articles on breeding
June 29th, 2008
mind not the ugly weanling
Among many problems inside American Sport Horse Breeding programs, breed shows are absolutely not helping those problems, and in many cases, breed shows are harming the breeds involved.
Winning yearling breed show attributes are often mutually exclusive from lifetime quality care and training practices. Too many people equate a breed show winning yearling as a potential winning sport horse. Additionally, young horses “promoted” at breed shows are generally not being raised with their future in mind.
A valid reason to enter a young horse into a breed show could be to acquaint them with the sights and sounds of a horse show. Seeing a new place and being away from friends is especially important for raising an even tempered horse. For the young horse, the earlier new, “scary” things and environments happen, the better. An in-hand class at a horse breed show could go a long way toward creating this positive, “scary” environment.
But at sport horse breed shows, witnessing in-hand classes of young horses is difficult. On parade are a bunch of immature horses who will grow up with health and temperament problems based purely on their preparation for the show. It’s this short-sided nature of the young horse’s care and training that reflects poorly on the reasons most breeders enter the breed shows.
What am I talking about? All over the place, many young horses for sale will undoubtedly carry the title of “in hand winner.” For a young horse, this dubious title shouldn’t speak volumes to anyone. A winning yearling at a breed show is fat, shiny, and “conditioned”. A yearling shouldn’t be fat or conditioned. Young, fat horses grow too fast and put unnecessary weight on undeveloped bones. Horses that grow too fast are at severe risk to developing OCD. A yearling could be shiny, maybe, but most yearlings should have some coat bleaching do to being outside all the time.
But yearlings can’t win ribbons with sun bleached coats, so inside, in a stall, they grow.
I have heard horror stories of young horses trained for breed shows possessing terrible quirks that are hard to get rid of. One horse I knew was shown extensively on the line, at Devon, and as an adult this horse was a bit of a lunatic on the ground. As a yearling, this horse had been so conditioned to trot big in hand and take off fast that seven years after having ever been at a breed show, the horse was still miserable to lead. One sound, cluck, clap, hoot or holler, and this horse would attempt to take off like a bat out of hell. This particular horse didn’t win in-hand, but it placed in the top 5 and also had an OCD lesion removed from each hock. Lameness was always a problem, but the horse sure was pretty!
There is no doubt that movement can be seen at a young age, though maturity does tell the true tale of how a horse moves. I knew a gangly, ugly, yearling filly that moved like a Saddlebred who went on to compete at a very high level in dressage. That filly would have not only lost in hand at breed shows, she would have been laughed out of the ring. Why she moved like that as a youngster is beyond me, but she moved beautifully as a 4 year old and on!
Remember how junior high dorks grow up to be wealthy CEO’s with good looking spouses; think of young horses the same way.
so fugly they're cute. let 'em be.
As a breeder and an owner of a young horse (under 4 years), sometimes it’s hard to wait and “do stuff” with the young horse. But, patience is a virtue, and it usually pays off in the end. Allow that weanling, yearling, and two year old to look scrawny, gangly, sun bleached, and awkward. It’s okay; many a fantastic sport horse was an ugly duckling at one time or another.
When purchasing a young horse, don’t take any breed show wins as guarantees to success; instead look at lineage success, the individual horse in question, and most importantly, get x-rays! Joints of young horses can show a lot about future soundness problems that might crop up.
Until a horse and rider earn ribbons for performance, there is no guarantee a horse is worth the asking price. And just because a stallion has produced 20 in hand winners doesn’t mean that stallion produces performance sport horses. In order to get an accurate picture of a young horse’s potential, look into the performance of the mature progeny of stallions. Maybe their offspring are really pretty, but pretty doesn’t matter if they’re a mess under saddle.
With young horses, don’t get fooled by ribbons, championships, and fancy foals! On the end results of breeding matter, and those end results are not determined, not even commented on at breed shows.
All in all, breed shows tend to bring out a different kind of horse enthusiast. Those die-hard breed-showers are usually focused on:
- inflating horse prices, or
- seeing their “baby” win
In-hand classes at breed shows may be interesting for mature horses; there, experienced judges can make observations about temperament, conformation, and ability as it relates to the breed, but breed shows have it wrong when looking at young horses.
