SHB grading

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TURBOBERT

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Can anyone help us with this please. We have a nice young mare with a Full Irish passport and excellent blood lines, who has a foal at foot by one of our leading event sires who is SHB graded. We would like to put them both up for grading but know absolutely nothing about what happens. Has anyone done this and what should we expect and what prep work should we do?
 
I was asking the guy who runs the stud where Deco is going about this, as she is an SF, and due to a SHB stallion in a few weeks. He's going to show her for me, he said if they have papers and a reasonabley decent foal at foot it is a formality more than anything else to get them accepted. It's if you are aiming for the elite/premium (can't remember what it's called here) category that they get tough! He said they look most at the hooves and the hocks, and unfortunately despite being an Advanced event mare he said she won't get the premium as she has terrible cow hocks. There's a list of gradings on the SHB website and quite a lot of other info, give them a ring if there's more you want to know. Good luck! What stallion did you use?
 
I sold a 16YO mare which had no papers at all but was a grade A to a well known eventing stud and they took her to get graded and she was the highest graded mare at her grading - so they don't just look at breeding
 
Our mare went to be graded and was (in our opinion) poorly prepared by the stud who took her. She is not ridden due to an accident but trotted up sound etc and looked well but they hadn't had shoes put on (which i believe would have helped her) and they hadn't turned her out v well. The foal who was by Mill Law got 2 offers - he wasn't for sale, and was loved by all!! She just got the standard grading although one of the judges said she was a v nice mare and should be represented when looking better to get a better mark???

The Elite book is mainly mares who are well put together + have v good competition records. Others are very much "main stud book" but does mean your foal can get an SHB passport
 
I was told by Sue Browne to DEF have at least front shoes on for the grading, she's had them on all winter due to the very stony ground round here, and will just have them off when she's due to foal down, then they'll go on again asap. Oooh, I hope I get some offers for my Mill Law foal when she goes for grading! Have you still got yours and how old is it now?
 
Yes still have him, he's at Sues at the moment (she's family!) and won his first show last year - he's 3 now. In fact had a v good offer (which we were prob v stupid to turn down!) a few weeks ago again!!! We'll break him the summer and see how he goes - got 2 extremes, he's huge and his 4yo sister is tiny!!! Maybe next years will be in the middle. They're all getting to the age where they're expensive to run, just bought 4yo's day tickets for PAVO classes, should prob sell one but can't choose which!
 
Foal by Weston Justice. Dam by Rich Rebel out of Legaun Prince mare - so very blue blooded. Foal and Dam well put together . Dam only eight and evented to Novice before being put in foal. Thanks for the info though. Presumably they are just judged being lead round and standing still.
 
Follow up question (about the same mare Turbobert is referring to) - what do I need to do to prepare her?

Foal only born last week so will only be 4 months at grading.

Apart from putting shoes on Mum, is there anything else I should do?

What do then need to do - is there much trotting involved (do we need to get 4 month old baby trotting up?).
 
The baby can be loose - ours was. Mare needs to look well, stand up square with some presence, trot up well and walk out well!
 
Thanks - that helps.

Baby loose is much easier and Mum knows what she is doing (unless she has forgotten everything during her 'maternity leave').

I have absolutely no experience with foals so any advice very welcome!!
 
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