Choosing a stallion/first time breeding

mbf938

mbf938

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Hello

I have a lovely full TB mare with Sadlers Wells lines who bred a foal a few years back with Cruising lines who has turned into a really nice horse. However, the stallion used (Honour Cruise) is now a gelding, so not possible to use him.

My mare has fantastic temperament, conformation and paces and I would be breeding from her for a horse for me (not for sale). I do riding club activities and dressage including affiliated, and I would like to continue along these lines ideally working up the levels in dressage.

How would I go about choosing a suitable stallion given that I lean towards dressage? How did you find assessing and correcting for any conformation weaknesses and finding out what temperament the stallion's offspring had etc?

Any advice/experiences would be much appreciated. I keep my mare on a competition yard that has bred in the past with a vet onsite so would have experience people around to help so I wouldn't be going into this alone! Thanks.
 
I think you need to really analyse what you want the foal to turn out like. You must have a preferred type of horse- what would you go out and buy, given the choice?
With a TB mare there are plenty of options- purpose bred warmblood, in varying price categories, for something more flashy, ISH for something a little more allround, native or native cross for a bit of hardiness/ pony brain?
 
My advice would be to breed to the best that you can afford - try and be as crytical about your mare as you can :)

Can't help with dressage stallions, sorry!
 
Duh - *gives self head-slap*. Senior moment. Sorry about that. :D He sounds quite a nice horse, and I'd love to see the OP's mare's foal by him. Shame they gelded him. That's another reason why I'm wondering about the mare's lines, to see what scope she might have genetically. She sounds a nice sort.

popsdosh said:
No but the OP has ! Guess you may have missed it :-) . They froze him before he was gelded.
Click to expand...
 
be positive said:
He looked a smart sort in the link and I wondered what he had gone on to do, strangely he has had a name change, didn't think that was allowed, and is now know as Fernhill Fair Enough, from his record I guess there was a problem in 2014 and he was sold on.

https://www.britisheventing.com/asp-net/events/Results.aspx?HorseId=102507
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Not the same horse theres been a cock up somewhere. Fernhill fair enough is registered with the FEI as a chestnut which may be the reason hes a chestnut in this photo. http://www.1stclassimages.com/p322486424/h69b47056#h69b47056
 
popsdosh said:
Not the same horse theres been a cock up somewhere. Fernhill fair enough is registered with the FEI as a chestnut which may be the reason hes a chestnut in this photo. http://www.1stclassimages.com/p322486424/h69b47056#h69b47056
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Even curiouser he is registered with the FEI but with the birth name of Honour Cruise, also as chestnut, I wonder if there was a swap done somewhere.

https://data.fei.org/Horse/Detail.aspx?p=38FF65085632A987BF7DB02BC9D8D27B

A different Fernhill Fair Enough or Honour Cruise??

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=866058226788050&id=137499826310564

Irish results for a grey version of FFE

http://www.eventingireland.com/Horses.aspx?context=HorseResult&Id=207446&bool=False
 
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Honour Cruise was gelded as he wasn't good enough to be an upper end horse- that was obvious when he was first displayed at stallion events. Nice enough horse, not a top stallion prospect
 
Yet they froze semen. Hmmm. What were the issues with the horse, just out of curiosity. There's a lot to like about him from his picture. I know a nice picture does not a stallion make, but if he wasn't a good stallion prospect, why sell semen from a horse that isn't 'up to scratch' as it were.

TheMule said:
Honour Cruise was gelded as he wasn't good enough to be an upper end horse- that was obvious when he was first displayed at stallion events. Nice enough horse, not a top stallion prospect
Click to expand...
 
be positive said:
Even curiouser he is registered with the FEI but with the birth name of Honour Cruise, also as chestnut, I wonder if there was a swap done somewhere.

https://data.fei.org/Horse/Detail.aspx?p=38FF65085632A987BF7DB02BC9D8D27B

A different Fernhill Fair Enough or Honour Cruise??