If you do choose to show your young horse in-hand, take precautions by limiting any “work” to simply manners and experiences, and let young horses be young horses by being outside as much as possible. And this is so important; do not over feed a growing horse. Follow your veterinarian’s advice and consult the stallion owner as well who may have experience with “growthy” throws.
With young horses, too big, too fast, and too fat are problems that cause long term health and fitness issues. Unless American Sport Horse Breeders stop focusing on the outside of their young babies, the horses and breeds themselves will only keep on loosing.
But then again, if it’s ribbons you’re after, horse breed shows are for you.
Just take that “sport” off the “sport horse” you’re peddling; we can call it even.
Tags: horse shows
Posted in breeding | 1 Comment »
May 11th, 2008
Hey dude, he's the stallion.
This is Chapter 2 of 4 concerning Sport Horse Breeding.
Click here for Sport Horse Breeding Chapter 1 - The Mare.
There are certainly more than a handful of quality stallions waiting for your phone call, but truth be told, most stallions are average, below average, or downright unworthy of passing on genes of any kind.
Some stallions are outstanding athletes; dressage and jumpers that stand out from all the rest. I am not going to name names, but most outstanding stallions, are imported. Sure, there are a few nice “homebred” stallions as well, but by and large, worthy stallion semen is only found in Europe (sorry).
Most stallions are average, below average, or downright unworthy of passing on genes of any kind.
Knowing there are some outstanding stallions to choose, regardless of discipline, my problem with sport-horse stallion breeding is the management of such stallions’ throws.
Without keeping great track of offspring, stallion owners already have their hands full. Owning a stallion is not a moneymaker, and sure, stallion owners need to make money off their investment. Stallions are hard to train, handle, and compete, but stallion owners are also faced with promotion, stallion approvals, breeding campaigns, and all the while - semen collection, and breeding demands. A performing stallion’s life (both in the ring and out of the ring) is tough on the stallion and tough on the stallion owner.
With that being said, maybe it’s just too hard to be picky and choosy about the which mares a stallion owners allows his “investment’s” semen to go out to. Keep in mind, however, knowledgeable stallion hunters always run into the problem of “proof”. I like to see what the stallion throws. What kind of performance horses has this stallion produced? If all I can see are some below average horses out of mares that should not have been bred to in the first place, how can I really tell how nice the stallion’s offspring are.
Some great stallions really “stamp” themselves on their offspring, and most, if not all offspring enjoy some grand quality. But all in all, most stallion owners have nothing to show in the proof “ring”.
If all I can see are some below average horses out of mares that should not have been bred to in the first place, how can I really tell how nice the stallion’s offspring are.
Then there is stallion marketing. Why are most stallion videos so horrible? I cannot see the point in sending out some of the videos I have seen. I mean, don’t get me wrong, if you are lucky enough to have a stallion that is known for producing outstanding jumpers, you don’t need a video. But, if you’re offering a stallion based on his amazing qualities, let’s have some of those qualities on the video. I appreciate conformation shots, but if I’m looking for a jumper, let’s see some jumping. If I’m looking for a dressage horse, let’s see some under saddle action. Not in a dark indoor that is so dusty you can barely tell what color the horse is; go outside (hint, wait for a nice day to film) or go somewhere else. Oh, and cut the atrocious “stallion-y” music set at an ear breaking level (money doesn’t buy taste, right?).
And Websites! Come on stallion owners, why not put the video online?! Online videos would save you money because at least 50% of the people calling are just window shopping, and of those, most have high speed internet. Then there’s a question of your website altogether…oh what’s that? You don’t have a website? Your stallion’s webpage hasn’t been updated since 2005? Is this an Olympic horse that needs no introduction? No? Okay then - next!
But most importantly for the stallion owner, if you have a nice stallion, why not find even nice mares and offer discount breeding? Please, stop breeding nice stallions to ANYTHING.
