My mare, Lailah. 31.50", her color is black, I believe carrying a single dilute gene (smokey black). Sire and dam were buckskins. She was shown locally and brought home our first neck ribbon (Grand Champion mare at the Oregon State Fair AMHA show in 2003).
Her sire is Mountain High Winsalot II and her dam is Samis Imadorable (deceased).
She has good conformation and is very appealing. The areas I try to improve is a bit more length of leg and neck (as in what I look for in a stallion to breed her to).
Raftered Hearts Cherry Bomb 32" sorrel or chestnut w/flaxen and carrying a silver gene as evidenced by her son's birth by a black stallion (the offspring is pictured in my avatar). She was lightly shown locally in '98 as a yearling, and we didn't do very well together. I think our best ribbon was a third place. I know our first was a 6th out of 7 horses in the ring! *LOL*
Her sons are multiple champions, though, and they are visible on my website as well.
Sire is Serenity Farms Mr. Magic (gelded) and dam is Dell Tera's Betty (a daughter of Dell Tera's Hippy), who is now 31 years old (almost!) and retired.
This mare outproduces herself every year and though she is weak through the hip with a longish back, I love how her neck ties into her shoulder (as in not a "nest" look), and her pretty head and large eye not to mention her sweet temperament. Hard to see her eye in the pic here, but you can see more on my two broodmares at my website:
Raftered Hearts Miniature Horses
Mare conformation should be the same as stallion conformation (as in I don't think there are gender-based differences though I know some stallions tend to thick, cresty necks as they get older, I have seen them on older mares too).
A mare gives the same amount to a breeding as a stallion. Some mares are so far off the mark, that even if the most perfect stallion around were bred to her, the foal would not come out right.
Just as not all stallions are suitable for breeding, not all mares are.
conformational soundness and genetic predisposition to diseases are first and foremost to consider as well as a good temperament. After that, things like "type" are merely a matter of choice and opinion.
All types should be conformationally sound for work (yeah, the majority of minis don't "work" per se, but they should all be born with the ability to do so should they end up in a home that wants to drive them for pleasure or competition).
Just my .02. No, neither of my mares is perfect, however I refuse to be barn blind to their flaws. I have put them up for critique to help us all learn before, and I invite educational criticism anytime. I am always learning. I DO want to know their shortcomings so that I can make better foals by finding the right stallion (NEVER EVER double up on flaws/defects if you DO breed a horse with shortcomings.)
Ok, I said wayyy more than was necessary here, it's just that I see so many people (and I ~was~ one of them) who justify buying a trailer load of mediocre mares to breed to a nice stallion in hopes of a few good foals to keep when they could have bought two or three great mares and gotten the same number of nice babies, give or take one, for the same or less money, and for sure less feed and upkeep. Play the numbers so to speak.
No stallion, no matter how awesome, will magically erase the sins of bad genes. It's not doing the foal to be any favors to breed horses with bad stifles, bad bites, etc. etc.
Liz M.
