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Re: [RC] To breed a 'no name' horse - heidiFar too many horses of all ages being bred today are being bred because they have a "famous name" in the pedigree--one where the fame has been bought by a well-padded training, showing, and advertising budget, not by any particular merit. Unfortunately, that sort of fame is not genetic, and is not passed on to foals...Heidi>>Change of subject, if I may ......... Let's say you have a good stallion, conformationally, temperament etc., although he has cosmetic imperfections and therefore he doesn't go to shows or doesn't have a "big name" pedigree. However, he breeds good foals from various mares. How would you market him as a breeding prospect? (He has to pay back all that hay he eats, ya know ;-)) ) Just a "slightly" hypothetical question ;-)) It depends on what you mean by "no name." By show ring standards, the best endurance horses are by and large "no name." But to those familiar with pedigrees, they read like royalty. One place where people get confused is that in a breed like TBs, a "name" comes about because of either performance of exactly what the breed is bred for, or production of horses with such performance. There is no "big name" any other way. In the Arabian world, "big name" comes about due to hype and advertising budget--things that are NOT heritable! So I set NO store whatsoever by the "fame" of the names in Arabian pedigrees, but rather by the qualities that the horse actually had. So in fact, when breeding riding horses, I tend to run far and fast AWAY from what some people consider "big names." First of all, it is not just "cosmetic imperfections" that keep good Arabians out of shows. It is also good conformation! The Arabian show ring is looking for a sausage with LOOOONG legs that come about frequently due to an upright shoulder with an open angle, LOOOOONG cannons, LOOOOONG upright pasterns, etc. They are looking for a long scrawny neck that does not balance with the horse unless the horse has a body as long as a railroad car. In the English and Park classes they are looking for a one-geared horse with a "big" trot that is not natural to the breed (the classic horse can "turn it on" in play, but that is not his working gear) and that will pound a horse to death over miles, particularly if he has the long back that goes with it and cannot round well. So more and more it is becoming a contradiction to equate good horses in any sort of riding sense with show wins. If a stallion IS well-conformed, the next thing I look at is his pedigree. Does he have a pedigree full of individuals who by and large possess riding traits? If his pedigree is a mixed bag, he is apt to be a disappointment as a sire, even if he himself is lovely, because he will sire all over the map. A noted equine geneticist is fond of drumming into us that a pedigree is not a blueprint--it is a set of possibilities. And the way to ensure that you get the sorts of offspring that you want is to choose pedigrees that have primarily that sort of horses in them. If there is everything in the pedigree but the kitchen sink, that is precisely what you will get breeding the horse over the long haul. Some people say that pedigree is meaningless as a prognosticator--well, when you have a pedigree like that, it IS worthless, but OTOH, it also "predicts" exactly what it is--which is anything and everything. On the other hand, if you narrow your options by having a pedigree full of what you actually want, it is a very good prognosticator of what you will get. So back to marketing a "no name" stallion--first of all, EVERYTHING his offspring can be comes from his pedigree and the mare's pedigree. You cannot pluck genes out of nowhere. They are in there somewhere. So KNOW what is in there, even if it isn't famous. Because that is what your set of possibilities is. If you can't live with Aunt Fanny back there three generations, don't breed this horse! But if the horses back there have the qualities you want, fabulous! If the stallion is a consistent sire, odds are there are some good horses back there--even if you don't know them. It works both ways. Find out about those horses, and why they are good, and market accordingly. Heidi ============================================================ There are 2 ways to win at this sport. You take a horse and race him for a short time and then find a new horse or you can take one horse , do the homework and spend many miles and years enjoying that horse. ~ Paddi Sprecher ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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