How rare is this!!

Not everybody puts a horse down just because he has naff conformation and can't perform the job he was bred for.

I am the proud owner of a 13 year old stunning gelding retired at 12 due to an increasingly bent left foreleg which I failed to spot when I bought him at the market aged 3.

I had 6 years of riding out of him and owe him nothing. He has a home for life with me (on DIY as I don't have my own land). I am not one of these people who would have the horse PTS because he was no longer athletically functional, nor can I understand people who would send a horse to the abbatoir because he could no longer compete/they couldn't see a use for him/he was too ugly.

Thank goodness my parents didn't write me off when I was a yearling. I was the ugliest thing you had ever seen, and both my arms are still double jointed......



God, if that was the case, half the population of Britain wouldn't be here now.


Actually, the ways things are going now, that wouldn't be a bad thing....
 
I saw this post last night and decided not to comment. I have no idea what colour the little foal will turn out, but he is cute in a way that all baby creatures are.

Now, sticking my neck out alot here... I did think he was not the 'prettiest' foal I have ever seen. I do not agree with the 'see what pops out' school of thought, but I also feel it is unfair to say that anything that is crossbred is crap - I don't think it is true.

I know nothing about breeding, but there is a certain logic to it in my minds eye:
1) are both parent free from a genetic disease such as HYPP? Would they be pre-disposed to problems further down the line such a navicular? (this is a major reason for breeding for good conformation in my eyes).
2) do either parents have good conformation? It is all well and good to say that 1 parent will cancel out anothers bad points - but what if the foal ends up with both parents faults?
3) What are the parents temperaments like? I feel this is really hard, as there are many horses who if they had been owned by more caring people could have turned out with a better temperament
4) Will I have the time and patience to ensure I give the foal the best start in life? For example teaching it manners so it can be easier to handle?
5) Have I read the fugly horse of the day blog to make sure I don't fall into any of the 'backyard breeders' category.

Gosh, that turned into a bit of an essay! Better calm down now! I am a huge fan of FHOTD and do have a bit of an issue with 'seeing what pops out'!
 
ITA about the 'home for life'. A friend sold a yearling to a lady who was loaded with money, her own land etc, and promised a home for life. Two years later it's for sale because she hasnt the time or inclination... Thank God it's got decent breeding.

Another who bought a LR pony and wanted to 'keep it forever'. It was a lovely pony but the woman shoved it through market describing it as dangerous.. we later found out she'd had adults riding it to try and get it to turn into a plod' (it was only young). God knows where it is now...

A home for life means nothing...
 
I didn't start off missing the point, just thought the indiscriminate breeding angle got a little lost in translation in some of the posts. People started implying that breeding any crossbred horse was indiscriminate, not just the "I've got an ungelded ned in the field, you've got a mare....let's see what happens" definition of "indiscriminate.

To be fair, there is no way I'd put Patches to a stallion that wasn't proven or one whose progeny I couldn't see/assess first. On that I one hundred percent concur. I don't think it's overly important if the mare is registered or not, so long as her conformation is pretty fair and the stallion choice compliments her flaws.

I would presume 9 out of 10 horses are sold into the leisure rider market and are never intended or destined for the top end of equestrian sport.
 
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I would presume 9 out of 10 horses are sold into the leisure rider market and are never intended or destined for the top end of equestrian sport.

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I agree with this, but even for the leisure rider market breeders have a responsibility to produce the very best foals they can, from proven well put together mares and licensed stallions. This is the best way to ensure the resulting offspring are free of conformational faults and likely to happily cope with a lifetime of work without pain or injury.
 
here's my two p'nthworth! I looked at the OP of the foalie and I thought it was gorgeous, I could not notice any faults, but that is because having taken up riding only a year ago I really don't have any idea yet of good/bad conformation.

In relation to JM07's posts I have to say that I always read them with interest. I believe that she is very knowledgeable and informed. I have gained a better understanding of the less fluffy side of the horse industry, the dealers, markets etc from reading her experiences of them.

The only way to educate people like me, who are inexperienced and know little, is to tell it like it is.
 
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JM07 has only ever been nice and helpful to me once and it was that one post about my colt being gelded!!
Yes I do have permission to post pictures, she asked me to post on here to ask opinions on his colour.

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the other thread of your's i've replied to was the debacle with the colt on the road with a lunge line tied round it..

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/3122087/an/0/page/14#3122087

as i recall, i wasn't the only one who wasn't "nice" as you put it.

the "gelding" post you received some sound advice from folk..but also some not too helpful stuff, if i remember???

but hey-ho,
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oh and maybe another time when you posted pics of a pony being ridden in a pelham that was actually fitted UPSIDE DOWN...

and i also recall you went off on one with members who'd pointed out the obvious...

and you say i talk crap???

oh well....
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Phew, read the WHOLE post! My twopenneth:

1) Sadly I don't think this foal has the best conformation and would be very worried about those pasterns

2) I disagree with the poster who said all newborns were ugly, au contrair, I actually believe you can see exactly what you are going to get within the first few hours.

3) Indiscriminate breeding should be a criminal offence punishable by hanging, drawing and quartering. Am sad to say I believe this foal is a victim of indiscriminate breeding.

4) I am NOT against crossbreds AS LONG AS both parents have superb conformation/temperament and rideability. One of the best crosses, rarely seen these days is the RID/TB (or is this now an ISH?
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)

5) JM07 is not the devil incarnate, she just tells the truth where others have said 'oh how stunning', I know whose opinion I would value more and it ain't the latter.

6) I believe this chap will be chestnut
 
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The only way to educate people like me, who are inexperienced and know little, is to tell it like it is.

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People like you are like gold dust! How lovely for someone to write that they have more to learn.
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The only way to educate people like me, who are inexperienced and know little, is to tell it like it is.

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People like you are like gold dust! How lovely for someone to write that they have more to learn.
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that is so true, Sooty.
 
Sirena I think you have summed it all up very well.

I would just add that throughout this thread there has been a confusion between 'cross-breeding' and 'indiscriminate breeding'.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with cross-breeding! As Sirena and others have pointed out, the TB x ID is one of the best sport horses in the world.

A warmblood is by definition the result of cross-breeding.

Also, almost all modern breeds have had an 'infusion' of blood from a different breed at some stage in their history - usually Arab or TB blood.

The TB itself is originally a cross between Arab stallions and English mares.

So - the problem is not cross-breeding per se, it is the random, thoughtless crossing of often incompatible breeds: the 'ooh I know let's breed my Friesian x Appaloosa colt to your Quarter Horse x New Forest mare and see what happens' type of breeding.

Cross-breeding in itself is fine - in fact essential - but should be done judiciously and not just on a whim. Indiscriminate, thoughtless breeding is the problem.

This foal would appear to be the product of indiscriminate breeding.
 
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