Colts Vs Fillies

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Dee

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Hey guys!

I was thinking...OH DEAR
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!...I’m just trying to think how I can word this...With it being foaling season and all I have noticed there seems to be a bit of filly favouritism in the mini world. Now I don’t mean at all to offend any mini breeders I just am confused when it comes to why.

 

I come from the standard horse background and have only had my minis since about 2003. Being in a jumping barn we had mares and geldings (no studs) with no preference to the sex of the horse as long as it could jump. Even in showing I saw very few stallions at shows. Now I know it’s due to the fact that you need to have the right set up for a stallion and on the show grounds that just isn’t always possible especially with mares around. Also behaviour is a big thing when it comes to what you choose to do with your horse so gender of the horse plays a big role in that part. In the jumping world it was mostly geldings.

 

With all that said I don’t know why the Filly Fairy is mostly wanted in the mini world.

I have also noticed that farms tend to keep the fillies. Colts are always the ones up for sale. I’m assuming that they keep the lil ladies to add to their breeding program. With that said it seems that a filly born has a more likely of a chance of being bred when matured than a colt, but why?? Isn’t genetics luck of the draw? If we are always gelding colts because they aren’t stud material then why are the girls being bred so much? I guess what I’m trying to figure out is for every not so perfect confirmation colt that is born in the world there has got to be a not so perfect confirmation filly born, yet most fillies have a higher chance if becoming a dam then a colt becoming a sire.

 

Also you always see farms of all different breeds of horses advertising their stallion(s), but what about the mares? You can breed a butt ugly mare to the nicest stallion in the world and end up with an ugly foal (even though every foal is cute). You just don’t see too many really nice mares being bred to mediocre stallions.

I guess what I’m trying to say is do you think sometimes when breeding people might over look a mares confirmation flaws? Do people want fillies cause fillies means foals?

 

Now I don’t mean to offend anyone or single out anyone! PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong and don’t flame me :-( I know there are many responsible breeders on here that don't breed just for foals and are using the best of the best horses to breed to the standards of the miniature horse.
 
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Yes, fillies mean foals. The truth of the matter is... miniature horses are a breed that people are much more likely to breed and less likely to have as "useful performance" animals. A full size horse costs a whole lot more to have around, and thus people tend to want one they can "use" and therefore geldings hold a lot more value.

In the miniature horse, it's easier to keep a stallion around due to size. And the breed is easier to manage for newbies who are more easily enamored with breeding just to breed.

I've definitely seen a lot more poor quality mares bred than stallions!

Unfortunately it's how the breed is. It's just too easy to keep stallions intact, and have a lot more mares in foal on a property than full size mares.

Andrea
 
Thanks Andrea!

I also have to say I see so many colt and 2 yrs old studs being sold. Its like some don't want to spend the money gelding them.

I think as a breeder its important to look at what you produce and simetimes say ok this colt just isn't breeding material and up to the miniature horse standard I want to put out there and make the choice to sell it as a gelding. That way we are keeping the breed standards high and having much happier boys that can live with other horses and not get the stud attitude before they are gelded and it stays with them.
 
I had this conversation with another breeder recently Dee. Everyone wants fillies, but as I pointed out the super nice colt with bring more $$ in the long run. I just want alive, healthy correct foals, then I worry about sex.

BUT, I'm a believer in gelding. It wasn't what I learned when I got in Minis 12 years ago, but seeing some of the wonky stallions people breed - ugh. Geldings are IMHO what we should be pushing in the pet/performance market.

We gelded this 2yr old last week. He's super sweet, not badly conformed, but nothing says 'I need to be a stallion'. (rough pic, we just head/neck clipped him) His sire (15 gelded to last week too), has nice foals, and I've retained a few daughters, but in this market, one less testosterone filled guy here yeah. Plus once he's mellowed, he knows how to drive and something I've wanted to start doing, but I would hesitate to do with a breeding stallion as I'm totally inexperienced as a driver.

Wesco Farms LM Shadowstep sm2 04-15-11.jpg

In all honesty if they had a cost effective way to spay mares, I'd be on board for that too! We have 32 breeding age mares on our property and in 2010 we bred six (four foals due now). I have mares that are pet only for sale and have placed and/or given away ones to ideal homes that do NOT breed.
 
Generally fillies sell quicker than colts. When it comes to stallions, most farms only need one or maybe 2 so you just do not "need" as many stallions as you do mares.

I never have trouble selling geldings and I have friends that joke about it. If I had one already gelded right now I could have sold it. I do think geldings are gaining in popularity!! Thats a great thing!

Shameless promotion www.supergelding.com

Unfortunately for now spaying a mare is too expensive and risky. Hopefully in the future that will become more of an option.

Also we dont just geld because a colt isnt good enough to be a stallion. In fact we have gelded several colts that were stallion quality. The world isnt going to fall in because a great colt became an amazing gelding.

A farms best advertisement is their geldings. No doubt about it.

I have only sold two intact colts of my breeding in all these years. If a colt is not better than his sire then he needs to be a gelding. We have a colt now on our sales list but we have decided to keep him. I thought long and hard and watched him grow all winter trying to make the decision. We are going to use him to replace his sire.

This is a jr stallions we had been sitting on and he has grown a bit too tall to breed to my ASPC/AMHR mares so I may geld him soon.

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This is Baxters Black Jim Beam that we sold as a gelding for a youth (his full brother was just born)

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This is a colt I bought from Getitia (Buckeye WCF Magical Notice) and gelded. People told me I was crazy. What he gave to my son in the show ring was worth way more than he could have given as a stallion.

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I really treasure our colts (and geldings, like others here, they are stallion quality and well bred), but I am happy we've had a good percentage of fillies from Destiny & DunIT. This is partly because one of my goals has been to one day cross Destiny's daughters to DunIT and vice versa. AND, I've tried to sell / have sold exactly as many of my colts as my fillies
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I like fillies because they are easier to sell and if they don't, they are easier to keep. But I'll take a healthy colt over a sick filly any day!

Colts born here are considered geldings until they prove themselves worthy of being stallions.
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Have yet to sell one intact.
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As stated above, fillies are easier to sell than colts. In regards to breeding, it is easier to over look less than perfect qualities in a mare as they can only have at most one foal per year. A stallion can easily sire many foals per year and thus there is (or should be) a greater demand for perfection.

In a colt (future stallion) I want the whole package; conformation, disposition, size (for me, under 30 inches at maturity), and color. I am willing to breed a mare that may be a little taller than I prefer, or not my favorite color, but I want it all in a stallion.
 
I think mostly people can sell fillies for more money, so that's why they want them. I'm not sure it's limited to Miniature Horses though - I've talked to big horse people who lament a run of colts too.

Personally, I like to have a relatively even mix. Good variety that way. ;-)

A farms best advertisement is their geldings. No doubt about it.
I agree with this quote wholeheartedly!! Unfortunately, I'm not sure that everyone gets it.

Colts born here are considered geldings
Here too. If anyone wants a stud colt from us, they better act fast and talk us into selling them while they're young, because they don't stay stallions long!
 

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