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[RC] Breeding Hybrids (was: Spanish Mustangs) - k s swigartHeidi said: Breeding the occasional foal for one's own use, having researched what it is that one wants, is no problem to anyone. I was talking more about people who label themselves as "breeders" over the long haul. Personally, I am of the opinion that one can also be a "breeder" of hybrids that you have no intention of ever breeding on. And it can be done "over the long haul" if breeding quality horses, even for other people to ride, is something that you enjoy. It is definitely a breeding skill to select the parents that would make good hybrids and raise them to an age where they are useful to other people and then sell them and do the same again. One does not have to be producing breeding stock to be considered a breeder. One can simply be producing working stock, and get one's breeding stock from somebody else who does have a program to produce breeding stock. In fact, I would be so bold as to say that the biggest mistake that most "breeders" make is that there are too many of them that are trying to produce breeding stock and not enough that are trying to produce working stock but rather just use their breeding stock "culls" as working stock. Whereas, one can get better working stock if one is NOT trying to produce breeding stock. Breeding stock culls do not make the best working stock. Generally because hybrids have a tendency to make better working stock but not particularly good breeding stock. And since there are more people who ride than breed, there is plenty of room in the breeding business for people who focus on producing working horses and just buy or rent their bloodstock from the handful of breeders who produce breeding stock. The long-term production of breeding stock is but a tiny niche of the horse production requirements. Long-term producers who focus on producing working stock are few and far between such that most people who all they want is working stock are stuck with breeding stock culls or raising it themselves. Neither of these options is particularly palatable to the average horse owner. I wish there were more "breeders" who focused on producing quality working stock, which probably means producing quite a few hybrids. You can trust me on this: a horse that was produced with the breeding decision, before it was made, to produce a good working horse is almost guaranteed to be a better working horse than one for whom the breeding decision was a plan to produce future breeding stock, and it didn't come out as good for breeding as hoped. There aren't enough breeders out there producing good hybrids. Which makes it so average horse owners, if they want one will have to produce it themselves in their back yard. kat Orange County, Calif. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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