Bless the mares …
This week as I lead our mares to their paddocks every morning, then back to the barn every evening I’ve been daydreaming about how they came into our lives. They all have different stories with exciting watershed moments in the history of our stud, Pearsons View. www.pearsonsviewarabians.com
As I think back to how we came to choose each mare I can now see that not only did we possess a firm opinion about what we wanted and why, we also knew how VERY IMPORTANT mares were to a breeding program. All are as precious to us as the touching poem below.
BLESSED ARE THE BROODMARES
Blessed are the broodmares in the field,
Patiently carrying their heavy load
Without complaint waiting for the big day,
When they, without a sound, lay down in the straw
And then the most amazing thing happens,
The miracle of a brand new life.
Now the everlasting circle is complete,
The amazing wonder of a living thing.
The foundation stock of every breed,
How fast we all happen to forget,
Where all our champions came from.
How fast we are to discard the blessed ones.
When they get too old or unproductive,
The most tolerant members of every breed,
Raising their young without ever a mumble,
Loyal beyond everyone’s compare.
Till they go on to raise the next one,
When will we finally wake up and see
How enormously grateful we should be
For the blessed ones we so easily forget?
E.M.S
Breeding a foal is a dream for many people who own horses and I have to say after breeding Arabian horses for decades there’s hardly anything more beguiling than a foal, especially an Arabian foal.
Success in horse breeding is most often a combination of thorough planning, specific goals, determination, probably a pinch of luck but most importantly that special broodmare.
Most horse breeders would agree the mare is as important as the stallion in producing quality offspring. However with decades of breeding behind us and several mares that have produced multiple generations you realise just how vitally important the mare is to the resulting foal. Though they say each parent provides about half of the genetic make up of the foal I have no doubt at all that the mare has far more influence (genetic and environmental) over her resulting foal than the stallion.
For instance if you take note you will often see the most successful breeding stallions have superior dams.
I know it’s an understatement to say that the selection of a broodmares should be made wisely but so many people buy mares for obscure and foolish reasons. Let’s face it the broodmare choices you make will play a major role in determining whether your breeding program is a success or failure.
Although you can never be completely sure your mare will be an elite brood mare you can do things that will at least give you a head start.
Study the phenotype and the pedigrees you love and KNOW why! Don’t buy a mare because it’s cheap.
Over the years I’ve observed many a breeder who searches out and incorporates bloodlines similar to successful breeding farms. Nothing wrong with that except for whatever personal reason they decide not to purchase from that particular farm so they buy something similar. It’s like changing a recipe, you may have the some of the same ingredients but often the addition of an extra spice or two can alter the end result!
Of course we all have to buy horses from someone but why jeopardise everything you will be working towards by not having an an open and objective mind towards competitors breeding programs.
I still smile as I type this as I can hardly count the number of times that I’ve heard people say, “we’ve bred this trait out of our line.” I don’t see how this can be done as the undesirable traits that have been “bred out” remain in the pedigree, so sooner or later the undesirable with reappear even several generations from the source. In this case it becomes more about making good choices about how you breed the mare and her offspring.
Not every female horse makes a suitable broodmare, or deserves to be one. She should be something “special” . I know we originally purchased our mares knowing if the foals turned out to be replicas of their dam we would have a wonderful result. We waited and waited for the right horse to come along.
So the mare needs to have more to offer than just a “cute” name, a popular / show winning sire or an unusual bloodline. Ideally, she should have consistent producers from generation to generation within her pedigree and if you love a specific type this should also be consistent through her family. Again some talented ancestors in her pedigree is also preferable. That way she’s more likely to pass on on these talents to her offspring.
Bare in mind mares pass on virtually all of themselves to their foals even their annoying habits. Heredity must never be forgotten. A mares and or stallions habits will show up again and again even when it is several generations back in the pedigree.
If you have a mare that swings her head round and round, ear shyness, or even ticklishness when girthing up, you can be pretty sure it will be passed down from generation to generation. So watch not only for annoying habits but a kind temperament, good health, general appearance, movement and trainability.
Mind you, in saying all this nothing is ever cemented in stone so sometimes you have to take a chance. But for me personally, knowledge and learning is the key, as well as knowing your mares family inside out, know what she is liable to pass onto her progeny, the undesirable as well as the desirable.
Some things to consider when deciding on a mare include:
Is the mare from a strong female bloodline?
Is the mares sire a good broodmare sire? Some sires are more likely to produce good broodmares than others.
Does the mare show any specialised talents. If so, she may be able to pass those special traits on to her offspring if you match her with the right sire.
Did the mares dam or grand dam produce ideal offspring?
Are there other mares of the same or similar bloodline that produce high quality offspring?
How many previous offspring has the broodmare had?
Don’t waste your money experimenting with inferior broodmares unless your bank account can sustain it.
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