Re: Inbreeding

["Becky Huffman" <tos@htcomp.net>]

----- Original Message ----- From: <guest@endurance.net>To:
<ridecamp@endurance.net>Sent: Friday, February 16, 2001 2:50 PMSubject: RC:
Inbreeding> Rusty rustyboy@aol.com> Well, as a buyer - I found a mare
recently that I liked.  I always look at the horse first, pedigree second.
are seemed> athletic, ready to hit the trails.  When I looked at her
pedigree, she was linebred/inbred whatever you call it - the result of a
grand-daughter bred to her grand-father.  ots of performance horses on both
sides of the pedigree (lots of duplicates).> > Anyways, I thought it was
something I didn't want to deal with when I may choose to breed this mare
sometime down the line.
>
> I didn't buy her.
>

sounds like your loss.  .... a horse that is inbreed/linebreed is more
likely to 'breed true' or 'reproduce themselves' and/or their repeated
ancestors.   You said that this mare had lots of duplicated performance
horses on both sides of the pedigree, and that you liked her (I assume as a
potential endurance horse) - sounds like she was produced according to how
she was bred, and, given that, I would expect her to pass on the duplicated
qualities - in her case, they seem to be good ones.

I am linebreeding, (haven't inbreed (yet?)) with fabulous results.  I
haven't been going long, and I don't produce a lot - long and careful
thought in each breeding, lots of study, research and discussion with my
mentors. (ten years building my herd and program) -  but with six foals,
(five 'linebred') I have six 'successes', they are still young, but all have
great minds and bodies.  They are strong, tough, smart young horses, not a
fruitcake, nutcase or 'freak' among them.

The easy thing to understand about in/linebreeding is that you reproduce the
traits of the repeated ancestors. - what seems to be the hard part for
people to understand is, numerically(?-is that the correct term?) it doesn't
matter if those are 'good' or 'bad' traits/characteristics. simply that they
are going to be repeated. - if you start with superior ancestors,
in/linebreeding can be a very good thing,. - if you start with average,
mediocre or poor ancestors, you get the kind of produce that makes people
have these long, circular discussions.  The *REALLY* hard part is for people
to HONESTLY evaluate their stock, and that is one reason there are many poor
examples of in/linebreeding programs.

Becky Huffman, Cleburne, Texas
Huffman's Arabians ~ The Original Series ~
http://www.htcomp.net/Huffman/

"Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from
doing something worthwhile." Sir Wilfred Grenfell (1865--1940)