Who would you pick?

[attwoode]

I've been thinking about sending out my mare for breeding to a great stallion rather than buying the best stallion I can afford. It got me thinking...there are a lot of nice stallions available at stud. Who would you chose for your best mare and why?

 

[MindyLee]

I personally think I already have Mr Perfect standing in my back yard.

 

Im in love with my double bred King Supreme son, Little Kings Sentra Supreme, Pictured below.

BUT... I do like another Michigan boy that Lori has! I'll give ya a hint.... he's grulla!

 

[frostedpineminis]

not sure who is in your area, but there are lots of stallions in the AMHA feb/march magazine listed by state and they are nice looking studs. Not sure what you want to pay or how far you will travel. Good luck!!

 

[frostedpineminis]

also helps to see your mare, some people have knack for picking out her attributes and downfalls and can place a stallion a little better as well as tell us more of what you are looking for in a baby...halter, driving. What color is your mare (appy, Pinto, solid)

As I am sifting through the pages in the magazine, that is in your area ( not sure how far) there is a beautiful buckskin stud called LM Idols Watch Me Like a Hawk, gorgeous horse and I am a BIG sucker for buckskins and he looks to have a nice show career as well. Not sure much about all the Private Treaty's for most of the studs but it never hurts to ask, right.

 

[mydaddysjag]

There are a ton of nice stallions, but Im in love with Graham's King's Fashion. Ive had the pleasure to see him in person (he used to live local), and he is amazing. I dont have any mares to breed, but if I were horse shopping, I would certainly be looking for a foal sired by him.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

It all depends on your price range, what you want to do with the foal, what color possibilities you are seeking and what pattern you want to focus on. Obviously you would want to pick a stallion that has foals on the ground so you can see what he's producing and a show career to boot.

I'm really in love with my new junior stallion that's coming home tomorrow and I know, like many other stallion owners, I'm going to be spending a fortune building his show career and I'm going to stand him at stud with my mares and a friends mareas to see what he produces before I ever start marketing him for stud.

If they aren't willing to show the stallion to prove his worth, he's not worth looking at in my opinion. (No flames plz)

 

[Lori W]

BUT... I do like another Michigan boy that Lori has! I'll give ya a hint.... he's grulla!

Thanks, MindyLee - We think he's pretty special, too! Our little foal by him is a spittin' image of her sire!

 

[Reble]

A good way to start is go to Horse Connect right here on LB

I agree depends on what your mare might need to improve.

height, & registry etc.

Good Luck.. and not always does showing make the only horse worth looking at.

 

[stormy]

Really depends on what you are looking to do with the foal...my preference is for the driving type so this guy is my favorite, I feel blessed he is right in my back yard so I can look out and see this everyday!! What are your desires for the future of your breeding program??

Oatmeal Acres Kan-Hee-Doo!

 

[Lizzie]

I've been thinking about sending out my mare for breeding to a great stallion rather than buying the best stallion I can afford. It got me thinking...there are a lot of nice stallions available at stud. Who would you chose for your best mare and why?

What a great question. So as not to hurt the feelings of those left out, I won't name names, but there are loads of really extraordinarily good stallions across the US.

So I'd probably try to find one I liked, who lived close enough to me that the mare would not have to travel across country. That or one that offered frozen/cooled semen. Since I'm personally not into frame, I'd look for one LWO negative. If I wanted a foal of a certain colour or pattern, then I'd find a stallion who was homozygous for it and had been tested. Certainly the stallion would not possess any of the same faults as my mare. I wouldn't particularly care if he had been shown or not, if I liked him enough. I also wouldn't care if the stallion had not yet been bred or produced, if I like him enough. There again, it is always nice to see a stallion's get if possible. The very best colt we ever bred and one of the only couple we ever sold whole, was by a stallion not yet shown or bred. I would probably like to see a movie of the stallion if possible. Some look fabulous when posed, but when moving, might have a short, stilty gait which I don't like. Watching the recent shows was quite an eye-opener in that regard. I don't like floppy ears and I don't like huge jowls, so I probably wouldn't breed to a stallion with either.

All that said, there are some Mini stallions around whom I'd love to own and some are for sale. Just too much for the budget right now. When I win the lottery, there is are two buckskin overos who would be coming to California. Not necessarily my favourite colour, but I happen to love both of them.

Your question was 'Who would you chose for your best mare and why?' Wouldn't really matter whether this was whom I considered my best mare or not, the requirements would probably be pretty much the same. The nice thing about Minis, is that there is a type, colour and height for everyone. The only problem is deciding upon which of the tons of fab stallions out there, to breed to. I keep a file on every website I find and those with stallions who interest me greatly, I keep separately.

I'd better go off now and buy that lottery ticket!

Lizzie

 

[Jill]

If I were going to breed one of our mares to an outside stallion vs. the ones I've picked for our mares / picked mares for, it would depend on the mare in question. I'd look for a stallion that most suited the individual mare and if there were places I felt she could be stronger / better, then I would look for a stallion that was exceptional in those areas where she could use a little help... and I wouldn't breed two horses where I wouldn't be happy with an exact duplicate of the least of the pair.

So far, I don't think any of the criteria offered are at all in line with how I'd approach picking a good potential cross.

