Re: Northern Dancer
Look at the conformation Photo of him on Pedigree Query and tell me if you would want to breed to that or own that for sport. Linebreeding to that is a truly scary proposition, at least for sport. That is not what you want to have pop out of your mare. 
I have checked and the photo there really is of Northern Dancer.
Valid point, Viney - to me he looks very downhill and QH in type. No offense meant to the QH world - they also have extremely successful horses. That said, to me Pilot looks like that too, except for the very down-hill thing which is quite prevalent in TB conformation.
BUT: If we believe the heritable likelihood of head, neck and saddle position outweighs other things, why would we worry to breed to that when the possibilities for spindly legs etc, are slimmer and we are aiming for speed, jump, movement, etc (from proven pedigrees).
Sometimes a question mark hangs over the banner: Form Follows Function.
One of the issues about TBs is that there really are (IMO) 4 very different types. And (it seems to me) with any breeding with the US TB population you could have any one of the 4 phenotypes appear depending on all the variables. I rather think that the lottery has been less of a problem in European TBs or was before Native and Northern Dancer became so ubiquitous both here and there.
The Northern Dancer curse is THAT body type but bigger on spindly legs.
It’s entirely possible that back in Colonial times and the very early Republic, some of the TB mares who are in the ASB who don’t have GSB lines proven on all ancestors were half breds and crossed with Spanish horses who came through the Indians (what were called Choctaw or Cherokee horses in QH history). Virginia isn’t that far from Florida, after all. So some of the same influences that created the Colonial Quarter Horse and all it implies could have been in North American TBs but not European ones. It’s hard to say, though, since Native Dancer, for example has only a wee touch of early American ancestry.
The foal on this website out of a TB dam with Northern Dancer in her pedigree looks rather nice:
http://www.gestuet-majenfelderhof.de/news_fohlenbrennen2011_e.html
This one isn’t too bad either: http://www.trakehners-international.com/nms09_4.html
http://www.bwpauctionantwerp.be/_html/main.php?id=0452&taal=nl&page=211&num=3
http://www.trakehners-international.com/nms10_76collier.html
http://www.trakehners-international.com/nms07_wezyr.html
http://www.trakehners-international.com/nms_1990b.html
http://www.trakehners-international.com/nms08_23.html
http://www.woodcroftstud.co.uk/horsessold.php
http://www.staldepluum.nl/paarden/dekhengsten/22/
http://www.gestuet-haemelschenburg.de/html/e_vineya.html
http://www.holsteiner-verband.de/cms/front_content.php?client=1&lang=2&idcat=35&idart=4067&pageno=1
http://www.superiorequinesires.com/stallions/wilawander_xx.shtml
http://schatz.co.za/lancrest/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105%3Aacilles-page&catid=45%3Aprogeny&Itemid=58
http://www.gestuet-sprehe.de/en/stallions/chiron-xx/
http://www.autumnsstables.com/taichi_ev.html
http://www.irelandhorse.com/Off%20main%20pages/Ard%20Black%20Cat.htm
http://www.holsteiner-verband.de/cms/front_content.php?client=1&lang=1&idcat=32&idart=1082&getInfoBox=yes&pageno=4
http://www.sportpferde.biz/hengstregister/index.php?sid=07582ab1b19ffdb96db8b362024f8c33&zeige=horsesh&start3=18&anmeldung=horsesh&zeigh=1&hname1=P
Genetics really interests me especially when I look at my own horse. A while ago I looked at her TB pedigree based on a person’s opinion on this board about good stallions to have in a pedigree in the end on the stallion only side the most predominate via sons is Hampton.
Without digging up her pedigree I’m pretty sure she also has 2 very close up line breedings on her father’s Arab side with 3 x to the Crabbet stallion Sindh.
What is funny about this my mare you would have thought well I and her breeder did, that she was a 100% certainty for socks it was just a case of how many and do they match up in evenness. Her full sister has 4 socks. Nope not one sock I belted out to see her as soon as she was born sure that the person who had told me no socks was wrong. Even her breeder stared at the photos sure that the light coloured hair on her legs was socks. So her foal no socks and her sire has 2 and facial markings nope a small star instead of her mother’s lovely blaze. I am trading down in white markings for every generation of foal I breed!! but they both have lovely back ends and necks and good body shape which are higher on my list of likes than white!
BTW the mare has ND in the 3rd Generation and mmm may be her legs are a bit fine but then again she’s not a big horse. I still want to know were my socks got to:winkgrin:
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
