Who would you breed to? AQHA or APHA. Western Pleasure focused.
Mostly for fun but I just acquired my first mare and am dreaming of babies. Not that I have plans to breed but fun to think about! Was never even an option when I had geldings lol
I would want to know what the mare has done and how.
Then see what she would bring to the mating and what a stallion would need to add and look for that, taking into consideration that today, first, both need to be five panel N/N.
Looking at both their pedigrees and what that will tell you, then you know which crosses may give you what you are after in the cross.
We spent decades breeding, talking with other breeders, raising, training and competing with what we bred, breeding some of those and again, raising and training and competing with those and looking at how others were turning out.
With all that, we did raise some really nice foals, a few just not very good, the rare very bad individuals.
In your shoes, I would wait to see what you have, study her kinfolks, what they have produced, there are magazines out there filled with those statistics you can check and see which lines and stallions cross best with each other and, by the time you decide if you do want to breed after all, you won’t have to ask, you will have learned who is best for her.
The answer from behind a computer screen, the old “it depends”.
Like I said, no plans on breeding her at the moment. Just love looking at all the pretty studs and wondering who everyone would pick. I’ve seen and worked with some REALLY nice colts out of Original Cowboy.
This mare wasn’t bred for western pleasure. Her dad was a reiner out of a Shiner line. Dam is bred Peppy San through Peppinito. Able to be registered but isn’t yet. I actually have a care lease on her for my therapeutic riding program. She has been a dream to work with and I am doing a bit of local schooling shows on her too. Hoping to finish her as a decent pleasure horse. She’s done a bit of it all, jumps small things, basic reining, trail rides all over, has gamed but doesn’t prefer the speed stuff. I’m more into the pleasure side both english and western so am focusing her on that.
She is a nice put together mare with a great disposition but a pretty short gait. If I were looking my biggest thing would be to smooth her gait out. She has short pasterns. Preference, I’d also like a stud to add some bone, she is petite in my opinion and the shortest I would go (14 on a good day). Temperament is #1 in my book though and I doubt I’d ever go to World’s or anything so flawless isn’t what I’d be trying to achieve.
Honestly, I would probably opt to buy than breed but it’s fun to dream about!
[QUOTE=PrimoAmor;8887214]
Like I said, no plans on breeding her at the moment. Just love looking at all the pretty studs and wondering who everyone would pick. I’ve seen and worked with some REALLY nice colts out of Original Cowboy.
This mare wasn’t bred for western pleasure. Her dad was a reiner out of a Shiner line. Dam is bred Peppy San through Peppinito. Able to be registered but isn’t yet. I actually have a care lease on her for my therapeutic riding program. She has been a dream to work with and I am doing a bit of local schooling shows on her too. Hoping to finish her as a decent pleasure horse. She’s done a bit of it all, jumps small things, basic reining, trail rides all over, has gamed but doesn’t prefer the speed stuff. I’m more into the pleasure side both english and western so am focusing her on that.
She is a nice put together mare with a great disposition but a pretty short gait. If I were looking my biggest thing would be to smooth her gait out. She has short pasterns. Preference, I’d also like a stud to add some bone, she is petite in my opinion and the shortest I would go (14 on a good day). Temperament is #1 in my book though and I doubt I’d ever go to World’s or anything so flawless isn’t what I’d be trying to achieve.
Honestly, I would probably opt to buy than breed but it’s fun to dream about![/QUOTE]
Not a fan of TOC at all. Seen him in person. Some reiner lines can cross nicely on WP, but TOC wouldn’t be the route I’d go.
There are two horses by Special Invitation (APHA) owned by friends of mine. They look and move just like him, are real stand outs in the WP classes and other all around classes, too. Great dispositions, too. Both are in the 15.2hh range.
[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8889270]
No Doubt I’m Lazy. He is just too stinkin’ cute.
http://www.nodoubtimlazy.net/[/QUOTE]
He probably wouldn’t add any bone though.
I have chatted a few times with a friend about leasing her AQHA mare to breed. Nothing has come of it yet, but these were my picks for her. She is by Radical Rodder out of a Zips Chocolate Chip mare, and has one foal that won at Worlds in WP.
Mechanic: http://www.dryriverranch.com/main/?page_id=21
Good Cowboy Margarita (though has Zippo Pine Bar maybe a bit too close): http://gollehon.com/gcmpedigree.html
The Best Martini: http://www.northfarmqh.com/the-best-martini.html
And for an APHA foal I would hands down go with John Simon. I have a slight stalker obsession with him, and I love that he is shown by his AA owner: http://schroederranchtexas.com/horses/stallions/john-simon/
[QUOTE=Draftmare;8889845]
I have chatted a few times with a friend about leasing her AQHA mare to breed. Nothing has come of it yet, but these were my picks for her. She is by Radical Rodder out of a Zips Chocolate Chip mare, and has one foal that won at Worlds in WP.
