Key Stallions in your Breeding Programs

[ashbank]

Do many people on here tend to use key stallions in their breeding programs? Not necessarily those with their own stallions - I can appreciate how you would be featuring them heavily in your own program - but I am interested in the choice of external stallions by people who only have mares as well as stallion owners on here.

To start things rolling - I have 2 Gribaldi mares and a Gribaldi granddaughter, and one of the stallions that I am following for next season is also by Gribaldi.

I have also had five horses by Godington Hannibal, and have another expected in 2008. One of my broodmares is by him as well as I have found him to be an exceptional improver and refiner.

My choice in using Hannibal was deliberate, but I seem to have fallen upon the Gribaldi slant to my program!

 

[Fahrenheit]

I have alot of Ramiro Z in my programme not just because my main stallion was by Ramiro Z and I have his son but I also have Ramiro in a few of the mares. Also featured multiple times is Gotthard and Cor de la Bryere and a few others.

 

[Damien]

Great topic Ashbank.

We have a gret deal of Nimmerdor and it's a line I don't mind doubling up on, eveidently it does come from the sire we use most predominatly but also through our Goodtimes mares.

We find Goodtimes present four times in our mares. Firstly Prija, who is a ster mare by Goodtimes out of a proven dressage mareline as is a high producer of high level dressage horses. This mare has produced two offspring that we also own, Zera by Furore x Goodtimes (jumping + dressage with this combination) who also acheived ster status at the recent SSH gradings, and her 1st premium yearling sibling sister by Gribaldi x Goodtimes. In no hurry to let any of those go as they are just so versatile and so far seem to cross with either dressage or jumping sires, I can only hope that we make the right choices for them to mintain that versatility. Then we have another Goodtimes x Ulft mare, Velita. She too is a dual purpose bred mare, she has tremedous scope over a fence and great paces, so once again a mare that can be bred to eiether a dressage or a jumping stallion, crossing her with a dual purpose stallion keeps all our options open.

However I am a Contender fan and want to implement more of his blood into our breeding program, so this year IF I can get semen from Diarado then would like to use him on Achanenna with the intention of line breeding to Contender and Grand Venuer. As van Uytert have invested a part share in him based on his potential as a dressage sire as well as a jumping sire am prepared to take a risk on this young stallion.

Welcome other suggestions that also mix Contender with Grand Veneur anyone?

I guess many of the foundation TB lines in our breeding program are predominant, just as Cor De La Bryere is in the Holstein and jumping lines. And I suppose when we are breeding we like familiarity and can gain better insight of what works and what doesn't if we do it for ourselves. Lets face it it really is a mine field out there and we have so much choice and information to assimilate its only natural that if we something that works we are going to stick with it. No objections at stepping out into unkown territory though.

 

[volatis]

I have a lot of Cornau blood in my prgram, through her daughters as I have 3 mares directly related to her through the female line and 2 more through her son the Elite stallion Consul. And his name will catch my eye in a pedigree especially if it is on the dam side. One non Trakehner stallion I used last year had Consul in his pedigree in addition to another favourite Weltmeyer, and the fact he had 3 sires I really liked in his pedigree helped sway me to use him.

I am also a big fan of the Gribaldi line and a lot of the future choices pencilled in have Gribaldi influence in there for my Trakehner mares, mainly though Distelzar and Hofrat.

Another sire line I love is Florestan and his son Fidermark so I do have a tendancy to be drawn towards his offspring. I have used a Fidermark son 4 times and have a mare in foal to a Fidermark grandson this year and always keep an eye out for stallions carrying his blood.

 

[koeffee]

i have lots of quidam de revel in my horse, sold my mares to redirect my line of breeding as my new stallion is by dlloar de la pierre who is by quidam de revel, just bought a new mare by broadstone landmark, who is stunning, moves, jumps and is sweet to handle!!