Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Hi, San -- good question!  I honestly have no clue.  But, if someone here knows Paints and if they have some sort of lineage CD like Arabs have, then her name is One Smart Poky Dot -- have at it.  Maybe there are some names there that someone recognizes.  They're just names to me.

 

Also, good comment on what Dot's granbabies would look like.  He first foalwas a colt (gelding now!) who is a hunter person's dream!  I had to sell him due to finances, but I would love to have him back.  Unfortunately, the morons who now have him decided that every young horse needs to be started in a twisted wire snaffle and saw on his mouth.  Dot's other baby was a filly.  I do know she is at some breeding farm up near Lake Placid, NY. Again, if there is some sort of CD for Paints, the mare's name is Smart Color  She was definitely a stock horse type.  I had Dot out on a breeding lease for this foal, so she was bred to a stallion I would not have chosen (I dont like stocky stock  horses), but it was a good match.

 

As for holding out for the jury in Leesa's case.  San, you're right --- a lot of people don't take that into consideration.  I think I read somewhere that studies show that foals get most of their temperment from their dams.  Makes sense, since baby is with mommy a lot.  Sable(Miss Short Neck) would be a loving mom and I know she would throw that o her foals --- *if* you choose the right stallion.  I mean, if I bred to a loon, I increase my chances of having a slightly loonie foal!  so, that's why the jury is out on Leesa.  She has calmed down a lot over the years, but I'm just not sure how good of a mommy she'd be.  She still flakey.  Just out of curiosity, is there any creedence given to breeding a flighty mare to settle her down?  I always thought that was some kind of myth.

 

Sable's short neck:  San, I honestly believe it is about 2 inches too short for proper balance.  I mean, she balances herself well, she just looks slightly stumpy.  I'll have to find a picture of her and send it on.  But, if I did breed her, I HOPE I would be able to find a breeder who would tell me flat out, "No, your mare would not cross well with my stallion."  PERIOD!  I'm not vain about my horses.  I will never sell who iI have and would breed only for myself, so I  would want to be selective about what I bred.  I would HOPE I would strive to  breed a better baby than my mare. (Incidentally, Sable's parents and grandparents all look a-ok;  it's just Sable I think)

 

Mary

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Aside from that, the "throwback" quality can hampr good breeding unless genetics are well understood into several generations past. The Paint mare might be a perfect example - the mare is  a conformational disaster, but ehr foals can be quite nice. My question would be - what are the parents and grandparents of the mare like, and what might the mare's own grandbabies be like? Having had the experience of a very nice mare bred to a very nice stallion producing foals that just were not useable nor exceptionally demonstrative of Arabian quality, clearly one needs to examine genetics as they affect multiple generations, not just one generation on either side of the horse. Finally, if one does not want to learn about this, and that is understandable, then perhaps fewer people should be breeding horses of any kind at all. I would much prefer to BUY a good horse - and we do - buy our mares and our stallion - than produce a couple of crops of foals only to fi nd that they demonstrate throwback parrot mouths, club feet, nasty minds....you get the idea. I guess if all one wants is a halter horse, party on. But many of us actually want to ride and that requires more information than who won the National halter title or even how typey a stallion or mare is and how much presence they exhude.

When I walk into my barn, there is no doubt that our horses are Arabian. But they are also clearly athletes, pets and truly family members - they can sleep in MY tent anytime!

S