Additionally, lets not forget the thousands of stallions that should have been gelded as weanlings or yearlings. Why do people think that loving their mare + well know stallion semen = a colt deserving to be a stallion? You know what happens then? The stud fee on that new “warmblood” colt is going to be $800, inexperienced horse people are not going to know any better and breed to that stallion, producing even more pointless horses. Now, I’m not saying that every stallion with a $2000+ stud fee is an exceptional horse, and lets face it, not every exceptional stallion will always mix with every type of mare. But, if you do have a young horse and you think he is a dream horse please, please get a second opinion before skipping that gelding appointment.
Please, stop breeding nice stallions to ANYTHING.
Remember, even quality breeding farms geld most of their colts. Your colt better be phenomenal in every sense to whisk off gelding.
Listen, I realize there is a lot of work involved in owning a stallion. There are a few stallions in this country that, although well known and popular, are not even the best stallions for temperament and soundness reasons.
If you do have a nice mare, a mare that is worthy of breeding, make sure you do your homework in finding the right match for your mare. Do some research on bloodlines, get references of people who own offspring of the stallions, and see if you can find information on soundness and temperament from someone other than the stallion owner/manager. Obviously, it would be great to meet the stallion in person, and though it may be impossible at times, if you can meet him, you should. Horse breeding isn’t something to take lightly, and it costs a lot of money to breed, raise, and train a horse. Make sure the investment you are making is going to be everything it can.
And one last note, please, stallion owners, get rid of your cheesy magazine designs; you don’t have to fit EVERY picture on one page. One nice picture should be enough. If you’re lucky enough to have one of those exceptional, great stallions, show them off properly by displaying offspring (not in hand).
Great stallions need good mares, and the not-so-great stallions should be gelded.
**photo taken from Ween’s “The Stallion, Part 2″**
Tags: equestrian, stallion, warmblood
Posted in breeding | 1 Comment »
April 28th, 2008
I have been aware of horse slaughter since I was a kid. It was a well known fact Thoroughbred ex-race horses that came through the barn had one shot to make it in the hunter/jumper ring (as riding horses). If a horse didn’t stay at the barn, we knew the horse would end up back at dealers, and dealer returns meant the horse was going to slaughter.
As a child, horse slaughter was simply a fact. Now, it’s almost a necessity. I don’t agree with slaughtering horses, nor do I want any horse to end up at a slaughterhouse, but our society produces far too many unwanted horses.
I receive emails on a weekly basis from several different horse industry and horse welfare news streams. Every time I read one of these legislative “updates”, I wonder: When is horse slaughter legislation going to start with the cause of unwanted horses?
Though anti horse slaughter groups have successfully shut down horse slaughterhouses in America, horse breeding has only increased. If horses at auction don’t wind up at slaughter, where are all the “unwanted” horses going to go? As with the millions of unwanted dogs and cats who are euthanased every year, it would be nice if we could say unwanted horses are “humanely destroyed.” But, horses are just not that easy to put down. Besides being big, difficult to transport, to house, and to feed, horses cost several hundred dollars to put down. For “humane” treatment, horses need not only feed, water, and vaccinations, but also farrier care and often special nutritional, veterinary, and stabling.
When is horse slaughter legislation going to start with the cause of unwanted horses?
Horses end up at auction if they can’t be sold privately, can’t be cared for, or are (simply) unwanted. If a horse owner sends an “unwanted” horse to auction and the horse doesn’t sell, what happens to the horse? If the previous owner can’t or won’t care for the horse, who will?
It’s the same with the overpopulation of dogs and cats. It’s better to have a humane society take an unwanted pet and euthanize it than have a pet return to a home where it isn’t wanted or cannot be cared for. But again, horses are extremely difficult and expensive to care for. Some say re-homing unwanted horses is not a big deal since the total number of American horses slaughtered per year “only” equals about 1% of the total American horse population. Based on current horse populations (about 9 million in the US), 90,000 “homeless” horses is still a lot of horses. With hay prices up, gas prices up, and affordable land becoming more scarce, most horse people in any part of the country will tell you; “you can’t even give ‘em away these days.”
