How did you start your breeding program?

Got me a mare off of craigslist FREE- we wasn’t even planning’ on a gittin a horse we was lookin’ fer a billy goat and a rooster!!! Talk about low budget. She ain’t pretty but she neighs real nice. Well she was makin’ goo goo eyes at mah neighbors jackass. A few months later she started gittin real fat like. Next thing yew no out pops this horse with REAL long ears. We named her EARSELS. She be right cute.

Haw haw jist kiddin’

But I do have an OTTB mare that I would like to get a baby out of one day.

I breed for my riding horses. All of the horses I own except one I have bred and raised. This year I had a 3rd generation filly out of my foundation TB mare line. I had bred my TB mare for a 2000 Han X filly, TB mare (raised 5 foals, kept 2) was euthanized in 2001 with fractured leg, kept 2000 flly, bred her in 2013 for 2014 Lusitano X foal, buckskin. I also have a Han/TB mare that is 19 this year that I have two offspring out of, a gelding and a mare that I ride. They are both big improvement over the mare who is very old style Hanoverian. My first born in 1989 is buried here on our farm, very ammy friendly easy going mare out of my TB.

I have bred warmbloods (Han and Old) for many years and just decided to branch off into baroque breed this last filly. She may be one of my last foals that I raise, depending. Though I do also have my Old young mare (6) out of my Han/TB mare I can breed. It is addicting that is for sure even if it can be scary as well.

WannabeDQ - 'tis the season for inspections, so I recommend you find a few in your area and just attend them as a spectator. You will see lots of mares and foals and will get information on the sires. Then you’ll see them evaluated by typically very competent judges and they will share their findings with the general public. So it’s a great opportunity to learn about bloodlines and see the actual results and how they are judged.

Besides, it’s fun to see all those horses and meet their breeders/owners.
P.S.: Just google the different registries and the will list the inspection sites on their web page.

Breeding is a passion! Basic knowledge of all aspects are important. Know the industry, know the sport and exercise common sense in breeding horses. Don’t breed a horse because you want one like it. Don’t breed a horse who doesn’t have a strong genetic component, don’t breed a horse because you want to emulate a riding experience you had once on a single horse. Know this, there are people in the world who have been doing it for generations and trust that they know what they are doing. Breeding anything is a risk of course, as Mother Nature tends to trick us often. If you want to breed a mare know the big picture and be prepared for anything.

I came upon my bred by chance, as I had always been horse crazy but had never seen or heard of a Haflinger. I had always wanted a horse, and when I moved to Michigan, an adult student of mine had a free horse she offered me. It was kind of older style, small and unregistered, but it was a horse! I learned everything I could about the breed, attended shows, i.spections, talked to breeders, etc., and found out that some breeders with top modern, sport horse type breeding stock lived close by. The rest is history! :slight_smile:

I visited them and fell in love with a very modern, tall mare that was in foal to a National Champion stallion that I loved. The mare had a beautiful filly which I got to name, but the owners were not interested in selling. A few months later they called and offered her to me. It was way more than I ever imagined spending at the time, and since I didn’t have the funds (I was a full-time grad student), I had to turn them down. But, as fate would have it, a credit card offer arrived in the mail that day, and I was able to take out a cash advance for a deposit, and they took payments for the balance! Absolutely crazy, I know, and I would not recommend buying a horse that way, but it turned out to be one of the best investments that I ever made.

That was in 2000, and that mare grew up to be the foundation of my breeding program, producing one outstanding foal after another. Every one has gone on to be a winner on the line and under saddle in sport horse disciplines, with one or two on track for FEI level in the coming years.

I acquired my next keeper mare in 2007, and fulfilled my goal of purchasing my own imported stallion of a rarer line in 2010. At that point I started researching sport horse and Warmblood registries and presenting my horses there, as my breed registry had no focus on performance and was not meeting the vision of where breeders like myself saw the breed heading. My stallion was presented to AWS in 2010, then to Weser Ems and RPSI in 2012, and was entered into Stud Book I for both. He went to the stallion testing in 2013 (the first of his breed in North America to do so), and did an outstanding job, which really gave new life to my breeding business. I now have six mares of breeding age. Since I don’t breed all of them every year, I’d like to get that number down to three or four in the next year. I feel incredibly fortunate to be living my dream, and especially to finally have it at least paying for itself. I’m hoping this year and next year will be profit years. :slight_smile:

ETA: I was very careful in researching the bloodlines and in the selection of mares and a stallion with excellent conformation, type, movement and temperaments. I also invested the money in training, inspecting, and showing them, as they needed to prove themselves first before producing offspring.

This is my stallion, www.newhorizonshaflingers.com/stellar
My elite foundation mare, www.newhorizonshaflingers.com/Rosie.html
Her daughter by a supreme stallion who will be a future broodmare for my program, www.newhorizonshaflingers.com/Chela.html
And my RPSI premium mare, whose first foal by my stallion just received Gold Premium at her RPSI inspection, www.newhorizonshaflingers.com/Ricola.html

Zuri - Thanks for the book rec’s!

Siegi - Yes, there is an inspection close to me (well 3 hours from me, but still)! I’ve also noticed some young horse classes added to shows i’m attending this fall so I’ll check those out too.

Can anyone explain further Hyperionstud’s comment " Don’t breed a horse who doesn’t have a strong genetic component"??

[QUOTE=WannabeDQ;7695898]

Can anyone explain further Hyperionstud’s comment " Don’t breed a horse who doesn’t have a strong genetic component"??[/QUOTE]

I imagine Hyperion means to be sure whatever horse you breed has a strong pedigree behind it, especially the dam side, but hopefully he (she?) will elaborate.

I started researching bloodlines while still showing and training. I researched for 5 years prior to my first breeding. I would love to visit VDL, Nijof stud and other famous farms in the future. Even though I’d like to have a few foals every year, my main goal is bringing along my stallion/jumper prospect. I really enjoy this group and all the breeders who love to chat and give advice freely. It really helps set the tone for uniting us fellow American breeders striving for a common goal. :slight_smile:

To me having a “strong genetic component” means that the horse in question RELIABLY passes on certain attributes, i. e. powerful hind leg, freedom in the shoulder, temperament, etc. etc.

OK maybe this is not as scientific as other answers, but my advice is to buy and breed mares that you personally LOVE. As in - mares that you competed or have a good competition record, that you personally think are great (mind, body, movement, color, size, etc.), that are known for soundness, that have pedigrees that appeal to your personal tastes (this takes some research and a lot of googling).

You have to live with these mares and go through a lot of ups and downs with them, so pick ones you like and believe in! You will be more passionate about the foals and happier in the end.

I say this because I have seen several newbie breeders get really hung up on a particular stallion; then they go out and buy a cheap TB mare off the track usually with height as the only requirement; then the resulting foal is ornery, difficult, has conformation faults and nothing like what the breeder had hoped. The quality of the mare is so important and often dismissed by new breeders.

WannabeDQ, I admire your approach going in with both eyes open. I bred totally a** backwards, but got extremely lucky with the resultant foal. I have spent hours reading past and current threads on this forum. The fund of knowledge here is incredible. Hopefully, I have made an educated decision this time around.

I don’t have my own barn so all 4 horses are boarded. Fortunately, I have them at a broodmare farm where the BO has been breeding for over 30 years. I rely on her expertise and judgement a lot. I found that having a great vet and knowledgeable people around me to be invaluable. Due to physical limitations, I am unable to be at the barn daily, so trust is a huge factor.

In breeding, there is risk and reward. It is not cheap. By happenstance, I have loved every part of the process and I am able to keep my hand in something I love and am passionate about. I wish you the best of luck!