Semen from Deceased Stallions

[ashbank]

Just another idle pondering..

There have been deaths of a few high profile stallions over the last couple of years - some of which were older horses, and some were young animals who never got a chance to fulfill their great potential. Nevertheless, their legacy continues as there is frozen semen for many of these stallions.

As a mare owner, how do you justify using semen from very limited stocks on your mare?

For example, I have one particular mare who I am besotted with, I can and do talk about her for hours on end to anyone who will listen. She has been approved for breeding with her mother studbook and also with another popular book. I have only shown her once, and she won her class. Everyone who meets her says what a nice animal she is, and likes her progeny. She has good competition bloodlines and an excellent fertility record. She is definitely of a higher quality than your average broodmare.

Still, she is unproven in sport (She's perfectly sound, but her job is broodmare, not riding horse). How can I justify using semen which can't be replaced on her?

Do other mare owners worry about this as well?

 

[volatis]

You know she's a nice mare, fully graded and throwing nice stock. I wouldn't worry about using frozen from a dead stallion. If the SO is willing to let you buy it and you feel its the right choice for her, then go for it.
There is a dead Hanoverian stallion I want to use at some point as he is a sire I love and want to have his bloodline in my herd at some point. I have no qualms about using it on the right mare.

 

[Maggie2]

Given that set of circumstances I wouldn't think twice.

 

[alleycat]

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Nevertheless, their legacy continues

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But how long for? Maybe you are doing the breed a favour by preserving bloodlines back to good horses before their contribution becomes outdated.

How long does it take for a breed to move on?

Maybe (if A.I. had been available) you could go back 60 years and still find a Trak- aaah can't spell it! that you would be interested in using today. Do you think so? You could perhaps go back 80 or 100 years and find a TB - but I'm not sure. (I'd love to use The Tetrarch. I don't think he would have been outclassed. HorseNight - what do you reckon?) But a Dutch Warmblood; the breed has moved on so much. A Hannovarian? A Selle Francais? I don't know. Irish horses maybe haven't changed too much, but may be about to. So how long will the horse that seems great now, remain valid as a breeding animal in terms of the contribution he can make to the breed?

There are probably a few past greats actually available by frozen semen that no one is interested in using any more.

 

[ashbank]

[ QUOTE ]
So how long will the horse that seems great now, remain valid as a breeding animal in terms of the contribution he can make to the breed?

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A good point, and one I am aware of - A few stallions that people have suggested to me have been in their late teens or twenties, and I always think to myself "has nothing really been bred to improve on this in the past 20 years?"

Sometimes, there will be an older horse who is extremely modern in type - if this is the case I will use them (such as Stravinsky) but in general I tend not to use older stallions - they need to be old enough to have proven themselves, but I will otherwise use a young horse rather than an old one.

But then you get the young ones who go before their time - Furst Heinrich, His Highness etc - as opposed to the older guys who have fully stamped their mark on the horse population (Flemmingh etc).