Question:
1. "When you are selecting a horse for breeding stock and you look at movement, what are you looking at?"
Answer:
First, when I'm looking at breeding stock, movement is secondary—maybe even tertiary. First, I'm looking at pedigree, in particular, the dam line. Second, I'm looking at conformation and type. Third, I'm looking at movement. When I get to movement, I always have to remind myself not to be swayed by "Wow" movers or too quickly unimpressed by "ordinary" movers. The longer I buy and breed, the easier it is to see through the flash and look for the balance and tact. My big thing is to look for bending of the joints throughout the body. I want to see a horse sit in the hind end—not just drop, but "sit". I want to see the muscles flex and the angles move closer together and the wither lift. See the horse actively transferring weight to the hindquarters. I also want to see the hind leg come quickly under the horse's center of gravity (basically, just below where a rider would sit)—one of the first things that will negate a horse for me is "out behind." I'm a little more lenient about this with stallion selection for my mares, because my mares have such good use of the hind leg. But, if I'm buying a foal or a mare for breeding stock, and he or she has made it through the pedigree and conformation analysis, out behind can stop the deal. Probably most important is my overall impression of a horse's athleticism/use of his or her body in movement. There has to be self-carriage/lift (bending and good use of the hind leg), but, ideally, the horse has power, clear moments of suspension, suppleness, and a regularity to the movement. I have to be able to imagine the horse going through a passage piaffe tour. I have to be able to imagine the horse doing a pirouette or changes. In answering this person's question, I realize just how complex evaluating movement can be. Try this, the next time you are at a horse show, a friend's farm, or looking at your own horses moving, look at one thing at a time in the entire population you have in front of you. Say, in the next 20 horses you see, you're just going to look at the horses' withers as they begin to move. Can you see the wither lift? Break down movement into the components that are important to the proposed function of the horse, and look at one at a time. It's really the best way to train your eye. Not that we're on the topic, but the sameis true for conformation. I've taken my kids out to the barn on more than one occasion and said, "OK. We're going stall to stall and looking just at loin connections." Or, "we're just looking at bone density in the front leg."
2. How do you decide which foals, yearlings, etc., to take to the annual keuring? What criteria do you use when determining which animals to present?
This is a great question. The answer really lies in what you're trying to accomplish and learn in your own program. For me, after nearly 20 years of breeding, I don't need to take as many horses to a keuring as I did when the learning curve was much steeper. A breeder just starting out should be taking a larger percentage of his or her horses because he or she needs the feedback. At this point in time, as foals, I take only the exceptional ones (evaluated on movement and type--a foal is judged 50% on movement and 50% on conformation and type). We don't do a lot of showing, so keurings are a marketing opportunity for me. If I have a super foal, he or she might as well score some points for the home team. For the most part, though, we're talking about foals; repeatedly, I've seen the top foal in the country become a second premium adult. I don't put much stock in how a foal does. As yearlings, I leave them home. At two, I only take the boys we've kept as stallion prospects. If the jury isn't going to be interested in a colt into whom I'm putting time and money, then I want to know. My mares all go at either three or four years old, depending on their development. As far as I'm concerned, and there are those who will vehemently disagree with me, the studbook/ster/keur eligible presentation is the most important day in a young mare's breeding career. I want my mares to look they're very best—we spend months preparing our mares for this presentation.
I am a fan of keurings. There are those people in the breeding and sport worlds that put no stock in them at all (no pun intended). Personally, I learn something at every keuring I attend, even after nearly two decades. As long as I choose to breed KWPN horses, then I need to be participating in keurings. They give me direction and I trust the jury is giving me a fair evaluation of my horses. It's really rare that I disagree with the jury. As I've said before, the only two times that I can think of involved my own horses, both of which were foals, and in both of which I was probably too emotionally invested.
3. You've mentioned that you spend months preparing your mares for a keuring. Can you elaborate on what you do?
Preparing mares: I do start months ahead of time. First, and most importantly, I evaluate whether or not the mare should even be presented as a three year old. Some mares need to wait a year. It doesn't do your mare or your program any good to take horses that aren't ready to a keuring. Second, I send them off to be backed for at least two months. I try to time it so I get the mare back for at least a month or two so I can get a few extra pounds and a super looking coat on the mare. Training barns rarely feed as much as I do--I want any horse going to a keuring to have super condition--not too fat, but I want flesh so the mares have the depth and width to the top line that I want. Of course, if they're not in good muscle before you add the extra layer of "condition", then you just get a fat top line, and that doesn't work either. The last month, I try to do no undersaddle work with the mares--only ground work, either ground driving, longlining and/or lungeing and free jumping, regardless if the mare has to free jump at the keuring or not. If I can't do all of this myself, due to school or other time commitments, I send them to Zaz Putnam, in Keene. She's done wonderful working getting my mares into the kind of final topline condition I want. I don't do any work in hand with the mares in preparation for the linear scoring. The final step is the day or two before the keuring. I grew up in the 4H and Morgan systems of preparing horses for shows--that means they are clipped, bathed, polished, oiled, and braided.
