How to Train a Stallion to Use a Dummy Mount

1. Introduction

Training a stallion to use a dummy mount for semen collection can range from a quick and easy project accomplished in a few brief sessions within a couple days to a more challenging effort over many sessions or even over weeks to achieve organized and reliable one-mount ejaculation. With a good team and adequate facilities, many stallions are successful for their first semen collection within the first session and only need a few repetitions of that experience to be judged well-organized for reliable one-mount semen collection. With experience, our team at our veterinary school referral practice has come to enjoy working with even the most challenging beginners. Every stallion teaches us something new or reminds us of various tips to speed things along. We have come to appreciate that how a stallion is introduced and how the challenges are handled can significantly affect the success or failure of initial training and sometimes the stallion’s career-long efficiency for the semen collection. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss our basic training procedures and to provide practical tips for efficiently starting stallions on a dummy mount, including some of the more common challenges. 

2. Training Schedule

Ideally, we prefer to have the stallion as an inpatient for a minimum of 3 to 5 days. As a workable alternative for local owners who prefer to maintain the stallion as an outpatient, the horse can be presented daily for 3 to 5 days during a week so that we have the option of two to three training sessions daily over a period of 1 week.
      
At our facility, we very much promote the importance of the process of training itself as a procedure that should be done and charged outside the context of actual need for semen for evaluation or breeding. This usually enables a much more organized, systematic approach than if done under the pressure of the first semen order or within the context of a breeding soundness examination. Steps that are useful in training may be deleterious to semen quality. If the semen obtained during training must be used for breeding or evaluation, we may be reluctant to take those steps. In the end, efficiency and longterm benefits of a well-started stallion are to everyone’s advantage. For owners who ask that we do a semen evaluation or freezing during the training process, we inform them that we will keep that in mind and try to accommodate, but that our training decisions will favor training over semen quality, which may not yield semen ideal for evaluation, freezing, or insemination.

3. Getting Organized

Our approach to facilities and personnel for breeding and semen collection certainly falls on the minimalist end of the scale. For us, where we are training stallions within the context of teaching veterinary student handlers and assistants, “simpler” seems better in most instances. We have only a few basic recommendations for facilities, personnel, equipment, and supplies for starting a stallion on a dummy mount for semen collection.

4. Facilities

Semen collection can be done efficiently and safely in a variety of spaces. In general, we prefer a large clutter-free space, especially for training. We recommend that the shortest dimension of the breeding area is at least 25 feet. An area of roughly 40 feet by 40 feet is workable for even the most enthusiastic stallions. We recommend that the area be enclosed to reduce complications, should an animal get loose from the handler. A purpose-designed and dedicated breeding shed may be ideal for larger operations, but a grass paddock, a wide barn aisle, or an arena can be satisfactory alternatives. If the area is indoors, ample headroom, with at least 14- to 16-foot clearance to the lowest fixture, is recommended. This will accommodate the largest stal- lions should they rear and extend their forelimbs.
      
If the area is indoors, we like wide doorways (at least 10 feet) on at least two sides of the room for easy exit if necessary. Good footing is a high priority, especially when starting new stallions. It is best to have a surface that is not slippery, even when wet. We prefer a footing of solid rather than loose material. Loose material invariably gets kicked up onto the penis and can be abrasive and off-putting during thrusting and may contaminate the semen as well. We also recommend that the breeding area be out of the busy traffic area and as free as possible from distractions for the stallion and the handling team. A teasing stocks, wall, or rail in the breeding area is also useful but not necessary.
      
Some of the common facility pitfalls to avoid include any number of things that can be distracting or off-putting to an anxious novice. Examples include windows that cast light or reflect the animal images or movement, floor patterns or irregularities such as drains or wet spots, and sources of noises such as fans and other motors that cycle on and off.

5. Personnel

As with facilities, the type and expertise of handling teams vary widely throughout the equine breeding industry. We prefer a small team over a larger crew, especially when starting a novice breeder and when training to a dummy mount. For semen collection, this includes a stallion handler, a mare handler for the stimulus and/or mount mare should we use one as a training step, and a semen collection technician. For some stallions, a common challenge is to keep the stallion squared up at the rear rather than progressing up the side toward the head or over the barrel of the mare or dummy mount. In such cases, we find it useful to have an assistant available to “spot” at the hip of the stallion. Most stallions travel up the near side. In rare instances, a disorganized beginner will tend to scramble up on either the near or off sides. In that case, an assistant on each side of the stallion ready to “spot” if necessary can be helpful in getting the stallion squared up for insertion and organized thrusting. In our experience, for all but the most aggressive and strong stallions, these spotters are needed for only a couple to a few sessions before the horse settles down or learns to square up without assistance or with just the nudge of the semen collection technician.
      
At our teaching facility, the make-up and experience of the team vary from day to day. For that reason, we find it especially important before we start a session for each member of the team of the day to understand the general goals and plan for the particular horse, the particular goals for that session, as well as the specific role for each of the team members participating on that occasion. We record session-by-session goals for both the horse and the team on a prepared form that can be reviewed at the start and end of each session. Before a session begins, we also review the anticipated challenges and the contingency plan for safe resolution, for example, should a crisis arise, where the handler will take the stallion, where the handler will take the mare, and who will make the “call” and direct the team for the session.
      
Personal safety gear used for breeding horses varies considerably among facilities. Experienced handlers, if not accustomed to wearing safety gear with horses, may judge that the gear encumbers their agility and perception in the breeding situation. In our experience at a teaching facility, teams that routinely use personal safety attire quickly acclimate. At our facility we have safety vests and helmets available. For staff, this gear is used on a case-by-case basis and is the personal decision of each staff team member. Veterinary students are now required by our school to wear helmets when assisting. Safety shoes that are specifically rated for steel industry or equine activities are used routinely by some individuals. Others prefer lighter athletic shoes and take the strategy of avoiding being stepped on.
      
To reduce distractions, both for people and animals, we encourage team members to turn off or silence mobile communication devices for stallion training and handling sessions.

6. Artificial Vagina

We use the Missouri-style artificial vagina (AV). We prefer this model over the larger rigidly encased models, particularly for training, because we believe we can more easily handle the lighter AV and better achieve adequate base pressure and more physiologic positioning of the AV, which seem to improve our efficiency for stallions, particularly for those new to semen collection. [...]