Seems all his sons have good reputations and are producing well. Good to hear that the quirkyness isn’t being past onto second gen Balou foals. Are his sons over there being marketed towards the hunter market or is that just what people are breeding for? Has anyone actually used Balou though? I think for my purposes I would rather use frozen from him then a son, regardless of any quirkiness as I don’t mind that, those three sons are all lovely but I’m interested more in what Balou is producing. Even not over tb mares…
Karin at Sporting Chance Farm has bred to Balou directly more times than I can count…you may try contacting her 
Thanks does she post here? This is off topic but while everyone’s talking breeding does anyone know of any proven tb stallions? Not just in the US but also internationally?
TB stallions proven for what discipline? There are some excellent choices here in the US.
[QUOTE=G3myst3ry;7552180]
Thanks does she post here? This is off topic but while everyone’s talking breeding does anyone know of any proven tb stallions? Not just in the US but also internationally?[/QUOTE]
Pretty sure a gelding son of Balu du Rouet just did well in his first 4* at Rolex (Reve du Rouet). He looke quiet big…but a lovely jumping horse. Would be interested to dig up his pedigree and see what they crossed him on.
As for proven TB stallions–I think you are looking for eventing horses. Of course there is Heraldik if you can find any frozen. I’ve seen a few UL offspring by Favoritas (http://www.superiorequinesires.com/stallions/favoritasxx.shtml)
Hand in Glove is another.
I’m using Sea Accounts here in the US on two of my WB mares…as I think he will cross well them. If you can find frozen of A Fine Romance he has had several successful UL eventing and jumping horses.
The sire Ituango xx was the sire of a Le Lion winner and supposedly stands in Germany but I was unable to find anything more about him.
Mystic Replica also stands here in the US…and if he suits your mare is a nice type and good pedigree. I’ve seen serveral of his offspring that are very nice. http://www.lanefieldfarm.com/mysticreplica.htm
There are also a few race horses sires that I like that I would consider…but then there is the issue of registering the foals.
Check out Stanislavsky standing at Jump Start Farm in KY, he is TB stallion approved sBs and NAS. Has quite a few offspring doing very well in eventing
Here’s the breeding for Reve du Rouet: http://sporthorse-data.com/d?i=10732441
The dam is very similarly bred to Balou, Alme on top and Contender on the bottom
Hand in Glove is dead isn’t he? I like his son Jaguar Mail, have been looking at him for a while now… could never find out about Heraldik frozen unfortunately. If there’s any around I think whoever has it is keeping hold of it… I really like Favoritas, he’s another one on my list and I can get semen over here. Spoke to the people about A Fine Romance a few months ago and they don’t have any frozen. Sea accounts is lovely, nice looking horse I like the look of Mystic Replica, does anyone know what level he got to? There doesn’t seem to be frozen for a lot of them.
What about international stallions? There seems to be more that are frozen there. Has anybody used or seen progeny from Esteban or Markus Deak? Or Mighty Magic (I know he’s not full tb) orHHerald III or Grafenstolz? Sorry this has gone so far off topic…
I bought a filly by Banderas out of a large, heavier thoroughbred mare. She is 16.1, just getting started over fences and very smart and willing. Like her so much I am breeding my Dutch mare to Banderas this year.
[QUOTE=G3myst3ry;7553327]
Here’s the breeding for Reve du Rouet: http://sporthorse-data.com/d?i=10732441
The dam is very similarly bred to Balou, Alme on top and Contender on the bottom
Hand in Glove is dead isn’t he? I like his son Jaguar Mail, have been looking at him for a while now… could never find out about Heraldik frozen unfortunately. If there’s any around I think whoever has it is keeping hold of it… I really like Favoritas, he’s another one on my list and I can get semen over here. Spoke to the people about A Fine Romance a few months ago and they don’t have any frozen. Sea accounts is lovely, nice looking horse I like the look of Mystic Replica, does anyone know what level he got to? There doesn’t seem to be frozen for a lot of them.
What about international stallions? There seems to be more that are frozen there. Has anybody used or seen progeny from Esteban or Markus Deak? Or Mighty Magic (I know he’s not full tb) orHHerald III or Grafenstolz? Sorry this has gone so far off topic…[/QUOTE]
I know you can get Hand in Glove frozen from a few places.
I know Mystic Replica did a one start and possibly a 2 star. I think she stop competing him not because he was hurt or anything. I’ve seen him in person and he just steps 4’ plus. Smart guy and nice enough mover. I know a few of his offspring as well. He is a bit under used in my opinion. He can certainly produce some nice babies!
I’ve bred to Grafenstolz on a TB and love my guy. Great cross on the right mare. I’m breeding to his son Future Gravitas this year. His son has more blood but Graf does really seem to stamp his offspring.
I know a few who have bred to Mighty Magic. He seems to throw bigger then you would expect…I wouldn’t use him for refinement. But nice offspring.
I also have seen a few Jaguar Mail. His frozen can be inconsistent but I know several who have gotten mares in foal with him. I like him quiet a bit and have him in mind for one of my mares. I was worried about his size throwing too tall but from what I’ve seen he doesn’t seem to add as much size as I was worried about.
There are a few threads on even horse breeders. There are a handful of us who do event breeding. A couple of breeders (not me!) have been very successful with a couple of 4* horses. There is a group of Event Horse Breeders on Facebook that is fairly active as well.
ETA: I do like Herald III too. I think I heard he wasn’t available this year. I think he may be an interesting cross for eventers but don’t know enough about him yet to really make a decision. There are so many nice stallions to choose from out there…but not as many full TBs as I’d like.
Interesting about Hand in Glove, will have to look into it… do you know if Coconut Grove is still around?
