Breeding a foal involves a lot of time, money and long term commitment.
Breeders have a moral responsibility to ensure the best future for the young horse
brought into the world, which means breeding quality to begin with. Today there
is a serious over production of ordinary horses, which usually don’t have the best
of futures, often ending up at sales and the meat markets. Happily though, there
is always a need for high quality, spotted performance horses as they are becoming
few and far between today.
The broodmare is the foundation of any good breeding programme; she can either
make it or break it for you. Some people put a lot of emphasis on the stallion but
the foal will have characteristics from both parents and each will provide half of
the genetic makeup of the foal. The mare influences the youngster a lot just from
being with it for the early formative months and foals do pick up and copy mum’s
bad habits!
One of the first things to consider when looking for your broodmare is your
ultimate goal for the resulting foal. If you are planning a world cup showjumper,
the mare that just won the NCHA cutting derby really won’t be suitable but she
would be great if you are planning a cowhorse. So, the mare must have the
genetic background and type for the sport you choose.
After type, temperament must be the most important consideration, if not the
most important. Many breeders today put too much importance on the exterior
instead of the interior of the horse. What use have you of producing the most
beautiful horse in the world, if lack of intelligence and bad temper makes it
impossible to ride? Unfortunately some mares are never tried under saddle. That
doesn’t mean showing but to be broken in and tested for temperament and riding
qualities. The mare should have a natural bearing under saddle and be easy to do
anything with. Sometimes if you have been lucky enough to have ridden mothers,
brothers, sisters etc the temperament can be realised with how they adapt to
handling on the ground. A rare thing nowadays though.
Always be wary of unsound horses, especially with any foot problems. Nothing
so heartbreaking to produce a lovely horse and find it’s continually lame.
Unsoundness from accidents is another matter, unless caused by a temperament
quirk they are nothing to worry about.
Often performance horses that break down are used as broodmares, which just
passes the problem from one generation to another.
One thing a lot of horses are never picked for is fertility and milking abilities. We
have had mares that have had sixteen foals in a row, all fat and shiny no matter
the season due to their tremendous milk production. Their daughters that have
been bred also have these good qualities and their stallion sons have passed it on
too
Once you have chosen a mare, check her for breeding soundness and
conformation. A mare that has problems breeding is not only a waste of time
but will cost you a lot of money at the vet! Remember you have to wait nearly a
year for the foal to be born and another two to ride, so make your choices good
ones. An ideal conformation for the mare is to have the vulva straight under the
anus. This will stop any urine or feces from dribbling into the vulva and causing
infection. Although there are veterinary procedures to help with this, it will cause
problems sooner than later, remember in nature these mares would be infertile
and be culled from the breeding herd naturally.
The price you pay for a suitable mare of course will vary, often the so-called
bargain will sadly reveal why she was priced so cheaply.
If the mare has a breeding history check it out and see some of her foals to judge
what she can produce. Sometimes studs have some older proven mares for sale,
to make room for younger daughters entering the mare band. This is usually
an excellent way to purchase good proven mares not normally available. This
also applies to complete dispersal sales. Usually with some TLC these mares will
reward you with more great foals.
Of course another consideration when breeding a lovely Sportaloosa is to retain
the necessary coat pattern and concentrate the bloodlines of the breed.
Outcrossing is allowed but sensibly one should only use homozygous
mares to retain the spots. Also when outcrossing pick a top stallion
that will introduce and enhance the breed with special qualities.
Otherwise choose one of the many talented, good looking Sportaloosa
stallions available.
Finally, remember when you get your dreamed of foal send us a photo so we can share it with all!
