He’s in California and very much alive. He went to a Mark Todd clinic recently and Mark even rode him. I believe there was a picture of him(s) in the Chronicle of the Horse recently.
There was video of Mark riding him and the horse was bucking and having a grand old time. Definitely still alive.
COTH pictures of Mark riding 25-year-old Aberjack this weekend:
https://www.facebook.com/chronofhorse/posts/10155375787770314?pnref=story
And video of the same:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205987379107341&pnref=story
Wonderful to see.
I realize this is an ancient thread … I don’t recognize a lot of these old names! However, I just got two frozen doses of Aberjack and wanted to ask what type of mare has been the best cross for him. My goal would be an eventer (duh, I realize) and as everything is frozen, I’m not in a hurry. I’d love to hear suggestions/ideas. Thanks!
All TB or high percentage. Up hill mare. He adds heft even though he is a high blood percentage. Several that I’ve seen and know are a bit downhilll. Can still jump quite well but I would stack the decks in your favor. He tends to stamp his get. Best crosses that I’ve seen are on good moving full TB mares.
THANKS! That’s just the sort of info I needed!!
I agree with bfne but I’d also add ‘attractive’ to that if you’d like to have a good-looking horse. The Aberjacks tend to be on the plain and rustic side.
He was a good stallion in terms of progeny. The ones I’ve seen are good jumpers and honest horses. Any stallion who can consistently produce that is a worthwhile one.
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yeah, the one at my barn is 1/4 QH, and is quite downhill. She can still jump a house (was doing 1.2m schooling at home last week) at 15. She’s quite opinionated.
I just tried to PM you but it won’t allow me to message you
I’ve known two - both talented. BUT - One had a difficult temperament - almost to the point of “Is this worth the effort?” even for a pro. The other had a decent temperament in terms of ground manners and handling, and while not dangerous or spooky, was NOT an easy ride. Both were out of full TB mares with good performance records in eventing, one with a puppy dog temperament.
I’ve known and ridden several. All were great athletes but unsound for various reasons. Two had things develop as foals that eventually let them to be totally unsound (by age 6/7), another has had front foot issues and has been inconsistently sound for years. To be honest, I have known more unsound aberjack offspring than not, most with weird soft tissue things.
Definitely choose a mare that is sound, very correctly conformed (especially in the front limbs) with a willing personality, any quirks seem to be amplified (difficult mouth, borderline aggressive, strong fighter etc). I personally would not be comfortable breeding him to a mare that had any sort of soft tissue or foot issue.
