Stallion Suggestions?

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MadEventer

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Hi all!! So I may be looking at putting my lovely mare in foal next spring which is very exciting, I've started looking around at some stallions and would greatly appreciate any suggestions :)

She is an ISH (3/4 TB 1/4 ID) - sire is the coloured stallion Country Marksman, her dam side is mostly thoroughbred with king of diamond lines. She is quite little, barely 15.2h, so ideally want something to add some size and something big moving. All being well I would want the foal for eventing. My mare is a little short in the back and she can also be a little tight and tense in front. Otherwise she is a cracking horse, jumps like a cat and is exceptionally brave, never refuses a fence she is just extremely honest. We've evented up to Novice level and showjumped to 1.10m, she is more than capable of going further. Eventing we are sometimes let down on the dressage (she is quite buzzy and forward going so can get too excited - moves beautifully when she's relaxed), but tends to produce consistent double clears and is very quick with endless stamina! She has a wonderful temperament and isn't marish, only downside is that she can be a little stressy with new situations.

So ideally in a stallion I want something big moving with lots of scope and fab technique, a quiet and calm temperament is also important. I am leaning towards kwpns as my mare is very thoroughbred-y in nature and type, but I'm open to anything. The amazing Van Gogh has really caught my eye so far, does anyone have a horse by him or know of any by him?

Thanks in advance :)
 
WHY? do you want to breed from her. Thats the first and most important question to answer!

That probably sounds blunt but believe me you ignore it at your peril! You should only breed with your eyes wide open and not wearing rose tinted glasses. There are lots of well bred youngsters out there you can buy for a fraction of the cost involved in producing your own with a guarantee youll like them (if not you wont buy).
 
popsdosh - I really don't think people wanting to breed one horse for themselves are causing problems with overbreeding. Be a bit more supportive! It is a gamble, but so is getting out of bed in the morning, it is expensive and time consuming but fun too.
I can't help, OP, but best of luck with your quest.
 
I have just used Ramiro B on a mare, shes due in April 2017.

I picked him, as id been told by numerous people he adds a fantastic brain. I went to see him at a stallion show, and was lucky to be invited into his stable. He had just come out of the ring, and was incredibly chilled out. I believe he crosses very well with TB mare. I spoke to a local vet about him, and she had said she can always pick out a Ramiro baby due to being such lovely characters.

Good luck
 
Honestly I am really anti irresponsible breeding and it drives me mad when people just put their horse in foal because they're no good for anything else, but trust me this is something I have thought through over and over. I really want to breed my own foal, I have wanted to my entire life but waited for years for the right time as I wanted to make sure it was the right thing to do. My mare has all the qualities that you would look for in breeding, my vet has even recommended putting her in foal as she is such a nice type. One foal is not going to greatly contribute to the problem of over breeding and I can guarantee a home for life for both the foal and my mare, however nice or not it turns out to be. I am not a hugely competitive rider myself so I'm not particularly interested in buying another horse as I have the ride of several at a level I'm happy with, my heart really lies in breaking and producing through the lower levels so I wouldn't buy myself something to compete on at a high level. If the foal ended up being exceptionally talented I would probably end up finding a 'professional' to compete him/her at a higher level, and if not then I will be very happy to ride it whether he/she is a happy hacker or an eventer :)
 
Asha thank you very much, have heard good things about Ramiro B so definitely going to look into him further. I think temperament is such an important factor!
 
When I read your OP early this morning the first one that sprung to mind for me was Ramiro B. I see someone else has beaten me too it.

Good luck with your venture OP - popsdosh is right and with a sensible head on its economically very silly to try and breed your own. But I've just done it with a mare I love a lot, wanted one from her, she is useful in her own right and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I plan to keep mine whatever and went into it without rose tinted specs!
 
I have one and know a couple by Chaos and all lovely temperaments, intelligent with a good step. He is a big horse so should add height. Meadow Stud also stand some very nice other stallions so worth a look on their web site.
 
Amour G (KWPN reg) has been used by many breeders on TB and TB x mares to breed future eventers. Probably one of the biggest moving coloured KWPN stallions in the UK coupled with a gentle temperament. His youngsters are now starting to follow in his footsteps.I am not allowed to link to our website, facebook page etc but if you Google his name you should find all the info you need. If not, please message me.
 
what you do need to take into consideration is the size of the stallion since your mare is short backed and barely 15.2 and it sounds as if this is a first foal. personally I would be looking at stallions that are a maximum of 16.1 if it is her first one which may narrow the choice a bit.
 
Clodagh said:
popsdosh - I really don't think people wanting to breed one horse for themselves are causing problems with overbreeding. Be a bit more supportive! It is a gamble, but so is getting out of bed in the morning, it is expensive and time consuming but fun too.
I can't help, OP, but best of luck with your quest.
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Where did I mention over breeding however many come on here without thinking it out properly and do not realise the very real pitfalls.
If its not what you want you are invariably stuck with it!!! thats the real situation.

The mare needs a lot more careful consideration than the stallion im afraid and to be very blunt if you wouldnt use the mare as a stallion if it was the other sex then Why? as they put a lot more into the foal than even the best stallion can.

Just to be clear I am not anti the OP breeding a foal but I see to much of the other side where people have bred foals that dont turn out as they expected!
 
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popsdosh said:
Just to be clear I am not anti the OP breeding a foal but I see to much of the other side where people have bred foals that dont turn out as they expected!
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I've got to agree with this. I've made the mistake of breeding my own and would never do it again - I ended up with something that didn't suit me at all.

This time I went out and bought a youngster and ended up with something that is exactly what we want, but probably cost me less than if I'd bred him myself!

