<% appTitle="Ridecamp Archives" %> Ridecamp: Re: [RC] since we're discussing halter
Ridecamp@Endurance.Net

[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]
Current to Wed Jul 23 17:25:23 GMT 2003
  • Next by Date: Re: [RC] Equine dental care
  • - Heidi Smith
  • Prev by Date: [RC] re:gelding needed
  • - bayarab

    Re: [RC] since we're discussing halter - Heidi Smith


    > I would love to hear about them too. Brag all you want! I want to hear
    what
    > you guys treasure in a stallion for endurance -- mentally as well as
    > physically.
    
    There are several things I "treasure" in an endurance stallion, and not all
    of them are evident just looking at the horse.  Sure, I want correct
    conformation, agility, clean way-of-going, etc.  And in terms of
    disposition, I want sane and tractable.  Those are the things that you can
    pretty well see, if you educate yourself to what it is you are looking for.
    
    What is less evident is how will this horse function metabolically?  Also
    less evident is whether this horse is a fluke in his gene pool, or whether
    his pedigree is something that is apt to produce the sort of horse that I
    want.  When you get surprises from a given breeding, what it basically tells
    you is that YOU DIDN'T KNOW THE HORSES IN THAT PEDIGREE AS WELL AS YOU
    THOUGHT YOU DID!  You can't get ANYTHING that isn't "back there."  Whatever
    you DO get is "back there" somewhere.  So I want to know what his ancestors
    were like, as much as possible.  And I want to know what his brothers and
    his uncles and his various and sundry cousins are doing on the endurance
    trail.  In fact, I'd MUCH rather breed to a stallion that is unproven
    himself, but whose close relatives have CONSISTENTLY gone out and done well,
    than one that has set the world on fire but whose close relatives have been
    relative failures.  It is the consistency with which an entire family or
    line performs that increases your odds of success in the breeding--not the
    stallion's own record.  (Although it is nice if he has one, too.)
    
    That said--many people mistake fame and promotion with quality.  In my
    experience, there is little or no correlation between the two, unless
    perhaps it is an inverse correlation.  I DON'T want the horses that have
    been extremely successful at halter in the past few decades (pre-1960 halter
    success is fine in the pedigree) because what is being judged at halter and
    rewarded with placement these is the exact opposite of what it is I'm trying
    to breed.  And promotion only means that the owner is trying to get your
    dollars--not that the horse has anything to offer to your mare or your
    program.  So don't just go on name recognition--LEARN something about the
    horses in the pedigree, particularly how common they are in the pedigrees of
    successful endurance horses relative to their frequency in the population at
    large.  (Example--stallion A sired 1000 foals, and appears in the pedigrees
    of half of the successful endurance horses.  Stallion B sired 30 foals and
    is in the pedigrees of a third of the successful endurance horses.  Which
    one is the "positive" influence?  And look at the ancestors that appear
    consistently in the failures as well.)
    
    Successful breeding is something that takes a great deal of time, study, and
    experience.  I don't want to discourage ANYONE from breeding their mare, if
    producing their own prospect is something they want to do.  But--if you
    don't have the time to do the extensive homework, find a really reliable
    mentor who will help you out.  And by that, I mean someone who is PRODUCING
    the kinds of foals you want to produce, and not just trying to sell you a
    breeding to their own stallion.  Most of us that have had any success at
    this game at all have had wonderful mentors over the years who have educated
    and guided us along the way.  (I've been at this for 30 years, and am still
    learning, every day.)
    
    Heidi Smith, DVM
    Sagehill Arabians
    Tendoy, Idaho
    
    
    =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
     Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
     Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
    =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
    
    

    Replies
    Re: [RC] since we're discussing halter, Sundaez