>I recently purchased a pretty nice mare who has
a good racing and >endurance background. I would like to breed her
eventually to a stallion >in hopes of producing a world class result. I'm
new to horse breeding and would like to know folks' thoughts about how >to
select a stallion to produce my desired result. My thought is that I need to breed for disposition first, then
soundness, >then for heart/lungs and athleticism
Hi Mike, what an interesting question.
By 'world class result' I assume you mean a
competitive horse by international standards?
My view is that the ingredients of good horse
breeding are like making a cake. It is a balance and blend of the right
elements. I find it hard to prioritise or put them in order of preference for
what is the use of having the best conformed horse in the world with the biggest
trot - if horsie is highly strung mentally to the point it consistently impacts
on performance at rides. What is the use of having the best tempered horse
in the world if they don't want to do it? (ie travel forward freely and
keenly)
In my mixing bowl I value highly the following
ingredients:
Pedigree - I prefer proven families of successful
endurance and working horses. I will breed from unproven stock (had to as my
breeding program was new 7 years ago) so I rate this element quite highly. You
would probably prefer to find a very well performed stallion - or at least one
closely related to one.
Conformation - you need a good awareness of your
mare. What are her strengths and weakness and those of the bloodlines in her
pedigree. If you are wanting to breed 'world class' you would be looking
for a stallion with pretty faultless conformation. My personal
preferences, solid bone, excellent feet, short canon, deep girth, body
well balanced.
Temperament - dirty horses don't stay on this
establishment but there are many with sensitive or 'difficult' temperament.
'Attitude is everything' in elite endurance horses IMO.
Breed - you didn't mention what breed your mare is.
If she's a purebred you may also want to consider a top quality TB from good
staying families (be careful about feet, legs and temperament if you do), or a
top quality Anglo arabian (1/2 TB 1/2 arab) to produce a nice 3/4 arab
offspring.
