncture potency, reports are, as when a particular stallion disdains pinto mares–treatable in some cases by using a throw-on blanket disguise.