Some anti-slaughter activists like to claim horse “kill buyers” are outbidding nice families in search of a pet. Really? If a “nice family” is only willing to spend $100, maybe a $150 on a horse, will they be willing to spent another $150 on vaccines once the vet comes out? What about hoof care every six weeks? Hay, grain, shavings? Proper fencing? Does the nice family have money set aside for emergency transport and thousands of dollars worth of colic surgery? Kill buyers, yes, may be out bidding families (occasionally), but this does not mean the family has means to care for the long term health of the horse.
To minimize horse slaughter and unwanted horses, we need a better plan.
Currently, there are no horse slaughterhouses operating in the United States. Despite anti-slaughter group efforts, American horse slaughterhouses have been successfully shut down, but now horses are just sent over the border to Mexico and Canada where the treatment and killing of animals is even less humane than under American standards.
In many ways, the U.S. slaughter ban has already hurt horse welfare.
For reference, American slaughterhouses used retractable pneumatic bolts to render horses unconscious (in theory) before slitting their throats. However, in Mexico, it’s common practice to stab horses in the back repeatedly until their spinal cord is severed. Watch this video from the Humane Society of the United States for more info on Mexican horse slaughter.
In many ways, the U.S. horse slaughter ban has already hurt horse welfare. Now, anti-slaughter groups are attempting to ban horses exported for slaughter altogether. Despite the fact this new law could be easily circumvented by horse “kill dealers” simply labeling horses transported across the border as “for riding” instead of “for slaughter”, we need to first think about minimizing the unwanted horse population before tackling the issue of horse slaughter.
Lets look at some facts:
- According to the USDA, 45,000 horses went to slaughter in Mexico in 2007, and another 26,000 went to Canada (total, 71,000+).
- According to the Jockey Club, 56,000 Thoroughbred mares were bred in 2007.
- According to the Thoroughbred Times, Thoroughbred race horses averaged 25 starts per life in 1950; by 1994, the average Thoroughbred ran just 14 races.
What does this mean? More Thoroughbreds running less races equals more waste. Due to over breeding of the Thoroughbred, not only does the Thoroughbred Times conclude Thoroughbred races horses are less sound than 60 years ago , but also, they are less used.
Moreover, why have we not had a Triple Crown winner in Thoroughbred horse racing since Affirmed in 1978? Could it be that the only requirements for breeding a Thoroughbred horse are a papered mare and money for a stud fee?
I imagine, even in 1978, horse breeding and racing wasn’t an incredibly easy or cheap “hobby”. Then, not every backyard horse owner could afford a.) a papered Thoroughbred mare, or b.) a 500 mile haul to the stallion. Today, cheap, seedy racetracks are numerous and vastly outnumber the celebrity packed racing events profiled on T.V. It is perceived as “easy” now for anyone to think they can breed the next Kentucky Derby winner. For $250, someone can pick up a lame and unproven (and possibly even unraced) Thoroughbred mare and breed her to an equally lame or unproven Thoroughbred stallion for as little as $300. Boom! For less than a beater car, you too can own the next derby champ!
Wrong.
Of course, many Thoroughbreds going for meat are actually well bred, expensive horses. Some may have stud fees of $500,000 or more. By and large, racehorses don’t retire to green pasture if they don’t win. They mostly go to auction. Even when trainers try their best to find a new owner and a new job for the horse, Thoroughbreds off-the-track are not just for anyone. Most of them need experienced handlers and trainers.
With the 2008 Kentucky Derby ready to hit the starting gate on May 3rd, what is the average American going to see of the racing industry? Horses worth millions of dollars? Shiny, lucky horses cared for better than most people?
I wish happenings at an average American Thoroughbred Racetrack were televised. Horses running at tracks not called Churchill Downs, Belmont Park, or Pimlico don’t have the luxury of being considered anything but expendable or replaceable. And besides, with reality TV all the rage, is there anything more cut throat [pun intended] than watching broke down horses running in races that are paying out $500 with the losers highly unlike to get another chance?