Mechanic: http://www.dryriverranch.com/main/?page_id=21
Good Cowboy Margarita (though has Zippo Pine Bar maybe a bit too close): http://gollehon.com/gcmpedigree.html
The Best Martini: http://www.northfarmqh.com/the-best-martini.html
And for an APHA foal I would hands down go with John Simon. I have a slight stalker obsession with him, and I love that he is shown by his AA owner: http://schroederranchtexas.com/horses/stallions/john-simon/[/QUOTE]
Oh, those are all nice choices. I’m in love with Mechanic! Anything chestnut/flaxen I am drawn too because of my first horse and love.
[QUOTE=PrimoAmor;8890727]
Oh, those are all nice choices. I’m in love with Mechanic! Anything chestnut/flaxen I am drawn too because of my first horse and love.[/QUOTE]
He also throws color, even when bred to APHA mares that wouldn’t/shouldn’t typically pass their pattern along if bred to a solid.
OP asked who WE like, not who we would breed to her mare. He has plenty of bone.
[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8891507]
OP asked who WE like, not who we would breed to her mare. He has plenty of bone.[/QUOTE]
My only dislike of him is his teeny-tiny feet. I know it is a huge issue in the pleasure horse business. I see it every day at the barn where I am. Big bodied QHs on tiny feet that all have some kind of foot problems.
[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8891507]
OP asked who WE like, not who we would breed to her mare. He has plenty of bone.[/QUOTE]
I worked with the horse and saw him every day. I have seen his first couple of foal crops born. He was not a stallion we recommended to adding bone to a mare.
Our cutting stud crosses awesome on shining spark/peppy San badger lines. 
Red roan and awesome feet
[QUOTE=bugsynskeeter;8891598]
I worked with the horse and saw him every day. I have seen his first couple of foal crops born. He was not a stallion we recommended to adding bone to a mare.[/QUOTE]
I understand what you mean. I don’t like a lot of bone for a wp horse - the stock breeds just tend to amass mass when they mature and imho many of them lose gait quality as they get bigger. I think the lighter ones maintain the quality of their gaits even when fully mature.
OP has a “biggest thing” which is to “smooth” out her mare’s gait (which she attributes to short pasterns), wants to add bone and then mentions her horse’s height, then says temperment is the #1 thing.
To me, pastern length does not affect stride length as much as overall conformation and training. I was under the impression that short pasterns were desirable, as long as they are not too short and in proportion to the rest of the leg and body. I’ve found that upright pasterns contribute to a jarring gait, but if the pasterns are upright, the shoulder is usually upright as well. Long sloping pasterns make for a smooth ride, but I consider that a worse fault than upright pasterns because the long sloping ones cause excessive strain on the ankle.
I’ve always used “bone” as circumference, not length. Light boned would be breeds such as Arabs and TBs, medium boned would be warmbloods and big boned would be draft horses. Those are just examples.
If I wanted a taller horse, I would not use the term “bone.” I’d use height or size. I don’t breed, but if I had a petite mare, I’d have to check with someone to make sure she’d be OK to breed to a bigger stallion for the first time. Again, I don’t breed, so maybe it’s just fine.
John Simon
Mechanic
I’m APHA HUS, but I love love love John Simon. He consistently throws NICE amateur friendly wp and all around babies.
I looooove tobianos with 2/3 color and 1/3 white, or even 50/50, and he seems to give that color to almost every foal I’ve seen. Very handsome boy and he’s hot right now. I also love that he’s still being shown and put out there.
[QUOTE=LittleLegsBigStride;8900346]
I’m APHA HUS, but I love love love John Simon. He consistently throws NICE amateur friendly wp and all around babies.
I looooove tobianos with 2/3 color and 1/3 white, or even 50/50, and he seems to give that color to almost every foal I’ve seen. Very handsome boy and he’s hot right now. I also love that he’s still being shown and put out there.[/QUOTE]
John Simon is nice but he really tiny. I would want something around 16hh
Lazy Loper, VS Code Red, VS Code Blue, VS Flatline, Original Cowboy, Zippos Sensation, Invitation Only, No Doubt Im Lazy, Scenic Impulse, Vital Signs Are Good, and Real Bonanza. So many good ones!
The Gift of Midas, 2005 APHA stallion standing at Mountain View Ranch.
http://www.mountainviewpainthorseranch.com/standing_giftofmidas.html
