I just started looking for another broodmare & I have found so many nice mares out there, I just don’t know where to start. What questions do you ask? What is the most important thing you look for? Any advice will greatly be appreciated.
Fertility/reproductive history and temperament are most important, assuming you are choosing from mares with good bloodlines, correct movement, and decent conformation.
Check on the mare’s breeding history. Has she caught easily, carried and delivered easily?
Try to meet or see pictures/video of her offspring. Does she outproduce herself? Are her foals correct and healthy?
How is she to handle? Is she safe, gentle to work around? Does she readily accept people handling her foals? How does she get along in the herd? Can she take care of herself, whether she is dominant or submissive? Is she vicious with other horses?
No matter how beautiful the mare, if she is not safe for you, her foals or the other horses, you don’t want her around. And temperament is passed on to her foals, very often, either genetically or learned.
No matter how lovely the mare, if she does not pass on quality, whether from herself or the sire; or if she does not breed easily and deliver well, she is not ideal for the job.
Sunnydays touched on bloodlines with her excellent post, but I will reiterate the importance of finding out what the mare’s damline has produced. Look at production records of her dam, her granddam, her sisters, her aunts, etc., to see if the mare family has produced horses that are successful in sport.
I always sift through the pedigree or look for specific lines before I look at an individual. Not to say I won’t reject a number of individuals whose pedigree I love, but I also know what lines I do or don’t want. Temperment is imperative and is a total dealbreaker for me no matter what else is involved. Her innards are very important of course because she may or may not reproduce, so any records and a vetting of that area is a must. The rest - conformation, type, movement are also essentials and no less important, but if she doesn’t have the lineage or reproductive capability it’s a waste of time for me.
PennyG
[QUOTE=DownYonder;6711110]
Sunnydays touched on bloodlines with her excellent post, but I will reiterate the importance of finding out what the mare’s damline has produced. Look at production records of her dam, her granddam, her sisters, her aunts, etc., to see if the mare family has produced horses that are successful in sport.[/QUOTE]
I second this point… This is most important.
Tim
Ditto DY’s, Tim’s and Sunnyday’s post.
What is the best way to research the damline?
Depends on the damline and registry. Sometimes the registry has great stuff published about the damlines (like Holsteiner), sometimes you need to do some detective work! Read, read, read – everything you can get your hands on!
Also, check your PTs.
[QUOTE=DownYonder;6711110]
Sunnydays touched on bloodlines with her excellent post, but I will reiterate the importance of finding out what the mare’s damline has produced. Look at production records of her dam, her granddam, her sisters, her aunts, etc., to see if the mare family has produced horses that are successful in sport.[/QUOTE]
100% agree!
And, I also agree that bloodlines are so important as stated previously, especially the motherline far more than the sire. Once I find a special pedigree, then I look to type and movement. The next thing I look at is marketability … does this mare bring to the table everything the NA market is looking for? Eye appeal, rideability/good minded, talented, soundness, etc. Then, I will consider reproductive soundness last. We have great success getting offspring from mares with repro issues and then using their daughters in our program.
Sports results in a broodmare is not important to me as she has all the other pieces to earn her place in our herd. The very special young mares in Europe are kept for breeding rather than sport, so often the mares that end up in sport didn’t make the grade for breeding for one reason or another. We have the same philosophy … the best mares stay in the fields.
he very special young mares in Europe are kept for breeding rather than sport, so often the mares that end up in sport didn’t make the grade for breeding for one reason or another.
Actually this is untrue. The really good mares are used for sports, and breeders do ET with them. We want to have the foals from said special mare, but a foal from competitive parents is always more commercial than one who only has the dad competing.
[QUOTE=jenbrin;6711434]
What is the best way to research the damline?[/QUOTE]
The Hannoveraner have a mare database where you can look up the bloodlines on the computer. Very helpful to know if that particular mare line has produced anything.
Dan
[QUOTE=Dan;6714034]
The Hannoveraner have a mare database where you can look up the bloodlines on the computer. Very helpful to know if that particular mare line has produced anything.
Dan[/QUOTE]
Mmmmm… impressive. The German spelling almost has me convinced that you have advanced knowledge of this topic.
[QUOTE=jenbrin;6711434]
What is the best way to research the damline?[/QUOTE]
For Thoroughbreds, you ask Vineyridge, or just hope that she notices your post 
Paardenfokken.nl allows you to look up the mares lines pretty extensively if the horse was inputted into their database.
Dan - would you mind posting a link to that database? Or does one need to contact them by email and request ?
Ditto on most of the above.
After you find a mare with the right bloodlines, correct conformation and the gaits/jump that you are looking for, reproductive/fertility history and temperament are very important. However, keep in mind that many breeders buy young mares open or early in-foal. It all depends on how much of a chance you are willing to take.
[QUOTE=RanchoAdobe;6714542]
Dan - would you mind posting a link to that database? Or does one need to contact them by email and request ?[/QUOTE]
Here is the link to the database. The rates are shown at the bottom. You can pay by credit card.
http://www.hannoveraner.com/2190.html
Dan
[QUOTE=SCMSL;6713825]
Actually this is untrue. The really good mares are used for sports, and breeders do ET with them. We want to have the foals from said special mare, but a foal from competitive parents is always more commercial than one who only has the dad competing.[/QUOTE]
Actually…it is true. In Holstein the best mares are kept for breeding, as that is where they are most needed. Some of the best mares in the world never saw a saddle. If I sold all of my best mares, then how would I continue to sell more good mares. I must keep my best, so that I can continue to provide the best. What is not good enough for breeding may be good enough in sport. We all know the top sport horses lack in correctness often. WE DON"T breed with incorrect to get correct.
A breeder can not wait for a mare to prove herself in sport to only begin to understand how she breeds at 12 or 14. We must get to it, so we do not waste any time. We begin with a 3 year old so when they are 8 we know how they breed. When we know how they breed, we can pick the best stallions. You can not do this when they are in sport. The best mares are discovered after they are figured out in the breeding shed. Ratina Z was an amazing sport horse…hasn’t produced crap as a broodmare. Ability to perform is not a guarantee to produce. When testing a mare, it is her ability to produce that is most important.
Tim
I do rather agree with Rick. In my initial response I emphasized the importance of reproductive ability and temperament — given a choice set of good bloodlines (given one’s breeding goals), correctness of movement and conformation (I do not consider a mare, if these are not part of the equation).
While my broodmares are not performance mares, they are all very athletic, and would easily be very competitive at the national level in their sport (dressage, or perhaps hunter). But I can;t afford to give them years to actually prove themselves in competition before breeding them.
Instead I look to see if their families include successful, rideable sporthorses.
