Bri
Well-Known Member
But how do you go about picking a Stallion to use? Just wondering if everyone has different criteria and what they are?
May be a stupid question...
- Thread starter Bri
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severnmiles
Well-Known Member
It is an art...too many people think stick any old good stallion on a good mare and you'll get a good foal...wrong..as proven with the c*ap at Pavo (Ilona will back me up
). I'm afraid I don't know the answer to be honest, I think it takes years to learn.
Bri
Well-Known Member
Ooo what crap at Pavo? I'm intrigued!
Considering putting my mare in foal down the line at some point, but have no idea how I go about choosing a Daddy!
Considering putting my mare in foal down the line at some point, but have no idea how I go about choosing a Daddy!
Navalgem
Well-Known Member
Complementary conformation to the mare and otherwise good confirmation, good temp, ability, pedigree, price (sadly I dont have a fortune to pay for a stud fee) are all factors, didd people prioritise them differently though. (and the complimentary conf doesn't always work either!)
severnmiles
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
Complementary conformation to the mare and otherwise good confirmation, good temp, ability, pedigree, price (sadly I dont have a fortune to pay for a stud fee) are all factors, didd people prioritise them differently though. (and the complimentary conf doesn't always work either!)
[/ QUOTE ]
But those factors don't necessarily produce decent stock, run of the mill perhaps but not decent, you've got to get the stallion right for the mare.
The whole point of breeding is to improve on the dam and sire, some stallions and mares are end of line, they don't improve on themselves, then you can get a plain looking stallion like Jumbo (thats not defamatory is it?
) who produced several 4* winners.
Complementary conformation to the mare and otherwise good confirmation, good temp, ability, pedigree, price (sadly I dont have a fortune to pay for a stud fee) are all factors, didd people prioritise them differently though. (and the complimentary conf doesn't always work either!)
[/ QUOTE ]
But those factors don't necessarily produce decent stock, run of the mill perhaps but not decent, you've got to get the stallion right for the mare.
The whole point of breeding is to improve on the dam and sire, some stallions and mares are end of line, they don't improve on themselves, then you can get a plain looking stallion like Jumbo (thats not defamatory is it?
severnmiles
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
Ooo what crap at Pavo? I'm intrigued!
Considering putting my mare in foal down the line at some point, but have no idea how I go about choosing a Daddy!
[/ QUOTE ]
Lots of yearlings by advanced stallions out of int/very well bred mares that you couldn't have paid me to have. Yet an unknown hanovarian sires the yearling champ.
Ooo what crap at Pavo? I'm intrigued!
Considering putting my mare in foal down the line at some point, but have no idea how I go about choosing a Daddy!
[/ QUOTE ]
Lots of yearlings by advanced stallions out of int/very well bred mares that you couldn't have paid me to have. Yet an unknown hanovarian sires the yearling champ.
seabiscuit
Well-Known Member
PMSL!! Yes I was quite disapointed by the horses at the PAVO champs.
Thought that the progeny of top stallions just had no movement or athleticsm there.
I agree with SM, although I know nothing about breeding myself have never done it, I would have thought that it was all about choosing the right stallion for the right mare. Taking your mare's bad faults and choosing a stallion that has those faults as his extra-specially good points. Talking about faults, that is not just conformation faults, but also temperment, performance and movement faults as well.
Youv'e also got to look at exactly the kind of horse you want to breed and what you want to use it for.
I.E I love short coupled horses with power and athleticsm, that are light on their feet, have a bit of that pony cleverness, a bit of spark and go without being stupid, and a sane clever temperment and 100% willingness to do the job so that is the kind of end product I would be looking to breed.
The website showing the french international stallions on offer is brilliant because on each stallion page it has a bit where it says 'type of mare that is suitable to cross with this stallion' which is fab for helping you choose what to use.
Thought that the progeny of top stallions just had no movement or athleticsm there.
