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Re: [RC] Proving Stallions (or mares for that matter) - kathy . mayeda

The majority of endurance horses today weren't bred specifically for endurance.   They are the progeny of backyard breeding or "culls" from halter breeding that don't make halter standards, but are really nice horses.  Like having a good old German Shepard with good solid hips vs. the AKC version which is a slim shadow of the original dawg.
 
If we look at it statistically, I bet that any of the sires ever advertised in Endurance News have a very tiny percentage of get compared to the overall breed registrations for Arabian and half-Arabian. 
 
I have a mare that I believe would produce really nice endurance horses even though she's unproven in endurance.  If I were to breed her to a stallion to produce an endurance horse, I would look for a stallion that passes on 1) good, solid disposition, 2) work ethic, 3) sound conformation and 4) athletic ability (getting down the trail efficiently).  My mare could easily be a halter horse, and has produced some halter quality fillies, so I wouldn't necessarily dilute those qualities just to breed to an advertised endurance only stallion of lesser halter quality.  I know that there are halter quality stallions still out there with the above qualities that haven't been bred out of them.  Like Varian.
 
The older I get, the less I want to deal with a Bey Shah temperament.  Although I know a lot of Bey Shah horses that have really good solid temperaments - you are still playing roulette with that trait in breeding. I know just as many others that do have that "disconnect switch".    I'm learning a lot of horsemanship from my Bey Shah bred Drako, (Parelli, Centered Riding, etc.) but I don't have the guts to take him to an endurance ride even though he's a superior physical specimen, athletic and beauty wise.  I need someone that's experienced with crazy horses to ride him in endurance, and I'm not it, nor do I desire to.  That's why the 1st two criteria has pushed foremost in my mind!  But he's starting to mellow out so maybe when he's 15 I could take him to a ride. 
 
K.