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=866058226788050&id=137499826310564

Irish results for a grey version of FFE

http://www.eventingireland.com/Horses.aspx?context=HorseResult&Id=207446&bool=False
Click to expand...

sportshorse data base shows Honour Cruise born in 2005, whereas Fernhill is 2006, full brother perhaps ?
 
Asha said:
sportshorse data base shows Honour Cruise born in 2005, whereas Fernhill is 2006, full brother perhaps ?
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The FEI details definitely show his birth name as Honour Cruise , changed to Fernhill FE(GBR) in 2015.

Sporthorse data show a full sister born in 2006 the problem with these sites is they are only publishing the info put in, if it is wrong then it probably doesn't always get noticed.

On capalloir it is clearly the same horse.

http://breeding.horsesportireland.ie/results.aspx

http://www.sporthorse-data.com/d?p=10684150

I feel like I am stalking him but it is strange that he has had a change of name for no real reason, it is not as if had a basic stable name registered like some do.
 
Tetrarch 1911 said:
Yet they froze semen. Hmmm. What were the issues with the horse, just out of curiosity. There's a lot to like about him from his picture. I know a nice picture does not a stallion make, but if he wasn't a good stallion prospect, why sell semen from a horse that isn't 'up to scratch' as it were.
Click to expand...

If you saw his promotional video when he first came out, his movement wasn't great, and, for a cruising horse, his show jumping record is abysmal. Best thing to cut him. As for why frozen semen? who knows? Springs Symphony has frozen at, IMO a high price, and his eventing record was also abysmal.
 
Fair point. Thanks for the info!

cundlegreen said:
If you saw his promotional video when he first came out, his movement wasn't great, and, for a cruising horse, his show jumping record is abysmal. Best thing to cut him. As for why frozen semen? who knows? Springs Symphony has frozen at, IMO a high price, and his eventing record was also abysmal.
Click to expand...
 
be positive said:
The FEI details definitely show his birth name as Honour Cruise , changed to Fernhill FE(GBR) in 2015.

Sporthorse data show a full sister born in 2006 the problem with these sites is they are only publishing the info put in, if it is wrong then it probably doesn't always get noticed.

On capalloir it is clearly the same horse.

http://breeding.horsesportireland.ie/results.aspx

http://www.sporthorse-data.com/d?p=10684150

I feel like I am stalking him but it is strange that he has had a change of name for no real reason, it is not as if had a basic stable name registered like some do.
Click to expand...

Reason for name change very easy as as he was bought and sold on by Fernhill sport horses, I guess the name change was to hide his past does not explain the change of colour though.
 
cundlegreen said:
If you saw his promotional video when he first came out, his movement wasn't great, and, for a cruising horse, his show jumping record is abysmal. Best thing to cut him. As for why frozen semen? who knows? Springs Symphony has frozen at, IMO a high price, and his eventing record was also abysmal.
Click to expand...

LOL however very true, some owners get a bit carried away with the rose tinted specs maybe. Yes for the same money you can get something thats actually achieving things.
Getting back to Honour cruise though Ollie did think a lot of him and from my experience hes a pretty good judge.
 
If you want to breed a dressage horse then I'd use the best dressage stallion you can afford. The Germans use a lot of TB blood to lighten and improve their lines, some of the most popular stallions are full Tb.

If money no object and you are looking for an old fashioned type which should cross well with a tb mare I'd look towards DeNiro, Desperados, Diamond Hit or Relevant. All GP stallions that produce the goods time and time again. Closer to home there is Flammengold who has produced GP horses, he is Florestan x Parademarsh who is found in Damon Hills Damline. Or woodlander rockstar if you prefer the R line.

Personally I'd stay away from the hotter more fashionable flashier stallions, and I'm not a big fan of the Sandro hit line but again that's a personal choice. I'm f the foal is for you and you are an amateur rider, working full time and riding as a hobby like most of us are, you want something that doesn't need bubble wrapping and riding 3x a day to keep it sane!

Let us know what you decide.
 
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