[QUOTE=TrotTrotPumpkn;6675508]
Lot’s of good responses. This one gets away from the paper exercise (percentages and such) and more to the horses at hand. Frankly, I’ve never seen the stallion and my point wasn’t to get to his strengths or weaknesses but to look at linebreeding as a general tool. Obviously the tongue in cheek answer is “jumping ability” as the goal, but I recognize that isn’t a good answer at all. I was looking at this cross as an example to open discussion and hoping people would bring other examples (I have no current plans to even breed the mare) but your response got me thinking that perhaps a mare shouldn’t be linebred until one has bred her to outside blood to see what she in particular transmits? How else do you know what the individual at hand transmits?
The Capitol examples are “old” blood correct? I don’t see him as a particularly modern horse. Did the successful breeders use modern type horses that carried this old blood? What made the heavy % crosses ok? Do you breed this way (Cabrio for example) to produce competition horses or to produce brood stock or is it interchangeable? I’m curious as to philosophies on this (looking forward to reading the more in-depth articles provided over the holiday break).
That said, I know mares that stamp their offspring, and then those who let the sire through. To go back to my example, which isn’t a great one because she is only 2, I don’t know about this filly’s particular abilities at this point (a good reason not to breed her in my book), but her dam (the Galoubet mare) appeared to allow quite a bit of the stallion she was bred to influence the foal’s type. Levante, for example, in type is much more like Landfriese–refined and longer lined and more feminine in appearance, where the mare was shorter coupled. Despite looking like a thoroughbred, the filly is quieter and more unflappable than any horse I’ve own (including stock horses). I’m actually a tad worried she’s going to be lazy. We shall see when she is started next year I guess. Interstingly, she was a bit standoffish and reactive as a foal, so I don’t know how much of her current personality is inherent and how much is nutured from handling, going places, etc. But we don’t just breed for type or conformation either, and athletic ability is not 100% correlated to type and that is the factor I assume most competition breeders are striving for (not ignoring type of course). So how do you stack personality, type and ability when looking at linebreeding? Galoubet was not known for his super easy offspring, for example. I won’t get into the mares he was crossed to, etc., but regardless of the reasons, I think that is a fair geralization? Someone correct me if I’m wrong. 
As the Galoubet mare was bred late in life, her oldest offspring is just starting under saddle. The stallion in the example is also young, no idea what he is producing (again before someone eats me alive, I’m not actually suggesting the cross). However, I am guessing you (Tim) are working from a model with more understanding of your damlines strengths and weaknesses in multiple generations of production. But how do you decide what stallions you breed your young mares to then? How much reliance is put on the mare family vs. the individual? Also, what do you suggest for breeders with young outcrossed horses? Breed only to proven stallions?
I hope my ramblings make some sense. I’m sure I will edit this for comprehension again.
Also, for those that use linebreeding when do you know it is time for some outside blood?
Somekindawonderful–Fadjurs Legacy seems like an apt name for that one![/QUOTE]
TrotTrotPumkin,
I do think breeding with knowledge of your mare and her family is best. Very often our mares breed from their Dams, and not how they stand. You could have a mare the stands 162cm, so the mare owner breeds her to Clearway, and gets this 170cm filly. You own the filly and think she is tall, I can breed her to Casall who needs a big mare. This would be a mistake as her mother was small, and she might breed from her dam. You could get a midget. Now if you breed to the blood in her pedigree, you can increase the chance that the TB blood comes through in the offspring, increasing the chance of the offspinrg being leggier. I have Calando I mare who I felt needed better action up front to match her quick hind legs. I linebred to the Halfbred stallion Corde, because he was known for improving front end speed and technique. It worked, and the colt has much better shoulder and front leg action then the mother. I also made sure I line bred using outcross blood, not Holsteiners. If you line breed to the WB’s, you get all of their mothers too, and 100’s of years of type. This is not what you want to do. Usually we make sure the linebreeding doesn’t cause a problem, sometimes we use it to for a specific trait that we are looking for in our offspring. To do this, you MUST known the faults of these stallions, because your mare must be strong in these areas.
Before taking such risks, I would breed your mare to a stallion who is proven, and we know how he breeds. He can then tell you about your mare.
Best of luck
Tim
