Re: Backyard stallions

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

At 11:02 AM 5/8/00 -0400, San wrote:
> Don't see too many 'backyard stallions'
> overpopulating, skewing the gene pool, or creating hundreds of get with
> conformational problems 

Think about this one:  Here's this big name, heavily advertised
stallion - Scottsdale top ten, National Halter Champion, we'll call him
"BigBucks - " who might not have desirable conformation from
the "traditionalist" or performance point of view - maybe even
from any point of view - who sires hundreds of foals, a good number of
which are used as breeding animals solely because BigBucks is the sire
(or grandsire), not because of conformation.  Many people will breed
their animals to SonofBB just because of the name brand effect - the fact
that foal buyers will buy anything that is by BigBucks in the few years
after his championship.  Has BigBucks always produced perfect
foals?  No - because no horse is perfect and because many mare
owners will have bred to him for the name, whether or not this was a good
choice fo stallion to combine with the mare for conformation or athletic
ability or anything else.  So we can figure that some percentage -
perhaps a high one - of BigBucks foals will have the same lousy
conformationor maybe they will simply carry the genes for it to pass
on.

Now, given the above, a good percentage of these BigBucks get or grandget
will be backyard stallions, just because of the sheer numbers.  So
in effect even if there might not be so many backyard stallions who
themselves are overpopulating (and this notion itself is debatable) the
fact that they are passing on BigBucks' genes willy nilly has the same
effect of skewing the gene pool, creating hundreds of get with
conformational problems, etc.

THE MORAL OF THIS STORY:  Breeders need to not only look at each
breeding stallion (and mare) for more than the name, but also check the
pedigree - the ancestors -  to make sure there aren't any possible
BigBucks conformation genes in the woodpile.   "Buyer
beware - the sperm you purchase for your mare may not be what it
seems".  Lif

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