Ampere by Rousseau... Many questions

[Spike]

I have many questions about Ampere, the Rousseau son.

1. Is his frozen semen good? What are your experience with it?
2. Is his frozen semen available in Canada?
3. What does his offsprings usually get in terms of temperament, size and correctness of legs. On a video I found on youtube, he seems to be a bit toeing in and paddling, but is it really the case?
4. What type of mares suits him the best?
5. He’s a dressage stallion, but is he good himself over jumps and/or is he a jump killer if dam has good jumping genes that we don’t want to throw away in the equation?

Thanks!

[Indy-lou]

There are foals from Ampere in the US from frozen. I haven’t used him because he is related to my current mares. Here is a link to the KWPN report. He got a positive foal report. They do recommend mares with long lines and correct front leg conformation.

http://hengsten.kwpn.nl/beeld/najaar2010/Offspring%20Inspections%202009.pdf

[tveley]

I have a 2011 Ampere colt out of my KWPN mare Preference. The frozen semen was great, she took on the first try. We are probably going to repeat that cross this year.

Amadeus is pure KWPN by blood, but is registered GOV, only because the GOV judges actively pursued him when we hosted the GOV Inspection here. The judges commented that he was quite possibly the nicest colt they had seen here in the USA this year, a definite stallion prospect. He received a Premium status as well as Foal of Distinction.

Amadeus is very striking with gorgeous movement in all three gaits and his legs are very correct. He also has a wonderful temperament and is very easy to work with. I cannot say anything about jumping ability as we have not tested that. This colt is definitely a primo dressage prospect though!

[MoSwanson]

Here is mine, a 2010 gelding out of a Fuerst Heinrich mare which is a half sister to Bundeschampionate winner, Calaho’s Benicio:
http://www.rollingstonefarm.com/listman/listings/l0085.shtml

The dam, Fhlora:
http://www.rollingstonefarm.com/listman/listings/l0066.shtml

The frozen semen was good- one dose, one pregnancy. This colt was gelded because he was very uncooperative about picking up his hind feet. That issue has been resolved since then.

[mmt]

Ampere got a good foal report and on good mares with long legs and enough shoulder freedom, there have been nice foals. Some can be quite tall, but the height varies. I think Rousseau is the same way.

I did have a laugh looking at that inspection report that the KWPN said that Apache could pass on good temperament. That is like saying play with dynamite and maybe don’t blow yourself up. I really like the stallion and would breed to him, but only really super straightforward mares. I was VERY suprised to say the least to read that point in his foal report.

[Kareen]

Re. Apache what Marne said. He way anything but serene and sweet when I saw him last year in Bremen and he was 6yrs at the time. In a 3 or 4yo I tend to be very forgiving about outbursts but not at 6yrs for my taste.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvcKgHJPfVI

As far as Ampere goes I’ve seen quite many in the Westfalian area and they all have pretty in common. The movement typically is very free in the shoulder. I wouldn’t use him on a mare that needs help in the interieur department.

[RedMare01]

What about the walk? I’ve seen video of Ampere and the walk was…eh, not so great.

[mmt]

I don’t think you breed to Ampere because so much of the stallion if you don’t mind me saying. I know many more impressive looking stallions with better movement as I would not say Ampere is a top moving stallion under saddle. However, he has produced some nice foals, and that is what I think is interesting. You need to look more at the offspring.

[Noms]

[QUOTE=tveley;6101082]
I have a 2011 Ampere colt out of my KWPN mare Preference. The frozen semen was great, she took on the first try. We are probably going to repeat that cross this year.

Amadeus is pure KWPN by blood, but is registered GOV, only because the GOV judges actively pursued him when we hosted the GOV Inspection here. The judges commented that he was quite possibly the nicest colt they had seen here in the USA this year, a definite stallion prospect. He received a Premium status as well as Foal of Distinction.

Amadeus is very striking with gorgeous movement in all three gaits and his legs are very correct. He also has a wonderful temperament and is very easy to work with. I cannot say anything about jumping ability as we have not tested that. This colt is definitely a primo dressage prospect though![/QUOTE]

Mmmm, nice boy. I like very much, good luck with him!

