Every breeder has a plan. Well, every good breeder does anyway. No breeder should go into breeding their mare or stallion without a plan. A plan to produce the best baby possible. I'm probably going to catch some flack or maybe even piss off a few folks when I say, "If you're breeding any Joe stallion to any Jane mare just to have a baby, you're doing it wrong." Good breeders have a plan. They are trying to produce offspring for a purpose or for the betterment of their breed. Personally I don't understand breeding grade foals. Never have and never will. I understand the argument that you can't ride papers, but papers do have a purpose. I'm not saying there aren't nice grade horses, but in general those nice ones are out of registered stock.
But that's a whole 'nother argument. Let's try to focus. Good breeders have a plan. They have qualities that they are breeding for in their foals. It's always interesting to talk to breeders and see what order they put the following in. I'm going to try to put them in the order that we here at Berry Sweet Acres value them. Some are so close that it's hard to pick which to put ahead of the other, but I will try.
1. Genetic Testing: I won't breed anything that isn't 5 panel negative or at the most, carries one copy of HERDA or GBED (since those aren't symptomatic when only one copy is present). This may be a controversial opinion and I do understand what some breeders say about the gene pool getting smaller and smaller. Sadly I've seen what PSSM and HYPP can do to a horse and I do not want to bring a foal into this world that has a chance of carrying either. Even one copy. This isn't even factoring in the resale value. Many people looking to purchase an equine do not want to worry about the special diets and conditions that those ponies have or the worry that one day their special pony will just be dead in their stall. I know that some breeders feel the risk of NH or PSSM is worth it. I personally do not.
2. Movement: We here at Berry Sweet are breeding pleasure ponies that should be competitive in the all around. Because these are POA ponies, we are also breeding for versatility. We want ponies that can win in the pleasure classes, but also clear a fence or pull a cart. We aren't breeding for speed, but that isn't saying that any of our ponies couldn't hold their own in a speed event. Thank goodness these ponies don't have to specialize. That would break my heart. POA's should be a true versatile all around competitor in everything from ranch to reining, barrels to jumping and back to pleasure and trail.
3. Disposition: A super close second, so close that I almost put it before movement, is disposition. This is the general attitude/demeanor and trainability of the offspring. I don't think there was ever a time in my life when I haven't wanted a nice quiet young one. (And I grew up riding Arabs.) I have never had the confidence or the sticky seat to ride the bouncy ones. I appreciate the kind of disposition that wants to please, learns quickly and doesn't have a mean bone in their body.
I have the sweetest mares on the planet. We have only one mare that isn't in your pocket friendly and the only negative thing I can say about her disposition is that she is "suspicious". That's no fault of her own, she gets handled for feet trimming, foaling/breeding, deworming and vet appointments. I know that if I invested a little time she would join the others in mugging us for love and attention.
I will not even look at a stallion that I have heard throws babies with a bad disposition or babies that are thick headed/stubborn. I have a list of stallions that I keep updating regularly. The select few of my friends that have seen this list laugh at my notes because I will say right in there "babies are crazy, hard headed or hard to train". Yes, I understand that babies get just as much if not more of their disposition from their mare, but when it comes to gambling, this is one I don't take chances on. I'm old. I don't bounce. I splat. I plan every breeding with the intention of keeping the foal and showing it to riding age. I do not want to die in the process.
3. Conformation: (Sidenote - it's confOrmation, not confIrmation. A little pet peeve.) Conformation is how the pony is put together skeletally and muscularly. Conformation is important as it plays a huge part in how a pony moves, so is therefore directly connected to #1 Movement. It also has a big part in the longevity of a pony. Ponies that are not structurally sound will not still be riding/showing or performing into their 20's or even 30's. I think it is pretty well agreed upon that there isn't truly the "perfect" pony when it comes to conformation, but there are many who are close. That said, good breeders take the worst traits of their own mares and try to avoid stallions that also have those same traits. Your goal as a breeder is that the stallion will balance out the mare and vice versa. Of course there is always the chance that your baby will get the worst traits of both parents. That would be a good reason to choose mares and stallions with the very best conformation possible. A big head isn't a dealbreaker for me. Pretty heads are nice, but aren't going to effect my ride. Over at the knee, long backed, club foot, post hocks, etc... these are the types of qualities that are red flags.
4. Pedigree: Pedigree does help sell your offspring. Pedigree does help promote certain traits in your foal. There is never a full time guarantee for any pedigree. However, if you breed a western pleasure mare to a western pleasure stallion, you should get a baby whose predisposition is towards doing well in western pleasure. Pedigree helps you choose to breed for many of the traits above like disposition, movement and conformation. Pedigree helps make your baby stand out in a crowd of foals. Pedigree helps determine color and quality. Pedigree does matter. If you own a no name mare and are the brave lot, a new stallion to the scene is always an option. But I'm going with a stallion that has proven himself as a producer and/or a performer.
5. Lastly for me is color. If I have checked off all of the boxes above then the pony can truly be pink and white with orange polka dots for all I care. I've had a grulla (a new favorite among breeders), a palomino and a buckskin. Notice I said "HAD". The grulla was a nice colt but not a great mover (and he was really only the super cool dark color in the winter anyway when nobody would see him). The palomino was kind of a dick but a great mover. The buckskin was a sweetie and still one of my favorite ponies of all time, but wasn't going to fit our program. I love a pretty color with the best of them. IF I had 10 identical ponies of every color placed in front of me and they all had the same disposition, movement, trainability, genetic panel, etc... I'd pick a buckskin. But we know that isn't how it works folks. My favorite all time ponies have been a bay and a gray. Ah yes - the dreaded gray that everyone avoids because they are hard to keep clean (no harder than a palomino, fewspot, leopard, etc... but people forget that). I could care less what color Elsie is, she has given me more awards and good rides than I could have ever dreamed of.
The only time color is important to me is for registering our ponies. POAs have to have recognizable color visible at 40 feet. So yes, color is important when considering a stallion and mare cross in POA. But it still hangs around near the bottom of the list even then. I can ride a solid pony, I can't ride a rank minded, post legged, jack hammer trot pony.
Comments