MORE than 200 people, all sharing a passion for breeding and producing sport horses, hung on every word spoken at the recent seminar hosted by Nina Barbour of the Harthill Stud, Malpas in Cheshire.
Speakers included Arie Hamoen from the KWPN studbook, veterinary surgeon Sarah Stoneham and Paul Hendrix of Dutch Sport Horse Sales. They were joined by show jumper and Billy Stud partner William Funnell, event rider and Harthill Stud partner Oliver Townend and Enda Carroll of Ashford Farm Sport Horses, all bringing a wealth of experience to the top table.
Getting the evening underway was Arie Hamoen from Arnhem in Holland, who discussed stallion selection.
Hamoen has been a leading KWPN stallion inspector and was chairman of the stallion selection committee for nine years and his expertise lies within judging and evaluating stallions and young stock.
“Always remember the stallion next door is not necessarily the best to use on your mare. As judges we try to give breeders an objective view of the mares and that helps the breeder with stallion selection,” he told breeding enthusiasts at the seminar. “To find the best stallion possible it is now possible for breeders to be able to collect all the data they need via the world wide web and also make a selection from frozen semen available worldwide.”
He urged mare owners to know the good points of their mare and have an idea of what type of horse they want to breed, either a jumper, eventer dressage or show horse.
He advised them that consolidation was important so they should note the best points of the mare line and take the same care in selecting a stallion, looking carefully at the quality of the stallion’s offspring.
He added that only when the mare needs correction does the mare owner need to go to compensation breeding - for example a mare with heavy bone should go to a stallion with lighter bone, and a heavy mare would be better put to a more quality stallion.
Linear scoring is most important when looking at potential stallions, he added, noting that collecting data, checking pedigrees and the success of the stallion’s progeny were much more productive than viewing a two minute video.
“I urge breeders to be honest about their mare and give all the information needed to make the correct selection of a stallion,” he said. “If the mare is not good enough to breed from pedigree or conformation wise then you should skip breeding. And to those who are just starting out on a breeding programme I urge them to start with excellent pedigrees.”
Performance horses should be of a good model, of balanced proportions and they should move correctly and have self-carriage, impulsion and quick reflexes.
“Although selection is not a simple process, if you take your time, study data and pedigrees and take the best points out of your mare and match it with the best stallion available – you should have the best offspring,” concluded Hamoen.
THE MARE FACTOR
Dutch expert Paul Hendrix thought the mare to be very important in the breeding equation.
“Breeding is no longer a hobby so we have to do our job right and the choice of mare makes all the difference. There is much more chance to breed an athlete from a proven mare. We breed 100 foals a year and of those around 40% are fillies.
“From them we select the best 20 fillies over three years and combining them with what we think is the right stallion, we breed from the best ten. We always try to breed from the higher-level sport horses,” said Hendrix.
William Funnell of the Billy Stud agreed: “The first mare we used had a very good pedigree and she bred us some very valuable foals. Breeding grew into a business and from good performing mares we now produce around 60 foals a year. We strive to be better at our job and try and match mares with the correct stallion.”
However he warned breeders: “Breeders have to be honest about the conformation of their mare and it is false economy to skimp on a stallion as that can prove expensive five years down the line.”
Paul Hendrix of Dutch Sport Horse Sales then took breeding a step further from matching the best mares with the most suitable stallion to recognising foal potential from an early age.
“Breeding is a tough selection and you have to put emotions to the side when selecting mares and stallions. Although semen is available from all over the world the key to good breeding is to use better mares from the feet up. I always remember the English saying ‘no foot, no horse’ and it remains true,” he said.
Hendrix added: “We test our young horses in April of their first year by bringing them into an indoor school three days in a row. By letting them run loose, we can judge the way they carry themselves and their first reaction when they go over a small pole. We tend to make a good judgement from this exercise and many times 90% of our top selections carry on through as three and four-year-olds.
“After this first viewing the yearlings are turned out for six months in the green (grass) season. They are then brought in again and we go through the same process and I watch again for their reflex to the poles.”
Yearlings are wintered inside in groups and, apart from taking x-rays, they are left untouched until they are three.
“We then test them over a bigger fence and we end up with the best 10 and they are backed late October as three-year-olds. These horses would then do a few shows the next year. Some of our four-year-olds go to the sales and others go back in to the field. Ultimately we hope buyers’ success is also our success,” said Hendrix.
A question from the floor asked whether videos showing yearlings jumping high fences should be condoned.
“Loose jumping should only be undertaken by a knowledgeable person and then no harm should be done,” said Paul Hendrix.
William Funnell replied: “It can’t be a negative to loose school yearlings but only over a small fence. Decisions at this stage have to be made – is this a potential competition horse, should I use the same stallion or should I breed from the mare again are questions I would be asking myself.”
Arie Hamoen added: “Loose jumping should be used as a selection tool not as a competition.”
London 2012 British dressage team member Richard Davison then asked the panel if they knew what percentage of horses bred prove valueless.
“Are we breeding too many horses?” he asked.
Oliver Townend was quick to respond: “We don’t have enough good ones that’s for sure.
“Maybe too many moderate horses have been bred but we can never breed too many good ones,” he said.
“Breeders should be encouraged and rewarded and they should not be afraid to ask for professional advice. Always remember Olympic stars do come from small breeders,” said Paul Hendrix.
QUOTES ON THE NIGHT
“Always remember the stallion next door is not necessarily the best to use on your mare”
- Ari Hamoen
“Linear scoring is most important when looking at potential stallions; collecting data and checking pedigrees and the success of the stallion’s progeny is much more productive than viewing a two minute video”
- Ari Hamoen
“Breeding is no longer a hobby so we have to do our job right and the choice of mare makes all the difference. There is much more chance to breed an athlete from a proven mare”
- Paul Hendrix
“Good integration of science and horsemanship has made it easier for owners to evaluate their offspring and I would encourage breeders to use their vet as part of the management team rather than the fire brigade”
- Veterinary surgeon Sarah Stoneham
“Maybe too many moderate horses have been bred but we can never breed too many good ones”
- Oliver Townend
“Breeders should be encouraged and rewarded and they should not be afraid to ask for professional advice. Always remember Olympic stars do come from small breeders”
- Paul Hendrix
“Breeding is important, and so is ability, but production is another 50% on top of that.
Customers are now happier to pay more for a proven horse so we have to do our job right from the very start”
- William Funnell
“The industry has changed so much over the last five years; clients demand more for their money and we have to deliver and match the right horse with the right rider”
- Enda Carroll