All the Graf foals I’ve seen and heard of all seem lovely and have very good movement which is becoming more important for the dressage. There are so many nice stallions going around now, it’s great but makes choosing the right one that much harder.
I’m in Australia and there are a few very nice tb stallions going around but a large majority are Northern Dancer descendants which I’m not huge on but some really nice horses non the less. We are breeding from tb mares so trying to find lines that don’t over lap can be a little tricky but the half warmblood stallions are working really well as they keep the tb temperament and stamina but add a little more movement and power and add a bit more sensibility.
I hadn’t looked into whether Herald was available as we’ve bred our mares for the year and probably won’t breed next year as I’m heading overseas…
Thanks everyone for the names and info
Coconut Grove passed but there is a limited amount of frozen around. I know of few by him. He doesn’t really stamp his offspring so hard to predict the crosses but most can really jump. I was iffy on movement. Some really move well and others not as much so I think it must really depend on the dam…but the jump certainly does seem to come through just fine.
ETA: Looks like she has some Hand in Glove here: http://futuresporthorses.co.uk/stallions/hand-in-glove-xx/
Not sure if she has any dose left or if it can be shipped to Aus.
From a movement perspective…I’ve now seen a few offspring of Royal Appearance and they are really nice, especially crossed on a TB. I’m breeding one of my TB mares to his sire this year—he’s getting up there in age and near me so I’d like to get one while I can hopefully. There have been several advance horses by Riverman and from RA but they tend to be a bit quirky as youngsters to start so you want a mare with a good mind.
I saw this boy in England and was very impressed with both his movement and jump. But he isn’t prove for the ULs yet in eventers but I think crossed on a good TB mare you could get a pretty nice horse. http://www.thestallioncompany.com/stallion_detail.php?stallion=2007031
Found these two studs in the UK standing a few tb stallions: http://www.newhillfarmstud.co.uk/
http://etheridgefarmstud.co.uk/?no_redirect=true
Saw Royaldik on that site, nice looking horse apparently there is a bit of competition between the Graf and Royaldik foals as to highest quality so will be interesting to see what happens in the future
If you like the Heraldik blood there is also Hunter who stands here in the US and can get fresh semen.
Ehrentanz is a young horse I think breeders should take note of. I think he may make a great sire. http://kdjumpers.com/stallions/ehrentanz
[QUOTE=goodmorning;7559282]
Ehrentanz is a young horse I think breeders should take note of. I think he may make a great site. http://kdjumpers.com/stallions/ehrentanz[/QUOTE]
He is lovely. Good pedigree as well.
I found him while checking in on his sire - wish we had that one in the US 
However, this young boy is nice. Reinforcement of some great bloodlines. Dam sire Buddenbrock. Would expect a real riding horse from this boy. That can jump & move & isn’t too hard on the eyes.
See now, I prefer some Grannus influence when a stallion is paired with a TB mare and that is because Grannus was known for being able to correct some of the TB’ness. So for a TB mare to pick a Balou son, I would be much more inclined to choose Banderas because of his Grannus damsire. Grannus also produces amazing jump.
Whereas you need to be aware that Argentinus, while highly regarded for producing amazing jump, he was a stallion well noted for detracting in the conformation and movement department.
So, it is not just about the individual stallion standing in front of you as a potential suitor for the mare, but also who is in their immediate bloodline and whether that’s a bloodline suited to your mare.
The Banderas colt I got last year was of spectacular temperament and exceptional conformation and movement, such that I contemplated keeping him as a stallion prospect. But then someone offered me the right kind of money and he sold and was exported out of country as a weanling sight unseen.
I have a coming-yearling by Coconut Grove out of a big Trakehner mare by Heling. The mare stamps certain qualities in all her babies (great temperament, very good movement, nice neck, height) but this guy looks JUST like her, more so than any of her other four foals. So in my case, the mare certainly had a greater influence than the stallion, fitting with BFNE’s appraisal that CG’s offspring can be inconsistent. Still, a bit early to predict how he’ll turn out, but so far I’m pretty happy with the cross.
Hunter is definitely worth considering now that he is available fresh (hopefully it ships?), especially considering one of his sons just completed Rolex (High Times). He is also the only avenue for Heraldik semen in North America currently (that I know of - certainly fresh, anyway)!
It’s great to hear about all the Balou sons but it doesn’t really help me as I’m in Australia and none of these guys have frozen (that I’m aware of). Over here we have a few stallion sons anyway that I would use over those guys as they are show jumpers and not hunters so more likely to produce an eventer in my opinion. Chris Chugg has one named Baluga who is very nice and there is a really cute guy called Bling du Rouet who is an appy and has just moved up to Grand Prix as a 6 year old. Performance wise and look wise this is more what I’m looking for.
We also have a Herladik son, Higgins. He too is jumping Grand Prix and is out of a For Pleasure me. We currently have a yearling by him who is quite nice.
What was the Coconut Grove frozen like?
That trakahner is a lovely looking horse, I unfortunately don’t know a whole lot about trak breeding…
[QUOTE=G3myst3ry;7562573]
That trakahner is a lovely looking horse, I unfortunately don’t know a whole lot about trak breeding…[/QUOTE]
Dam sire Buddenbrock has produced GP dressage and 3* (maybe 4*) event horses. Crossed on TB you can get a nice event horse. Sire is a grandprix show jumper (very good one) out of a really top producing dam.
Basically…with this pedigree, you have lot of dual producers of top jump and also dressage horses. Crossed on a TB…this would be a very good combination for an UL event horse.
ETA: As a gross generalization though…Trak/TBs tend to be very SMART and a bit sensitive. So they need to be in the right hands. They are often the kind of horses that you have to earn their trust…then they will go through fire for you. They are more like riding full TBs…they like a partnership.
