Totally concur.
She seems to just think a certain sire will equal a certain price point for a foal.
But that’s not how things work.
7 Likes
Both of these quotes 1000%
13 Likes
This is it completely. Simple. It’s all about the imagined $$$ of her master plan. Once again, the horses will lose.
14 Likes
A bit off topic but about temperaments - a woman I knew years ago had a TB stallion that was the kindest, calmest stallion I’d ever been around. He only got silly when he knew he was heading to the breeding pen. And then it was just a “zippity doo da zippity a” dance. She said several people that had bred their mare to him complained about tough minded offspring. She said she was sure that came from the mare because she had never seen that in any of her foals from him and neither had others that bred to him, so she concluded the bad temperament came from the mare.
So it’s possible to get a nice minded horse from a tough stallion and vice-versa.
5 Likes
My quirky/difficult Baloubet mare is incredibly amateur friendly in a lot of ways. 0 buck/bolt/rear, in 7 years of ownership she’s never stopped at a jump, clips without drugs, hauls up to any show ready to go with 0
prep - She’s wonderful in so many ways. It’s the heart and brain you’d want in any horse.
When it comes to riding/training? You’re fighting bad conformation and a lot of blood. That’s the not so amateur friendly part and looping it back into why I’m puzzled as to why KS thinks breeding a stallion built like a cart horse (Baloubet) to an unproven DHH mare is a good combo for showjumping???
18 Likes
Yes and here’s the thing: most of these foals seem to favor the phenotype of their DHH dams. I’m guessing because the DHH bloodlines have been consistent over many, many generations; no other “types” or breeds having been introduced or crossed in? There is nothing wrong with this of course - they are purpose bred for working in harness.
In the WB breeding world (other than in the case of Trakehners - which allows TB and Arab blood into their registry), a variety of approved bloodstock has been introduced and cross bred - they are almost all a variety of WB breeds. The vast majority of WBs have a fair amount of TB (a refining influence), and almost all WB stallions are approved for/with a variety of breed registries. Some TB stallions are as well - but they need to “pass muster” before they are approved.
There are inspections for a reason! There are standards for a reason!
This has resulted in a “genetic stew” among WBs - favoring the conformation, movement, temperament and athletic ability for sport that is/are desired among competitive riders in a variety of disciplines.
(NOT driving disciplines FWIW; they have different requirements and expectations.)
Apparently none of Kate’s DHH mares have competitive records - most (all?) have never competed. Have they ever even been ridden at all? I don’t count that poor grey mare who is being “sat on” by some random guy, bareback and with a “halter as a bridle.”
How does one assess temperament when the horse has never been tested or proven, and when their dams have never been tested or proven? IOW the damline has never been proven in sport, so…
She expects potential buyers to “take a flier” on her experimental breeding venture without taking into account (or caring about) the mare’s often considerable influence - and she prices these babies as though they have the proven genetics from both sides that would stack the deck in their favor.
It defies common sense.
34 Likes
We can only hope the breeding stops. With the ones at the inspection, god knows how many stayed home, and the broodies strung out all over, the monthly $$$ must be pretty steep. comes across as the braiding money floats the “program”. We will of course have a comeback like “I sold 15 foals this year and have sold 15 more in utero”… When a human being no longer possesses any humility, empathy, or knowledge to learn and do better for themselves and especially the animals, all is lost. Hopefully Jessica can sell this one and get the heck out of crazy a$$ dodge.
9 Likes
Inspections and standards yes! Unfortunately KS seems to believe what she believes from the inspections she has taken her young stock to. I can’t understand her posts, one minute she is talking against the “powers that be” and the next she is cooing that they all loved her horses. 
7 Likes
If the photos were taken just 20 minutes apart, why is the horse wearing different halters? Why switch them?
Sheilah
22 Likes
Another valid question that will never be answered. 
9 Likes
1 Like
Cute! That mark on his hock, I can’t tell for sure but it looks like the skin tears I’ve seen on horses housed on hard ground.
That is common in foals no matter how deeply they are bedded.
18 Likes
I wonder if that happens on pasture foals.
I thought the hock looks capped.
Not sure about the hocks, but the LH fetlock looks very funky.
3 Likes
It does. Like Ghazzu said, sometimes foals/weanlings just get hock sores. Doesn’t matter if they are bedded to the eyeballs on straw, shavings, live outside on grass, or outside on soft sand (here in FL), sometimes they just get rubs. Babies spend a lot of time lying down sleeping, they have short, thin coats and thin skin.
23 Likes
I guess the upright pasterns are the DHH coming through. They are not short and upright but I notice that on all the foals. I would expect a more upright pastern than in a dressage horse but somehow these stick out to me. I would be curious to see what they look like on a three or four year old because sometimes babies go through weird growth spurts. Does not look like the most comfortable ride.
6 Likes
This boy has better conformation than most of her foals do. Certainly not perfect, but it looks like she lucked out this time and this foal does not fully carry the mares conformation.
16 Likes