[RedMare01]

@mmt;6101685

I don’t think you breed to Ampere because so much of the stallion if you don’t mind me saying. I know many more impressive looking stallions with better movement as I would not say Ampere is a top moving stallion under saddle. However, he has produced some nice foals, and that is what I think is interesting. You need to look more at the offspring.

Sure, I’ve also seen (pictures and videos) of nice offspring of his. They look harmonious, pretty, with flashy trots. But what kind of mare does he need? What does the walk look like on the foals (that part is not usually included in videos and not seen in pictures, which of course is one of the downsides of not seeing in person…:))? If the mare has a good walk, does the foal keep it, or is he taking away from it in some cases?

[peskee]

I am finding this a very interesting discussion for many reasons. Ampere has a very good foal report. He also is a 3/4 bloodline match to my yearling. They are very similar in conformation but Gaios is a chestnut with bling. Gaios is Rousseau with Voltaire on dam side just like Ampere. tveley your Amadeus is gorgeous, his conformation is almost identical to my colt just different color. My guy has temperament extraordinaire!

[booboo]

I have bred to this stallion twice; both times mare took first time 1 dose. She was a maiden the first time. Unfortunately lost the first foal so can’t answer the other questions. This next one is due in late May.

I did find these what look to be recent training videos of Ampere on line:

http://youtu.be/b9tMNnrpuHU

http://youtu.be/mXgUy6-xyx4

There are lots of Ampere foals to be found on YouTube - last year I watched as many as I could find and I liked most foals; enough that I wanted one of my own. I think my mare is a good match as she is very modern, long-legged and has an outstanding walk. I am hoping to improve the shoulder and a little higher neck set. We shall see!

[stolensilver]

[QUOTE=Kareen;6101496]
Re. Apache what Marne said. He way anything but serene and sweet when I saw him last year in Bremen and he was 6yrs at the time. In a 3 or 4yo I tend to be very forgiving about outbursts but not at 6yrs for my taste.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvcKgHJPfVI

As far as Ampere goes I’ve seen quite many in the Westfalian area and they all have pretty in common. The movement typically is very free in the shoulder. I wouldn’t use him on a mare that needs help in the interieur department.[/QUOTE]

I think Kareen’s post deserves quoting again. Until you’ve ridden a young horse with paces and explosivity like that you have no idea how huge and intimidating they feel. The young horse riders are unbelievably skilled and BRAVE! Most dressage riders are not.

Temperament and trainability (the European meaning of the term, not the kickalong US meaning of the word) are of paramount importance in dressage horses. There are very few people who could ride a horse like Apache.

[Kerole]

I too have overlooked Ampere in the past as not sensational enough but I have to say I am more and more impressed with his foals.

I also chuckled at the video of Apache. He looks like a timebomb - sit tight and hope you’re still on him at the end! But man can he MOVE!

[honeylips]

I have a coming 2yo Ampere/Lauries Crusader/Wanderer filly.

http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x96/melissamulchahey/Absinthe/

she is leggy, tall, long lined, powerful from behind. She is also very “alpha”

[tveley]

[QUOTE=Noms;6101721]
Mmmm, nice boy. I like very much, good luck with him![/QUOTE]

Thank you! We like Amadeus very much, too! I cannot wait to see how he develops. Right now, at 9 months old, he is very friendly and has good manners so he is still pretty easy to handle most of the time and can be safely turned out with others. Hopefully that will stay the case for a while longer. If he begins to really act studly, I will have to do some shuffling in the pastures since next week I am sending my older (2009) gelding colts off to the trainers to be prepared for the upcoming show season.

I do not really want to keep a stallion here, but he is too nice to geld so soon. Having a stallion around will only complicate things! We have a breeding farm/foaling facility here, but we only breed mares using A/I with frozen/fresh cooled semen, no live cover, so we have no need for the hassle of housing/handling/standing a stallion.

Weighing the options…