The large majority of horses who will not see the glamorous camera lenses pointed at them (beside closed circuit monitoring) are only bred to be good for a year or two. These “modern” Thoroughbreds, the ones at your average, dirty, shady, tracks, aren’t bred to run the Kentucky Derby; they are bred to MAYBE, MAYBE win their owners and investors a couple thousand dollars. The main purpose of the average Thoroughbred is to honor the owner with the distinction of owning a racehorse. Thoroughbreds, by their nature, are bred to be hot, a trait which does not to serve them well outside of running. They are no longer bred with long lines, or big strides even. They are bred to run and move flat, fast, and that’s it. Outside of the few races they MIGHT run, Thoroughbred racehorses serve limited purpose.
Interestingly enough, even Kentucky Derby winners aren’t safe from slaughter. With the 2002 slaying of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand at a Japanese slaughterhouse, the horse racing industry has proven time and time again it does not even value it’s most prize assets.
Thusly, even well bred but only “medium” caliber racehorses, such as those bought and sold at the Keeneland Auction for an average of $100K, may not ever win, even at a small racetrack. With the hopes of “cleaning up” at the ghetto tracks, these “Kentucky” bred horses still are without value unless the winnings come in early and frequently.
The main purpose of today’s “modern” Thoroughbred is to honor the owner with the distinction of owning a racehorse.
Luckily, there is a good chance a Kentucky bred Thoroughbred horse could posses some very nice athletic attributes that could result in a nice hunter/jumper, dressage, or eventing home. Still, the original breeders, owners, and trainers of racehorses are generally unconcerned with where the horses end up. The racing industry wipes their hands clean of losers without regard for the welfare of the horses. Slaughter, new career, loving home - who cares! Whatever gets them off the training and boarding bill, its fine by the racehorse owner.
As an American horse community, we need to start looking at a way to fund “unwanted” horses that are considered “garbage” with either euthanasia, or when applicable, retraining programs. Or more importantly, let’s limit racehorse breeding to owners and trainers who only commit their funds to providing for a horse throughout the duration of its life, regardless of its winnings. If the racing community had to fork over money for the lifetime care of its horses, the unwanted horse population would dry up.
The horse industry needs a plan, a good plan, to help lower unwanted horse numbers. Stopping horse slaughter is only going to be beneficial once we stop having too many horses. In order to stop horse slaughter, the Humane Society of the United States should do one of two things:
1.) Provide the shelters and means necessary to retrain or humanely euthanize unwanted, unadaptable horses
2.) Take giant steps forward to limit the breeding of all horses, not just racing Thoroughbreds
In addition, the HSUS should go after the racing community for some money to start covering the humane destruction or lifetime care of the horses it produces. Now that the Kentucky Derby is underway, why don’t some of these trainers, owners, breeders, and jockeys making BIG money in horse racing industry give some money back, to the horses themselves?
If the racing community had to fork over money for the lifetime care of its horses, the unwanted horse population would dry up.
Let’s stop breeding low quality Thoroughbreds, shut down the seedy racetracks, and start a rehab and retraining humane society that can help with these unwanted horses either through re-homing (realistically), or humane euthanasia.
And frankly, lets stop breeding low quality horses of any kind. The Thoroughbred racing industry is not solely to blame for horse slaughter or unwanted horses altogether. However, Thoroughbred horse racing is the highest grossing and highest profile entity of the horse world. For naysayers of horse slaughter, Thoroughbred racing is an easy target because of its money, power, and fan base, but there is no better time than to call out an institution on it’s dirty little secrets than when shone national media spotlight (rest assured, if Premarin horses ended up with global coverage on the Oxygen network, we’d be all over that too).
Please, lets organize a cause with a better, more logical, long-term answer for unwanted horses than taking on American horse slaughter. Though the last three horse slaughter plants were shut down in 2007, bottom of the market horse welfare has not increased. Once we gain control over the source of the unwanted horses, only then will we produce effective measures against combating horse slaughter.
Tags: horseracing, kentucky, kentucky derby, politics, slaughter, tb, thoroughbred
Posted in breeding | 16 Comments »
April 22nd, 2008
love isn't a good enough reason to breed your mare
* * editors note: this is the first in a series of four articles aimed sport horse breeding * *
People love to breed things. I don’t understand the mentality, but this goes for dogs, cats, horses, and the obvious….people. Just because a living thing has a reproductive system doesn’t mean said living thing should be reproducing.