4. What bedding do you use for mares about to foal?
Simple answer: hay. In New England, straw is normally a lot more expensive than hay--plus, it makes me uncomfortable having mares whose systems are already stressed with pre and post foaling issues to be consuming straw. Dr. Grass, my former vet and a long-time breeder of Standardbreds, moved me in this direction. I was talking to him about my not liking my mares to be eating the straw, and he told me about some famous racehorse auction that had had issues with horses colicking on straw. The auction switched to all hay for its bedding, and stopped having issues with colic. So I switched. Of course, ideally, I like my mares to foal outside; it's so much easier and safer on the mare and the foal.
5. I've heard different opinions on whether or not to breed on the foal heat. What do you think about this?
If I want a mare pregnant, I hate to let any heat cycle go by without attempting to breed on it. The research says if a mare ovulates on day 11 or after post foaling, that the conception rate is the same as on her 30 day heat. If she ovulates prior to day 11, the conception rate is significantly lower. If a mare has foaled early or has had any stress, foaling issues, didn't clean in a normal time frame, etc., then I give her until her 30 day heat. Otherwise, I don't hesitate to breed on the nine day heat. As a matter of fact, we have had some of our best conception rates on the nine day heat. It tends to be a shorter heat and an easier ovulation to predict.
6. You said you can email jumper questions to a friend who knows all about that stuff? Could I ask him, how he evaluates a weanling/yearling for jumpers? I know the bloodlines are a big thing. If sire is a superb jumper and dam is also a very nice jumper, does that assure you the offpsring will be? and , is that the best way to look at them...aside from good conformation and good walk, nice canter lead changes, etc......when they are that little/young, what is the best thing to look for when you are looking at them for a future jumper?
As Scot pointed out before, bloodlines have my major interest. I strongly believe they provide a good indication for future jumping ability. But confirmation is equally important.
For the first time I study a filly/colt at the age of 10 days. The way they look then in proportion is exactly the way they will look 3 or 4 years later.
In between I will oversee a lot.
What I look for is a backline that is not too long, a neckset that is more horizontal than vertical, a hindleg that is not too long and a shoulder that is muscled and even may be a little steep. The neck itself must be long and I like an “attentive, clear” eye.
We like to freejump them as a yearling in an enclosed area, just over a small vertical and an oxer behind it with one stride in between. What to look for then? Balance, suppleness and the ability to perform like a “harmonica”: shorten and lengthen the stride as is needed at that moment. I like to see them jump with a rounded back and opening behind as much as possible. They don’t need to fold their front feet up to their breast, but I don’t like to see them “throw” them forward. The canter is critical and needs to be strong, the yearling needs to “carry itself”. The walk does not have to be the one of a dressage horse. Correctness is enough, same goes for the trot.
Now to the other topic: super jumper sire and nice jumper mare combined equals good jumper?
In my experience: no, not necessarily. You have to increase the odds by bringing the right bloodlines together. I am a very strong believer of “line-breeding” in the third or fourth generation or beyond. Not with any stallion, but with those I believe are responsible for the succesfull jumper characteristics:
Ladykiller xx
Cottage Son xx
Cor de la Bryere
Almé
Ramzes
I like to see those names in a pedigree as much as possible.
I advised Numero Uno, before he became a known sire, on a Burggraaf mare. Why? He has an excellent canter, but moreover the combination resulted in a pedigree with 4 x Ladykiller xx, 2 x Ramzes, 2 x Cor de la Bryere, 1 x Almé and 3 x Cottage Son xx. The resulting horse knows how to jump!
On a different mare, by Ahorn, I recommended Mermus R, who bred just a few mares at the time. The resulting filly is very nice and has a pedigree with 2 x Ladykiller xx, 1 x Cor de la Bryere, 3 x Ramzes and 3 x Cottage Son xx. She already shows to be a promising jumper!
In the meantime both Numero Uno and Mermus R have become “keur” stallions, but even then they should not be used on any mare in my opinion.
If you look for “proven” stallion names in a pedigree, based on my theory of the great five, here are a few:
Acord II, Cassini I, Contender, Indoctro and Indorado.
Good luck with your breeding program!
