Breeding Goals - simplified version September 17, 2010 Aim to breed the best possible foal you can - don't buy a Lotto ticket! Try to achieve the following ... " Balance and athleticism " Trainability " Best possible conformation " Produce a hind quarter with a powerful motor coupled with a forehand with the freedom that allows that motor to work with optimum power The opening paragraph from our Warmblood Breed Regulations states - The aim is a noble, correctly built Warmblood horse with good rideability, capable of superior performance, a horse with natural impulsion and space gaining elastic movements, a horse which because of its temperament, character and willingness, is suited as an all round riding horse on the basis of its natural ability. These regulations were developed with reference to many Warmblood studbooks breeding programmes in other countries with a long history behind them. The purpose of having a Studbook for mares is to enable breeders to have an informed opinion of their mares thereby being able to use the mare's score for making the most appropriate choice of stallion. The breeder can see where any lower marks occur - and therefore try to find a stallion that is strong in those areas. It is not a competition - rather a valuable tool to work with, in your own breeding programme. The score sheet is divided into 2 parts - a. Conformation; and, b. movements and breed type Conformation - ideal points that will score high marks - Head - be refined, feminine, expressive, triangular shaped from the side with well defined bone structure Neck - well attached at the poll with clear definition at the throat latch, and the underline of the neck should attach high on the shoulder, with the under curve being shorter and the upper curve being longer and set gracefully into the withers. Saddle Position - the shoulder should be long, sloping, muscular and should extend well into the back so as to give FREE forward motion of the forelimb, allowing maximum stride. It's easy to see in a good example - the saddle sits right dead centre of the horse. Frame - ideally the horse should be able to divide into 3 equal parts - the head to withers, the mid section, loins to tail. The frame should ideally have an uphill appearance with a smooth top line, and the length of the back in proportion to the rest of the body. Forelegs - these should be straight and perpendicular when viewed from all angles, with flat straight knees - you can practice by holding a plum line down the leg and viewing where the bones lie in relationship to each other. The forearm should be long and well muscled with the cannon bone shorter and flat. The hoof/pastern angle should be the same with the pasterns neither too short nor too long and not too straight. Hind legs - a plum line dropped from the point of the buttocks should touch the rear border of the hock, run parallel to the cannon and strike the ground 3 - 4 inches behind the heel. From the rear the line should bisect the hock, cannon, pastern and heel. The pasterns can be a little longer than the front ones but the hoof/pastern angle must still be the same. Ideally the horse should have a longer gaskin, shorter cannon with well let down hocks to allow maximum sitting ability to give active hind legs in the work. These six items are marked and become a single mark in part two. Movement /Type etc. Breed and Sex Type - this is how the mare looks - is she typical of the breed and a good type for breeding? Conformation - as described Correctness of Gaits - this is judged in walk both going away from and back towards the classifiers. Any deviation of movement of the limbs is noted here and the correctness of the foundation determines how the horse moves. Any faults picked up in the limbs during conformation inspection will carry over to this area also and the mark will go down accordingly. A mare that has good limbs will get a good mark here as the legs travel straight and true. Horses that are base narrow, or have crooked legs - either in front or behind will get a poor mark because the limbs deviate eg. paddle, dish or the footfalls don't follow the same path in front as behind. Elasticity of Gaits - this is marked at the trot and should demonstrate a correct two beat rhythm, have suspension between the trot beats, have a supple loin area and cadence (the combination of rhythm and suspension) Walk - correct four even beats, relaxation of the torso and freedom and suppleness at the loin, long strides with the hind limbs swinging from the hips, flexible hind joints, a relaxed neck and slightly nodding head. General Impression and Overall development - here the mark is determined by all the other marks in that a mare with 8's and 7's will be rewarded with an overall 8 and in some cases a mare with a mixture containing a 6 perhaps but is overall a 7 can have a better mark here to reinforce her good points - not put her further down for just one weaker area. The goal in any breeding programme is to produce foals at least as good but preferably better than the parents - however there is good evidence that at least 25% of foals do not live up to the qualities of their sire and dam. The best chance of obtaining genetic excellence occurs when it has well conformed parents that themselves have good performance results. This is the very reason WHY we have the mare studbook inspections - to use only the best possible mares in the breeding programme. Breeders should consider the following - study the conformation of sire and dam from classification results understand the relationship between conformation and performance mating and culling to correct or eliminate conformation weaknesses Remember that 90% of conformation is a result of bone structure - the lay-out of the horse's bones, their lengths and the angles they create with each other, plus their muscular and ligamentous attachments are what create "CONFORMATION". Conformation judging is a process of observation which can determine whether a horse will move well, carry weight and stay sound. These diagrams give some examples of what is good and ideal and some of what is not ideal. There are many papers available on the internet about this subject for those who are interested in further study.