Re: Re: Inbreeding

["mmieske" <mmieske@netonecom.net>]

Claudia,
Very good and well thought out post...I would like to add my two cents about
the farm where we purchased our beautiful Arabians.  This lady knows her
pedigrees inside and out and can tell you the good/bad traits of the
ancestors in her horses for generations.  They have quite a herd and the
majority have quite a bit of line breeding... "their" line of horses
(Mashallah) are the calmest, sweetest horses I have ever had the pleasure to
know.  You can walk out into pasture with the herd of mares (maybe 15 in the
group?) and your only danger is of suffocation!  The only ones that are
questionable in temperament are the horses they have brought in for
outcrossing...granted the stallion was penned in a stall for many years and
is quite different since having a run in and being out 24/7 since being with
them but some of the fillies they brought in from Canada are pretty neurotic
and spooky.  I do believe they have decided to eliminate these from their
program (sell them anyway) because they have not come around and improved in
temperament.  Anyway, Kat is correct about being able to see the results of
line breeding more clearly and immediately with animals that have "litters".
I have bred rabbits for a few years using in/line breeding.  Breeding parent
to offspring or sibling to sibling can be an excellent way of fixing type
and producing champion rabbits, however, it also can produce the worst
traits and ruthless culling is necessary.  I imagine there will be the
exception with line breeding horses (the occasional worst case in
conformation and/or temperament) but it may not be as apparent or as quickly
seen.  I have not seen it myself yet.
Maggie