Breeding from proven mares.....

S_N

S_N

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 June 2005
Messages
14,109
Location
Toliman
Visit site
..... Is it just me, or do we (in the UK) place more of an emphasis on this than our continental cousins? I mean, over there if a mare has the breeding, she is far more likely to become a broodmare than even be broken in, yet here we seem to want to prove our mares that we breed from? Am I imagining this?
 
Well, here people are certainly NOT as discerning as in the UK or Europe; if it's a mare, it will be bred from....
You should see some of the rubbish around
frown.gif
 
You are right in Europe many of the best bred mares will be bred from when they are two or three as too valuable to risk competing.
The shame is at that age you cannot tell if she is going to have some hereditary disease crop up later.
They do grade them though but all that means is that she meets a certain criteria re breed standard and movement.
people believe that the europeans have the best mares but in reality they are often no more proven than the british mares.
 
[ QUOTE ]
You are right in Europe many of the best bred mares will be bred from when they are two or three as too valuable to risk competing.
The shame is at that age you cannot tell if she is going to have some hereditary disease crop up later.
They do grade them though but all that means is that she meets a certain criteria re breed standard and movement.
people believe that the europeans have the best mares but in reality they are often no more proven than the british mares.

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought as much! I guess it goes hand in hand with the MASSIVE continental breeding machine!! Though with ET we are seeing more 'continental' mares competing.
 
I was talking to a vet about this the other day. They put them in foal at 2 as they might as well have a foal at 3 before they are broken. It also means that if they then go on to become a decent competion horse and they want to breed from them in the future it is far easier to get them in foal at 12/13 etc as they have already had a foal.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I was talking to a vet about this the other day. They put them in foal at 2 as they might as well have a foal at 3 before they are broken. It also means that if they then go on to become a decent competion horse and they want to breed from them in the future it is far easier to get them in foal at 12/13 etc as they have already had a foal.

[/ QUOTE ]

We do that here too! every Comp. horse stud I have worked on does that. William Funnel has done that successfully too!
 
[ QUOTE ]
We are seeing more compete now but while they get the subsidies they get why wouldnt they breed from them.

[/ QUOTE ]

HA - true!!
 
My brother in Germany has a dealer turn up sometimes with a few young mares on board. Not good enough to go competing and heading for the meat market. They are unremarkable, usually broken, and have bred a foal.
Foal will be retained and if it's no good will probably go for meat, unless it's a filly in which case it will be bred from.
Mare works in riding school & if quiet will find a private RC type home. If it's not quiet, then back to dealers.
Some of them are pretty well bred but you see some unattractive conformational features and they are mares we would think twice about breeding from over here.
 
I posted this earlier regarding breeding & if covers some of this;
"When the WB's were at the height of fashion in the 80's we had people importing the rejects from abroad. This was because the fad was to own a WB. Did not seem to matter that they were being bred in the UK. We had a Holstein stallion that had failed his grading in Holland, but they could not understand why the BWBS would not grade him. A Gelderland X, that was a sweatheart but had some confirmation issues, & another Holstein that has temperment problems. Until recently when it was sold on we had the most dipped back mare I have ever seen & it was a branded Gelderland!! Now I was always under the impression that these sorts were put in the meat chain, obviously not if us British are happy to buy them! I dont have an issue with foreign bred horses, but I not if it means we are taking the rejects in preference to good UK stock. As from breeding from lame mares etc, how about the Stallion owners taking more interest. If I owned a stallion it would be in my best interest to only use decent mares, otherwise it wont do his reputation much good. I read one studs excuse as if I turned down 90% of the mares I would be out of buisiness, well I dont think it a very good relfection if it is being stated that 90% of visiting mares are no good! When my fathers family were farming they used to take the working mares to the local TB stallion who was very often in the HIS scheme to breed their hunters. We have come a long way since then, but we did used to breed some of the best hunters/eventers in this country. We should be supporting the UK breeding industry because they are not supported by the government unlike the continent. I think it should also be remembered that a lot of the WB's have a lot of UK TB's in their past/present breeding. I think LadyKiller 1961 was actually UK bred & he features in countless WB's breeding."
 
Ahhh yes, but the CB is an endagered breed as a pose to a type that seems to be everywhere.......

P.S. the last mare I foaled (Sunday evening) I could have sworn was a CB, not a TB!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top