 

[targetsmom]

None of the above: Instead of breeding a mare and risking losing her, and all the expense of breeding, vaccinations, worrying, etc, I would just go BUY the best weanling I could afford, with the bloodlines, color, gender, and projected size that I really wanted.

 

[ruffian]

I agree with Jill - look at your mare's pluses and minuses, and find a stallion that compliments her.

That said - I have a couple of boys I'm rather proud of, and I'm also in Michigan: World Grand Champion ERL Zeus Lightning Bolt, and our newest National Champion who will be available next year, LDS Smooth Operator. I also like Kenny - Stormy's boy.

I also agree that picking a nice weanling colt or filly is a good way to go - you already know what you've got.

 

[sfmini]

I just have to go to my barn to find my pick of nice stallions, actually 3 of them.

NFC Peppys On A High who looks like a little Thelwell pony but produces the nicest driving horses.

SF Mahogany Bay, what can I say.

LM Im A Buckin Hawk

Eventually my Billy Idol son out of a Nighthawk daughter, but not until next year.

 

[disneyhorse]

I agree with Targetsmom... I would just BUY a WEANLING out of whatever stallion I drool over! I have done this time and time again... you can pick whatever you like, and know what you're getting, and in the long run, probably cheaper!

Andrea

 

[attwoode]

Thanks for the responses. I've admired many of the horses you've mentioned. I thought it would be fun to hear which stallions that are available for stud you all think are producing really well and why you'd choose them to compliment your particular mare. Personally, I'd be looking for an AMHA/AMHR successfully shown stallion with a super neck, perfectly straight legs, and nice strong hip, good tailset, and nice action. I'm not really hung up on color but would like to add some black into my mostly red based herd. Conformation is far more important to me than color though. Ideally,a stallion that produces small- usually under 32" and regularly produces competitive show foals out of different mares. Of course when I get to the point to actually do this, cost of stud fee and transportation will be an issue for me, but I'm just dreaming right now so really more interested in who others would breed to and why.

Some of the stallions lines I've noticed to be hot lately are Idol, Nighthawk, Uno, Prince,and many of the ASPC/AMHR/AMHA stallions. Of course I have some of my personal favorites that don't seem to be so popular right now. I'm fine just breeding for what I like (small,well built, pretty head, nice movement) even if they aren't hot right now. More than the bloodlines or the trend, I'd want to breed to a stallion that produced features I would like to add to my herd or that would compliment my mare.

Ok, enough about me. Anybody else want to share their thoughts?

 

[SampleMM]

also helps to see your mare, some people have knack for picking out her attributes and downfalls and can place a stallion a little better as well as tell us more of what you are looking for in a baby...halter, driving. What color is your mare (appy, Pinto, solid)

As I am sifting through the pages in the magazine, that is in your area ( not sure how far) there is a beautiful buckskin stud called LM Idols Watch Me Like a Hawk, gorgeous horse and I am a BIG sucker for buckskins and he looks to have a nice show career as well. Not sure much about all the Private Treaty's for most of the studs but it never hurts to ask, right.

Thank you, that's my boy, Hawk.

I bought him at 4 months old and am anxiously waiting to see what he will produce. I'm not sure where he will be standing, Danielle Hill and I are still working out the details. We are going to be breeding some select mares to him and you will see him back out showing next year as well.

The nicest thing about Hawk is his lovely attitude. Danielle's kids lead him to and from the barn. He is a sweet love bug but comes alive at the shows and really likes to show. He also has some awesome movement and may eventually be broke to drive. We are taking this slow as he is one in a million to us.

Private Treaty means the fee is between the mare owner and myself. That's all.

 

[sfmini]

That height thing is funny. Peppy produced 32 - 34" even though he is 29 1/2".

Mahogany is producing SMALL which was a surprise to us since he is 33 3/4" and his dam is 34".

I want to get back to using Peppy next year, every time I look at old pictures of his foals, I think, why am I not using him these days?! I need to find a mare to match him.

 

[ionafarm]

Hi,

I don't know how far you want to take your mare, but we are in Ohio, near where I-70 and I-75 intersect ( Dayton). We have worked hard to have a group of outstanding stallions that we are very proud of and who stand stud to outside mares. We have a L&D Scout son ( black) , An Fallen Ash Eagle Son ( bay pinto), a creamello from the Top Banana bloodlines, A Buckskin of the Top Banana lines, a L&D Scout grandson ( sorrel pinto), and if you want small we have a little smokey black son of our creamello so he carrys the cream gene, who has been top ten halter AMHA. We breed for refinement, and most importantly movement.

If you are interested in breeding to any of these guys , let me know and I can send pictures and whatever other info you might need. We would also have pictures of offspring. If you could send a picture of the mare we could tell you our opinion as to which might fit better.

Bonnie Harris

Iona Miniature Horse Farm

[email protected]

 

[JennyB]

Who would I pick...well all the stallions I would pick for my mares are dead

..that would be Kewpie Doll's Oracle, Kewpie Doll's Diablo, Kewpie's Topper Of Arenosa, Kewpie's El Monterry Of Arenosa and a few others!...but if I had to pick one who is still around it would have to be probably Flaby's Captain Topper one of the best if not the best Arenosa stallion in the world today!

..and maybe a few others too!

 

Blessings,

Jenny