Re: [RC] Percentage body weight (was: Dainty horses) - Sisu West Ranch
Perhaps I can make my, personal and unscientific,
feelings more clear by posting my personal selection/breeding criteria for
endurance horses for a heavy weight rider. (I would be a heavy weight even
if I got down to the exact weight that would make my doctor jump for
joy.)
1. Excellent conformation. Everyone strives
for this, it is even more important as your weight goes
up.
2. Bone. Always
desirable.
3. A bit of size to keep the percentage of weight
down. But not by selecting an unusual size for the breed or
breeding. For example, I do not ride 15 3 Arabians, they would
be unusually tall and big for an Arabian horse. I have settled on
half Arabians where one parent, is an Arab (usually the dam) and the other is a
Saddlebred. This cross seems to give me a bit more bone, a bit more size,
and perhaps some vigor associated with an outcross. Please note that while
the cross seems to be relatively predictable, I do not consider those who have
been bred on from the initial cross. I think that as the genes re-assort
themselves, you would loose some of the predictability. Miikka, this years
Gelding prospect, will be the proof in 5 years or so.
Ed
Ed & Wendy Hauser 2994 Mittower
Road Victor, MT 59875