Popsdosh is not saying don't breed, just think very, very carefully about it before you do.
 
Interesting conversation. If you're looking for a warmblood, I'm not much use in advising, but how about a good ID?

Popsdosh, I very much doubt any breeder gets exactly what they want - that's life. The legendary racemare Zenyatta has been a supreme disappointment at stud so far, bless her, and it has cost an horrendous amount of money to discover this, but her owners are still trying to get a foal at least half as talented as she is.

I don't think anyone on this board would support careless breeding - and as far as I can tell, the fact that there are so many folks taking a great deal of time thinking through their breeding ideas along with garnering as much advice as possible, means that here, at least, we take it all very seriously.

Breeding, no matter how careful you are, or how much money it costs, is a gamble. No one wants to see animals bred that have no real purpose and are unfit for just about anything. No mare is perfect. But then, no stallion is perfect either. There is no such thing. We, as breeders, weigh up the pros and cons as much as we can, but hey - we may still just get a happy hacker instead of an eventing superstar. And for us, as long as out foals have a future no matter where their talent lies, that is a positive breeding experience.

I completely agree that indiscriminate breeding is anathema to horse lovers, and on that subject I think everyone here would also agree with you 100%. However, breeding horses is not illegal, immoral or fattening - we are perfectly entitled to do so. The responsibility lies in breeding the best you can, and making sure any foal you breed has a future. So why not just be a little less condemnatory and a little more supportive and give us the positive benefit of your breeding knowledge and experience? :D
 
Given that she has the heavier blood in there I would actually be thinking something that is largely TB by blood or Trakehner.

One I would look at but is only available frozen now, is Revolution (TB). He competed to advanced himself, the stock I've seen by him are good movers with a lovely temperament. Also not huge himself so not going to overpower the mare.

Others worth looking at are Sula Blue, possibly Power Blade if you can get frozen (I'm not sure).
Up with the Lark is another to look at.

Trakehners - Godington Hannibal or Contis. Hannibal has a good record himself. Contis didn't go to advanced but having worked with one of his offspring he produces the kindest temperament and trainability and his stock seem to be doing well.

Slightly off track choice would be Kambarbay who is Akhal teke. He's producing some very smart stock - one has just sold very well at the elite auction, and you get the bonus of guaranteed dilute colour.
 
Tetrarch 1911 said:
I completely agree that indiscriminate breeding is anathema to horse lovers, and on that subject I think everyone here would also agree with you 100%. However, breeding horses is not illegal, immoral or fattening - we are perfectly entitled to do so. The responsibility lies in breeding the best you can, and making sure any foal you breed has a future. So why not just be a little less condemnatory and a little more supportive and give us the positive benefit of your breeding knowledge and experience? :D
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I bred one foal, he turned out exactly everything I didn't want - colour, sex and size!! I feel responsible for him and he is out on long term loan, he will always be mine to ensure he is never ill treated. He is having a great life and making someone else very happy. Yes I could have chucked the probable £7k he owes me (not adding it up in too much detail in case it is more!) on the fire but I had so much fun doing the whole process, I loved it.
 
As a first time breeder myself there are obviously pros and cons! But it sounds like OP loves her mare dearly, she sounds quality and yes you never know what you are going to get but if you are breeding for yourself like i did then go for it! My mare sadly had an injury at an early age, i was gutted as she really was awesome and would have gone to 1.40-1.50 level but these things happen and as heartbroken as i was, her little colt foal has really given me hope. She had a foal in Belgium as a 3yo and she is fantastic. I used Mermus R on my mare, he has a good amount of TB blood, good jump and amazing temperament to which was a must for my mare as she can be a little quirky. She is short backed and short neck and i wanted something to complement that also and Mermus R has. I am over the moon with my foal and he has had a lot of positive comments from professionals :-) i also like Ramiro B, two of my friends have their mares in foal to him for next year :-) another nice one is BlackJack, he is worth a look to. Good luck with everything and although it can all be a bit stressful, the pleasure i have had already from my foal way outweighs that. Its an amazing experience watching them grow and their personality develop. P.S he moves amazingly ;-)
 
Hi, Most people breeding eventers are looking for 75%+ TB as its generally proven you need the blood to compete at higher levels, however there are exceptions and at the end of the day its up to you.

I would recommend our own boy as he is generally staring to add a little height and young stock are achieving higher first at the futurity and doing a good job at lower level eventing. He is also a warm blood and has 75% TB, The only down side is he does have some KOD lines (this is where the height comes from), its quite diluted though. He is Spring's Spirit and will be at Weston Park on Sunday and Aldon in a few weeks in the CIC 1* If you google him you should get some more info or videos.

Good luck

Good luck in your search
 
Just to help the OP as other have perceived I was being negative even if I was giving sound advice as I see it .
Always use a stallion that will improve your mare! it is no good using one that has no better record than her. You are standing still at best! The most expensive stallions are not always the best it just means they are fashionable a good example being Totilas who was very fashionable because of what he did but is not passing that on. However find the best stallion you can bearing in mind another few hundred on the stud fee is a small price when compared to the outcome.
As a first time breeder I would seriously get in touch with an expert who knows the stallions available inside out and be honest about your mare. This forum is fine but I wouldnt ask the question you have as most only have a very fleeting knowledge of whats out there and certainly dont know your mare.
From my experience and several others in the breeding world the go to man is James Crawford from Elite stallions he is a vet who really knows what stallions are available and their merits and give impartial advice and dont be afraid if what he suggests is not up there in the fashion stakes.
I hope that more constructive for you.
 
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