Breeding ISH Mare -- Flexible?

[EquitationComplicati]

Hi All,

I’m a bit new here on The Forums but wanted to ask about breeding my ISH mare.
She’s 16 and had one lovely gelding before we purchased her. Did the 1.30s/ GP in her prime and has started to settle down and go into retirement.
She’s 17.1, fairly quiet with a jumper attitude, and built SUPER THICK (think about the ISH event horses-- very big bodied.)
The last time she was bred, her owners bred her to a petite stallion, and she threw a foal just as big-boned as she is.

We’re thinking about breeding her to Flexible, and getting a nice jumper baby (rather than trying to breed to a hunter and having her throw another really large foal).

I’d like to hear any experiences you’ve had with breeding to Flexible of if you might have any other suggestions.
We haven’t heard a whole lot about the kinds of foals you get with Flexible.

I can post/ pm pictures if you’re interested.

Thanks!

[weixiao]

I haven’t seen much of his offspring, performance wise. I think most are only 2 and 3 year old’s or so right now? I seem to remember reading he doesn’t necessarily throw small, but does throw pretty modern. Not sure if he would really be a refining stallion or not.

What is your mare’s breeding?

[Go_Fish]

I have an acquaintance with two - both out of the same mare. I know the mare is an OLD/TB cross, but I don’t know her breeding. She is a big mare, a little on the coarse side…a bit old-fashioned but was an outstanding jumper herself, heavy boned.

The 4-year-old is starting the baby jumpers this year. Not much to look at but a good jumper. The 2-year old looks similar, but with a VERY course head. Both are what I would call a bit on the light side, bone-wise - almost TB looking. I think both will easily mature over 16 hands.

Both are VERY sweet-tempered and easy to work with, but the mare is a doll, so hard to say that Flexible added anything there.

From what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t breed to him for a hunter, but then, that’s not what he does. I’ve seen him flat in person many times and he is not what I would call a good mover. His jump speaks for itself! :lol:

My feeling is that Flexible is an opinionated horse. But then again, most horses, particularly stallions that are showing at that level, are somewhat tempermental.

[EquitationComplicati]

Thank you both! She is Cavelier Royale x More Dutch.

Yes, we will only opt for Flexible if we decide it’s best to go the jumpers route (rather than breeding for more of a hunter type).

Would prefer something that has the temperament/ ability to do the eq. down the road, so I’m just not sure if I’d be breeding that out too much by going with Flexible or another high-level jumper stallion.
That said, she tends to stamp pretty hard (as she did on her previous foal).

I was going to add a few photos so you could get a feel for her type but it appears that I’m too new to add attachments.

[AKB]

I think the foal would be very marketable. My daughter would love to have a horse with those bloodlines for eventing.

[HyperionStudLLC]

Flexible is a superb sport horse. The questions I feel that still remains is he a “father” horse? Without knowing so much about what types of mares he’s been breeding to, you should always consider if your mare is the correct candidate to breed with first.

The stallion of choice should generally be one that enhances her best qualities.

I know Flexible has bred a bit but I’m not hearing much on the offspring and that can certainly be due to the age of these offspring.

Best advice is to consider what you know of your mare first. A stallion owner should be able to tell you what traits the stallion throws into the genetic mix so you can make a decision.