Breeding an unregistered horse is comparable to buying fur... discuss

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I thought to OP point was that all unregistered horse's were unsuitable for buying.

[/ QUOTE ]Was it? My comprehension skills took a dive the moment my chocolate ran out
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Here's my opinion on the topic then I promise I will stay out of it....

[/ QUOTE ]Aw, really?
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I don't think all registered horse's are suitable for breeding

[/ QUOTE ]Which is (in a roundabout way) my point. What makes a registered horse any less of a gamble to breed to than an unregistered one? The registered horse might have had its paperwork filed just last week, and as you say, there are plenty of horses who, on paper, should be the next Cigar, but are far from it, and plenty of lovely horses with no paperwork. I can't see how registration inoculates horses against dreadful diseases or proves mental soundness, a kind, willing attitude, or great conformation, but - and here's a contentious point - I can see how it could actually prolong faults in horses. People who put more value on the paperwork than the horse itself could be blinded by a millennia's ancestry and overlook the sire/dam's faults, thereby perpetuating those faults through indiscriminate breeding that is driven by the desire to own the horse with the most impressive paperwork. To me, that's no better than just throwing any old nags together and seeing what happens.

From what I can see, breeding from any stock is a gamble, and whilst I agree that registration can tell you who the sire, dam, grand-sire, grand-dam, etc. were, what use is that really unless you knew even some of those horses personally? They might perform well in the ring, have nice conformation, and even have 'great' breeding records themselves, but at home could be bloody-minded lunatics. I don't think any sensible owner would breed to an unpapered lunatic, but somehow I can see people (as your friends have suggested to you) who are blinded by papers and potential income overlooking the mental issues of a 'bred in the purple' horse because, hey, it's papered! Someone will pay top dollar for it!

I think I'm rambling. I need to stop, take a step back, and go eat some steak and ale pie. With chips. I'll try to hop back on later.
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I can see where she's coming from but it's 2 totally different things. I don't see what's wrong with breeding unregistered Horses so long as they don't have any major faults. We can't all afford well bred registered types which invariably will have a higher price tag. I suspect many happy hackers, riding schools, RDA centres, everyday riders and amateurs have unregistered Horses that turn hoof to everything. I'm not stereotyping there by the way!

Also, depends on what fur trade you mean. If it's by-product then fine. However, if it's the totally disgusting animals skinned alive fox, dog, cat etc trade then sorry - no comparison.

The main thing with Horses is that it has to have the temperament to do what you want. Even the best bred Horse in the world could be a lunatic!!!
 
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From what I can see, breeding from any stock is a gamble, and whilst I agree that registration can tell you who the sire, dam, grand-sire, grand-dam, etc. were, what use is that really unless you knew even some of those horses personally? They might perform well in the ring, have nice conformation, and even have 'great' breeding records themselves, but at home could be bloody-minded lunatics. I don't think any sensible owner would breed to an unpapered lunatic, but somehow I can see people (as your friends have suggested to you) who are blinded by papers and potential income overlooking the mental issues of a 'bred in the purple' horse because, hey, it's papered! Someone will pay top dollar for it!

I think I'm rambling. I need to stop, take a step back, and go eat some steak and ale pie. With chips. I'll try to hop back on later.
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Well I think we agree on this one
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as I've said my well bred mare is a lunatic and for that reason I would not breed from her but I know so many people who, given the chance, would take a foal off her.

And I also agree that just because horse has fab papers doesn't make it the ideal horse for everyone but putting really breeding in the purple aside...would you not rather know what breed type your horse was? So you could say for sure he's a TB x or even a TB x ID etc so there is something in him that has a history and hopefully some breed traits? Especially if you buy a youngster, it would surely be easier to judge what sort of horse it will grow into and what temprament it's likely to have if you know the breed of the horse's it was produced by?
 
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would you not rather know what breed type your horse as?

[/ QUOTE ]I guess the major issue for me would be, am I breeding a foal? If so, I think you're right in that it would be good to know if a close ancestor had excelled in the field I wanted to compete in, but I'd actually prefer competition records over registration papers, since they're tangible results of breeding. If I was buying an adult horse, then the way I see it is that they've already grown into the horse they're going to be, and as long as they're kind, sound and nicely put together (and pass a 5* vetting), I think I'd have as good a chance of them staying that way as I would if I bought a similar registered horse. The same background information as for a foal would be nice, but I'd be more keen on knowing whether the horse had performed well in its own right, be that hacking quietly or 3DE. If it was an adult horse with mounds of paperwork but no evidence to suggest it could do the job, I think I'd probably walk away (like most people, I expect).

ETA: that signature picture is great!
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