RE: Witez II bloodlines (long)

[DESERTRYDR1@aol.com]

I would like an opinion from people more experienced with these lines.  I am 
considering breeding to a  stallion that is a Witez II grandson (by Otez).  
On the other side, he is out of a half sister to my mare (same sire- *Feniks, 
a polish import) who also carries Witez II farther back.  This guy is 15 
hands, 8 1/2" cannons, and looks like he could do the job himself. 

The downside:  He is 16 years old and not broke.  The lady who owns him is 
kind of strange and has several horses with this same breeding, none of whom 
are used for anything.  I have known this guy for about 8-9 months, and have 
been the primary one handling him, as the people I board with think he's a 
total nut case and don't mess with him any more than they have to.  His owner 
lives out of state and has only been up to see him and her other horses one 
time.  She was going to retire up here, and shipped the horses, then things 
changed.  He had very little manners, would scream and rear on lead, and just 
generally was a pain.  I have been working with him, and he knows that he is 
supposed to be quiet when he is wearing a halter now.  He also leads better, 
and has generally settled down a lot.  The first time I groomed him, he 
screamed and lifted his leg when I touched his flank, which I disciplined him 
for, and he now let me do almost anything with him.  He isn't a very happy 
horse, as he is in a stall and small paddock all the time except when I get 
him out, but he has always been very gentle with me.  I don't push him if he 
doesn't want to come out, we had a bad experience with a chain.  He appears 
to be very sensitive.  The people I'm boarding with don't like his 
temperament due to the crazy behavior he exhibited around mares, running his 
paddock and calling constantly, when he first got here.  He has one daughter 
on the ground, and apparently she could not be saddle-broke, as she 
repeatedly tossed a fit when she was saddled, falling down and otherwise 
trying to get rid of it.  She is supposed to have a nasty temperament, as a 
result no one has touched her since she was four or five.  She was an 
accident,  he got to the mare, a half sister.  So the friend I board with 
said no way would she breed to him, as he's such a nut.  She suggested I work 
with him to see if he could be trainable, as I told her I believe a lot of 
his problems come from mishandling and lack of handling.  She told me about 
the saddling thing, and suggested I try to work up to saddling him. I went 
out and put a saddle on him within 5 minutes, with no fight, then lead him 
around with the girth pretty snug, and stirrups hanging.  No fight, no fuss.  

Getting to the point, what experience have others had with these bloodlines, 
and in general with stallions who have had little handling at an advanced 
age.  He seems to me to have a very sweet temperament.  I have gone into his 
paddock and put a halter on him when he was having a fit about a new mare 
across the aisle, and he certainly could have hurt me, but has NEVER offered 
to kick or bite or strike even under those trying circumstances.  He looks SO 
TOUGH.  and he is a straight legged horse, very pretty head, nice overall 
conformation.  Thanks for any opinions.   jeri