I agree with SM, although I know nothing about breeding myself have never done it, I would have thought that it was all about choosing the right stallion for the right mare. Taking your mare's bad faults and choosing a stallion that has those faults as his extra-specially good points. Talking about faults, that is not just conformation faults, but also temperment, performance and movement faults as well.
Youv'e also got to look at exactly the kind of horse you want to breed and what you want to use it for.
I.E I love short coupled horses with power and athleticsm, that are light on their feet, have a bit of that pony cleverness, a bit of spark and go without being stupid, and a sane clever temperment and 100% willingness to do the job so that is the kind of end product I would be looking to breed.
The website showing the french international stallions on offer is brilliant because on each stallion page it has a bit where it says 'type of mare that is suitable to cross with this stallion' which is fab for helping you choose what to use.
magic104
Well-Known Member
Depends on what you want to breed though as different sports demand different attributes. A dressage horse is going to find it much easier if they are built more uphill. It is easier if you use a stallion that has stock on the ground. Then you can see what sort of offspring you are likely to get from your mare. You would not put a long backed mare to a long backed stallion, you should try to balance out the faults. But you also need to look further back into the pedigree, because that can also affect the foal. That is one reason why top breeders only want to breed from known stock. Confirmation is very important because it can affect the horses working life. Very straight hocks are prone to bursal enlargement over & through the hock and/or bog spavins, especially if accompanied with upright pasterns. A short thick neck is going to make it harder for the horse to flex which is not what you want for dressage. As I have said before there are famous sires that appear in my latest addition that I would not have used going by any of the photo's I have seen of them, but they produced the goods.
Anastasia
Well-Known Member
You can call breeding an "art"............ but even then you cannot guarantee what the end result will be, you could use the best mare in the world on the best stallion, but Mother Nature can sometimes pop in a curve ball...............
For us we take a long look at both mare and stallion. However, although people look at stallions we put a lot of emphasis on the mare lines, i.e. what has the dam, grand dam, GG dam etc done and produced.
I know that the KWPN breeders use the Linear scoring system and breeding indexes on traits etc to decide whether a stallion will be a good match on the mare.
In fact if you breed a KWPN foal the breeding certificate now shows your foals liklihood of being a dressage or jumping horse with a reliability of this happening, and this is because they are looking through the generations of the family and predicting the possibility of that youngster doing well in jumping or dressage....
For us we take a long look at both mare and stallion. However, although people look at stallions we put a lot of emphasis on the mare lines, i.e. what has the dam, grand dam, GG dam etc done and produced.
I know that the KWPN breeders use the Linear scoring system and breeding indexes on traits etc to decide whether a stallion will be a good match on the mare.
In fact if you breed a KWPN foal the breeding certificate now shows your foals liklihood of being a dressage or jumping horse with a reliability of this happening, and this is because they are looking through the generations of the family and predicting the possibility of that youngster doing well in jumping or dressage....
CentrestageSHS
Well-Known Member
yep, anastasia is right, if you are looking at spending a little more and possibly going down the european line you won't go very wrong. If you wanted to breed a sj for example you could send pictures and information about your mare to any of the top sj studs like Zangersheide and they will tell you which stallion will be the best for your mare, and they are usually right! They are just starting to do it in this country but unfortunately we don't have many "big" studs where there is a vast selection of quality graded performance stallions to choose from. I don't know what your criteria or price range is but if you put a picture of your mare, her stats, how much you want to pay and what kind of horse you want to breed I am sure quite a few people on her will steer you in the right direction!!!
Hope this helps a little
Hope this helps a little
christine48
Well-Known Member
I agree with Anastasia. Firstly decide what you want to breed then critically analyse your mare's conformation and any faults she has. Then pick a stallion who's conformation will hopefully improve these faults. Temperament is important however I suspect every stallion owner will tell you their's has an impeccable temperament. If there are any stock by the stallion you will be able to assess them.