Inexperienced owner...Help.....Broodmare????

[fernedge198]

I have an Arab X welsh that stands at 13' she is slight build. Very pretty, lovely nature...etc... We've owned her 2 years and is my daughters ride. We've learnt a bit in the years but by no means confident. I've been told our mare has good bloodlines and would make a good broodmare. I wouldn't have a clue but looking at this forum has helped no end ... Don't panic i'm certainly not going to go ahead, and do it my self.... Oh NO.... By next year she will be probably too small for my daughter and i'm considering what owners options are as i don't want to sell her... any opinions,advice or stories you could share would be fantastic... thankyou

 

[TarrSteps]

First question might be, perhaps to the person who was complimentary about her bloodlines, what would you be breeding "for". Since she's a cross you're limited in Breed classes (although Arabs do half-bred classes where I'm from) and crossing her out yet again would make that an even tougher market.

Were they talking about show pony breeding? In which case, I always think it's best to go to the professionals. Speak to someone who breeds show ponies and ask them they're opinion both of her breeding and the horse herself. If the recommendation was for a sport pony then do similarly with someone who does BSPS breeding. Such a person could also talk you through what cross, even which stallion, might make the most of her.

If it's just to breed another generic horse then her own accomplishments would come into it a bit more. Has she competed much? Is it a case of wanting to reproduce her temperament or her competitive success or both? At her height you would not reliably be able to produce a much larger horse from her, especially since it wouldn't be riding age until your daughter is that much older and taller.

Good ponies are needed but quite a lot of making a good kid's pony is production, not just breeding. You'd have to give some thought about how long you would keep the foal and what sort of production you'd be willing to do as not many people would be a foal as a potential general mount for a child. (And, to be rudely generalising, I'd be suspicious if they did as often it seems what people really want at that point is a cute pet of a foal but are perhaps not prepared for the inbetween stages.)

Did you buy her from a breeder or do you know her breeder? That might be a place to start as they could tell you what the original plan was for breeding her in the first place.