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[RC] Breeding "No-Names"/CMKs for WSTR - beth gloverHi, I thought I'd add my two cents on the "should I breed" topic. I have had a number of horses by very famous stallions and I would say that most of them were a huge huge huge disappointment, were not fun to own, were possibly dangerous, not family horses. I never even got far enough on them to find out if they had stamina. The last hot gorgeous beauty I sold, the decision was made during a two mile trail ride, that was supposed to be a twenty. I am also strongly thinking of "stopping" my addictive subscription to the famous collectable Arabian horse pin-up magazine. I am sick of the repetitive ads, and watching particular stallions breed thousands of offspring because their owners are rich and can afford the big color ads that cost a mint. I was raised with Kellogg arabians, and I have found myself going back to the Crabbet CMK lines,specifically Al Marah's. When I was last looking to buy a Crabbet mare, it was like looking for gold. Rare and ellusive. I was told by some prestigious CMK breeders, that their fellow enthusiasts would not part with their Crabbet mares. ( Unless someone was getting a divorce which is how I came to find my mare Summer) When you look at the winners of races such as the Tevis, and look at Heidi's CMK link to those winners, and when you do pedigree research on them....you will find that the stallions that sired them, and of course the dams, are "unknowns"to the general public in many cases. At least in the Arabian pin-up magazine. ( which my good girlfriend calls, my Arabian porno magazine that I like to look at all the time, and mainly for the pictures, ha ha) If you go to big shows like Scottsdale, you will be excited and dazzled by the beauty, the showmanship, the music, the fantastic grooming, the long tails etc etc. Then you get sucked in and buy one, and get a broken heart. If you look at the performing horses, and study their lines for a while, some of the unknowns become very familiar. I have a little colt that I intend to breed some. His mother was a fantastic NATRC horse, she went to Tevis and was stopped by an impaling stick, she showed in huntseat, western, trail, and now she gives lessons to many many small children. His father is an extremely talented dressage horse. They both are Crabbets. They both come from a similar breeding program. A related mare won the Tevis. A related Stallion won the Jim Jones award. He already looks like both sire and dam, and I expect for him to achieve their size. He has good conformation, and extremely good movement. I do not anticipating making much money from breeding him. Most likely, like Bette, I will give a couple breedings to my close friends, and maybe sell a few to interested parties, then maybe geld him later. My goal is to perpetuate these bloodlines that are becoming very rare. For instance...one of the horses on the Tevis winner list was bred by an elderly woman who lives in the middle of nowhere in Oregon. I contacted her by mailing her a letter, because she makes no ads, she has no computer. A lot of breeders like this, take a lot of research to find, to talk to, and to see their horses. I hope that my colt is able to breed at least a couple of horses that also get bred, so that other people who want to have horses that are safe to have in a family home, have great stamina, and athletic ability, can actually buy one when they are searching. It's kind of like going to the dog pound and finding hundreds of mixed breeds and pitbulls, when you are really trying to find an Australian Shepherd and wind up on some breeders waiting list for a year. Even though people tell you there are thousands of dogs to be had...maybe you don't want the ones that are available, but want something else that is harder to find. Money is frosting on the cake in some cases. Beth Glover ( making a small fortune in horses, having started with a large one) Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee® Security. ============================================================ The only thing worse than crewing for a female Endurance rider is crewing for a wet, tired female Endurance Rider! A good crew person has patience, a sense of humor, and knows that sometimes it's best to say nothing at all! ~ Jim Holland ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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