Pictured above: LALLAROOKH NY, out of the mare ALL I NEEDS LUV NY and the stallion QUASIM CRH, born 14 Sept 2024.
"Just some musings on breeding, conformation, bloodlines
and what you might expect to get with your new bundle of joy you’re breeding
for. These random thoughts, and 5 bucks, will get you a medium sized coffee at
Starbucks, but I wanted to share what little I’ve learned over the past 50
years in this dog & pony show to maybe help one person from making the same
breeding mistakes we’ve all seen over the years.
1. Not every mare needs to be bred. Period. If she’s a
quality mare with good conformation, legs, a typey face, the kind of
disposition you can live with and enjoy (extra points if she can wear a saddle)
and she has something to offer our breed, then you can think about having a
foal out of her.
2.The ONLY thing that is going to come out in your
little bundle of joy you’re going to breed is what’s in it’s pedigree. Faults,
qualities, disposition and athletic ability all come from the parents,
grandparents and great grandparents. Know what’s behind your planned mating, it
takes a lot of the guess work out of things.
3. The reality of breeding horses is that no matter if
you’re breeding for anything from a reiner to a super star halter horse to an
amazing English horse that will make the hair stand up on the back of your
neck, odds are you’re going to wind up with a family pleasure gelding (or
mare). Superstars are few and far between and we have an extremely specialized
breed in all disciplines, but the end product is frequently the same. A
hopefully quality, well conformed pleasure horse that someone will want to love
for years and years and give it the life they so richly deserve.
4. A great rule of thumb, and I’ve seen this first hand
for decades, is you get the size and basic structure of the mare and the type,
athletic ability and frequently disposition from the sire. Start with a great
mare with a solid, quality pedigree and you have better chances for a great
foal.
5. In breeding half-Arabian crosses, the best ones are
usually sired by an exceptional Arabian stallion and out of a Saddlebred,
Friesian, Quarter Horse, you name it breed. Mrs. Hewitt taught me this and she
had some of the finest non Arabian Warmblood mares in the country.
6. Disposition. Disposition. Disposition. Animated can be
lovely on a top halter colt or filly, but there’s a fine but distinct line
between untrainable and bat shit crazy and animation. Animated horses can go on
after halter and make lovely performance and pleasure riding horses. Bat shit
crazy and untrainable wind up on semi’s going to Mexico. No horse deserves that
so please don’t breed one.
7. Club feet, long backs, straight shoulders, wry tails,
small eyes and funky necks are hereditary. No matter what the stallion owner
tells you they do breed on, maybe not in the first generation always but they
will show up eventually.
8. Support small breeders with great stallions. Support
genetic diversity, AKA there are some amazing stallions (and mares) out there
to utilize in your breeding program that don’t have the 3 popular stallions of
the day in their pedigrees. BREED THEM ON. We have about bred ourselves into a
corner, in both halter and performance, and just try breeding outside the box
to preserve what little genetic diversity is left.
9. And, it goes without saying, if you can’t afford to
feed it don’t breed it! Especially when hay, grain, vet costs, show expenses et
all are going up by the day. If you have a few yearlings and two year olds
wandering around that aren’t registered yet but you’ll get around to it, don’t
breed more.
Jim Robbins, just trying to get some dialogue going on
breeding and what everyone’s plans are for the year"
We LOVE Arabian Horses
Stop by https://welovearabianhorses.com
look around and see what our programs have to offer you."
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