“I love my mare”. That, along with many other statements, does not qualify your mare to reproduce. I realize breeding seems tempting with the availability of quality stallions, but just because you have a mare doesn’t mean that you should breed her. Most mares are not that nice, and most nice mares need to be bred carefully.
Example #1: A woman owns a mare, she’s a cute mare. Let’s say the mare had done some hunters in the past, the big shows, let’s even say the mare did pretty good in the adult amateur ring. Now, the mare is doing dressage. Let’s say the mare is doing okay at 2nd level, but the mare is definitely not going to be progressing any further than 2nd level. The woman has seen all these fancy Grand Prix dressage stallions in the magazines. She loves her mare. Her mare is a 15.2 hand TB mare, 12 years old, chestnut, small frame, cow hocked with very small hocks, has Navicular but is sound with corrective shoeing (hence the inability to jump anymore), very small, shallow feet with no heal. Cute head, downhill, pretty straight shoulder even though she moves better than she is built to; pretty flat gaits, short neck, and long back (not extreme). But, she is a sweet mare, not mare-ish, very nice temperament, not “hot”.
This woman wants a Grand Prix horse. She rides at a pretty nice dressage barn. Most of the other boarders have Warmbloods. There are a few exceptional Thoroughbreds that are doing some of the upper level stuff, but this woman is definitely one of only a few to own a horse that isn’t going to go much further than 2nd level (we aren’t talking about rider ability at this point). Finances don’t allow this woman to buy a “going” Warmblood with upper level potential, nor is she able to fork out 10-20k for a young horse. So, she figures “I’ll breed to one of those REALLY fancy Warmbloods in the magazines that are doing Grand Prix dressage and I’ll have my next star!
Most mares are not that nice, and most nice mares need to be bred carefully.
Let’s examine this scenario. First let’s start with this woman’s “experience” in breeding. None, she has none. Her trainer knows of two younger “up and coming” stallions that aren’t approved yet, but are “gorgeous”. Her trainer also, has no experience breeding. So, the woman starts calling stallion owners. I’m not going to cut on stallion owners (at least not in this segment), but the woman hears nothing but rave reviews about each of these stallions. She picks one, a 17 hand Hanoverian, big boned, fluid movement with lots of impulsion, rhythmic gaits, has a large head though it fits him, long neck, average back, sloping shoulder, uphill build, straight legs, big feet (all from pictures and from inspection results), but all in all a very nice looking horse.
What is she going to get out of this breeding? A Grand Prix dressage horse (chances are much less than 1%)? Is she going to get the equivalent of her mare? Now that is much more realistic. But, with the conformation of the two, there is a much better chance that she is going to get much less than she had in her mare. There is a chance of course, slim, but a chance that she could get a tad nicer than her mare. But, with the clash of conformation, build, & movement, the chances are she is going to get a 16h horse with a long neck, long back, big head, big body, small frame legs, terrible feet, that doesn’t have much for athleticism. Of course, this horse has a good chance of being sweet (though we didn’t discuss the stallion’s temperament), but is this woman going to be happy with something less than her mare? If so…..great. But with the money this woman spent breeding her mare, raising the foal, and paying for training, she has probably already spent 15-40k when it is ready to be ridden.
Is she going to get the equivalent of her mare? [Not with the] conformation combo; she’ll probably get much less than she had in her mare.
Example #2: A jumper mare maxes out at about 3’6”. This mare is pretty fast and has done pretty good in the AA jumpers with several owners. She has never been able to get a lead change and has had many lameness problems. This mare also is a bitch. She HAS to be on Regumate. The only reason she has done well in the AA jumpers is because it took her 10 years to get there. She is 16 years old now. She has only been doing the AA jumpers for about 4 years. Before that she went from owner to owner because she is such a pain to train, ride, and generally deal with. She is spooky, she is hot, she is nervous, she is herd bound, she has a nasty buck AND rear. But, now she is a little better. I mean, she doesn’t like to be brushed, or tacked up. She pins her ears, swishes her tail, and often gives you the warning hind leg in the air when you have done anything more than she can tolerate. You cannot use spurs, but a crop is okay. She has never been “abused”, she is just that mare….the one that is just a bitch!
