Furstenball - question about his offspring

[catzndogz22]

Can any of you tell me if you’re seeing his soft pasterns in any of his offspring? Some older threads indicated that he does not seem to be passing it on, but now that some time has passed and the first foals are growing up and there are more offspring on the ground, I’m hoping to get an update.

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I was actually hoping to use Furst Nymphenburg for my mare this spring, but we won’t be doing the BSE until next week (most likely) and that will be too late to order his semen.

My second choice is Furstenball, but I am definitely concerned about his pasterns. My first horse had soft pasterns and was barely rideable after the age of 10. I don’t want to go through that heartbreak again.

Oh, and are the Furstenball offspring temperaments everything we would expect from an F-line / Donnerhall daddy?

[Kerole]

I am hoping to use Furstenball on 2 mares next season. I’ve never noticed or heard anything relating to lax pasterns in this stallion.

I’d be interested to hear from those who have seen him.

[catzndogz22]

It’s hard to see in the videos, but is much more noticeable in the pictures on the FB page I linked to, particularly the pirouette picture.

They even mentioned it here: http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2008/10/25/furstenball-champion-2008-oldenburg-stallion-licensing

[Donella]

I’ve never noticed or heard anything relating to lax pasterns in this stallion.

I have stood right next to him on pavement and noticed it. That being said he is one stunningly gorgeous horse and watching him school it is obvious he is very rideable and talented. I did have a friend tell me they saw a yearling from him when they were shopping and it apparently had this problem…? I have decided to wait and see if/how it effects this stallion before using him.

A pic I took showing his gorgeous face and expression:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151090556611529&set=a.10151090549906529.426220.616736528&type=3&theater

That being said, I have heard FN is quite incorrect in the legs. I have seen him under saddle too but he was too far away for me to really see…

[jdeboer01]

Be warned. Not a lot of people are getting pregnancies from his frozen semen. I know of several who tried with no luck. I know of only one person who has a successful pregnancy. It’s disappointing because his semen looks excellent under the microscope.

[Spike]

There was one Furstenball colt born in Quebec in 2012. A jet black one out of a Weltmeyer mare. He was Champion colt at the foal show of Eastern Ontario. Over (give or take) 15 other dressage foals, so he must have been correct in his legs. I was busy in the barn when it was his turn, I have only seen him in the come back ring walking and didn’t really noticed. Did not noticed anything wrong neither when I had the chance to see him in his stall.

[xsalute]

My friend has a mare due soon that was bred to Furstenball

[catzndogz22]

[QUOTE=Donella;6925897]

I have stood right next to him on pavement and noticed it. That being said he is one stunningly gorgeous horse and watching him school it is obvious he is very rideable and talented. I did have a friend tell me they saw a yearling from him when they were shopping and it apparently had this problem…? I have decided to wait and see if/how it effects this stallion before using him.

That being said, I have heard FN is quite incorrect in the legs. I have seen him under saddle too but he was too far away for me to really see…[/QUOTE]

I was certainly hoping the response would be something like, “Nope, never ever, not once has one of his offspring inherited his pasterns” but I didn’t really expect that to be the case.

That’s a bummer about FN too. What about Floriscount?

[Donella]

I was certainly hoping the response would be something like, “Nope, never ever, not once has one of his offspring inherited his pasterns” but I didn’t really expect that to be the case.

Haha, I know, it’s disappointing. So when I saw him I made a point of really looking. I don’t get the impression that it is something he consistently throws, but it is there and something to keep in mind.

What about Floriscount?

I haven’t seen him but have never heard anything but good things. I bought semen this year, he seems to be producing well. If you do a search there is quite a bit of first hand info on him here. He looks beautiful and it sounds like they are gearing him towards the developing GP horse tests this year. If you scroll down you can see a good conformation pic of him: http://www.blumefarm.com/breederscourse2012.html

[ShannonD]

Almost positive Hilda Gurney had a Furstenball at her GOV inspection last year & I have a friend with a maiden mare due shortly with one. This mare is NA bred & definitely bred with frozen.

[Kerole]

Good to know these things before running head long in! Thanks for the heads-up. I’m still going to use him as he fits both these mares well.

I have a FN colt foal and he is spectacular! Straight legs and good hocks. A very very beautiful horse with mega bling.

[jdeboer01]

Maybe what I saw was nothing more than a string of bad luck then, as I’ve now noticed that there are several foals by him in NA. Hmmm… Maybe I will try him again then!

[clint]

[QUOTE=jdeboer01;6925988]
Be warned. Not a lot of people are getting pregnancies from his frozen semen. I know of several who tried with no luck. I know of only one person who has a successful pregnancy. It’s disappointing because his semen looks excellent under the microscope. :([/QUOTE]

Which stallion are you referencing, Furstenball or FN?

[jdeboer01]

[QUOTE=clint;6926507]
Which stallion are you referencing, Furstenball or FN?[/QUOTE]

Furstenball, but like I said above, maybe what I saw was just a string of bad luck, as it looks like there have been successful pregnancies. Or maybe it was a not-so-stellar batch of frozen? It looked like several people tried in 2012 and weren’t successful, including myself. I very much like this stallion and would like to try again – especially if breeders get pregnancies in 2013.

[DownYonder]

FWIW, there were at least 5 Furstenball foals at the OHBS/GOV inspections last year here in NA. I am pretty sure most of them were born from frozen semen. Four of those foals received premium foal awards, and another one received a Foal of Distinction award. I believe the FOD was Hilda Gurney’s filly. IIRC, Hilda also had a Furstenball colt the previous year that was named Premium, and I want to say it was named the top dressage foal on that year’s OHBS/GOV inspection tour.

[Kerole]

DownYonder - Now THAT’S more like it! Every stallion has its weak points and it’s up to the breeders to make mare matches that take this into account. Furstenball is a waaayyy above average performer and producer of quality foals. His particular conformation weakness needs to be kept in mind but it should not necessarily stop a breeder using him altogether.

[Hillside_H_Ranch]

We bred a client mare to Furstenball last year and the semen looked good under the scope. The mare settled first try/one dose and is due to foal later this spring.

[back_in_the_saddle]

How old are his oldest offspring?

[catzndogz22]

My thread seems to have been kinda/sorta hijacked. I already knew there were a bunch of foals born in NA and took that to mean that his semen is not… ahem… a wad of microscopic spermatozoa swimming zombies.

Any posters here know any of these uber-super-duper-premium foals? Or other such Furstenball foals in Europe? He definitely seems to be producing many gorgeous offspring, but I’d still like to hear about their pasterns from those who’ve seen them in the flesh. I openly admit to not having a particularly educated eye in terms of conformation, much less from looking at pictures and videos, so I’d love to hear from others who have or have seen his offspring.

[DownYonder]

[QUOTE=back in the saddle;6927211]
How old are his oldest offspring?[/QUOTE]

He was born in 2006, was licensed in 2008, and started breeding in 2009. So the first foals were born in 2010, which means they are just now turning 3 y/o.