But, it might be retirement time. The woman who owns her is moving up in the jumper ring and she can’t part with the mare. She has bought a nice warmblood gelding that she is hoping to show in the A/O jumpers in the next year or two. So the mare, an appendix quarter horse, 16.2 hands, with great conformation throughout the body; nice shoulder, nice croup, nice back and neck, nice head, great topline, kind of falls apart in the legs. Not terribly, but she has sickle hocks, toes in, has terrible “tube” quarter horse feet (surprisingly no Navicluar detected YET), long cannon bones, short, and very short pasterns (astonishing that she can jump 3’6”).
The woman decides to breed the mare to a stallion that was shown in Grand Prix jumpers. She wants the mare to have something to do in retirement and she would either like another horse once her Warmblood gelding has to retire, or she will sell the foal. Either way it will be a great horse…right?
No, of course not. Why would you breed this mare? This mare has a terrible temperament, which WILL get passed on at least a little bit to the foal, and the conformation ALONE is not okay to breed. Worse case scenario, you get a horse that is WORSE than the mare! Best case scenario, you get a horse that is equal to your mare! You cannot improve on BAD faults. Sure, every horse has its conformation and temperament “imperfections”, but if there are blatant FAULTS, NO! Don’t breed!
Through equine reproduction, you cannot improve on BAD faults.
Example #3 (this is my all time favorite and probably the most common): Mare, lame, career ending (but not from an accident); Navicular, Ringbone, Sidebone, OCD, Torn Suspensory (over at the knee being the cause), Bowed Tendon (poor lower leg conformation causing the weakness).
Of course, this mare was not proven in sport in any way. She were started and then had lameness issues because of poor conformation. This is the exact reason NOT to breed, but the most common reason for a person to breed. “Well, she’s retired and only 8 years old, I can get 7 foals out of her.” NO!!!!!!!
Basically, what it boils down to is that a mare isn’t for breeding unless #1 she has proven herself in sport (upper level, dressage or jumpers) or #2 she has an outstanding temperament with equally outstanding conformation. Of course, conformation alone doesn’t qualify an upper level performance horse, nor does temperament, but it’s a good start. Also, not every rider is riding at upper levels, and there is a huge market for the middle of the performance scale, along with the lower end of the performance scale. But, you still want to be producing a physically sound horse that is also mentally sound.
Lameness is the exact reason NOT to breed, but also the most common reason given for breeding.
There are plenty of horses that qualify for the lower level without the need for you to breed to this level. There are also enough horses that performed at the upper levels and are done with that caliber of performance due to age, wear and tear, and rider ability to be passed on to the middle levels. You should not try to breed a lower level horse, or even a mid level horse.
And hey, two high level performance horses (mare and stallion) don’t always add up to offspring that perform, win, and hold-up at the upper levels, but you definitely have a much better chance.
Of course, there are always the horses that beat the odds; terrible conformation, terrible temperament, but manage to overcome those obstacles and win in the Grand Prix ring. But, odds are against those horses. And don’t forget, a horse still need heart, good training, and good riding. But guaranteed, starting off breeding with sound, sane horses and proven athletic abilities is a step in the right direction towards breeding quality offspring.
Let’s try to keep breeding to a minimum. Let’s breed quality, not quantity. Let’s REALLY figure out the costs involved with breeding and buying. If you own a mare, have someone who is knowledgeable, honest (brutally), experienced, and unbiased take a look at your mare and give you their opinion.
I would suggest taking your mare to a breed inspection, but I am unsure how strict they are these days. Anymore, American Warmblood, ISR, and a handful of other “registries” allow anything in their “books”. An evaluation from one of the TRUE, Warmblood breed associations would be a better start; though I have not been to a breed inspection in years.
Tags: breeding, equestrian, equine, horse, mare, reprooduction, sport horse, thoroughbred, warmblood
Posted in breeding | 3 Comments »
