Breeding Season Decisions for the Small Arabian Horse Breeder Part 2

Part 1

Before I started breeding Arabian horses as a business, I spent a lot of time studying Arabian horses to determine what I really liked, how successful those horses were in the show ring, their soundness and then their pedigrees. From that information I was able to determine what crosses worked to produce the kind of horses that I prefer and what type of qualities I was looking for in the type of horses I wanted to raise.

I also studied horses that were not my type of Arabian horse. I tried to determine what it was about them that I didn't like, how it affected their success in the show ring and their pedigrees as well. All of that helped me to determine which crosses to avoid or even particular bloodlines to eliminate from consideration for my breeding program.

All of that research paid off in a really big way in my search for foundation mares. I was able to select mares taking into account their quality, conformation, dispositions and their pedigrees and how those should produce when crossed with my stallion. Instead of just looking at individuals, I had the information to know what stood behind them and what to expect in front of them.

Since my stallion was really only a colt when this all began, I was able to spend some time shopping for the right mares at the right price.Three of these mares I bought before they were old enough to breed because I could get more for my money that way. I had the time for them to mature to breeding age since I was waiting for my stallion to do the same.
With the research I had done I was confident I could count on these horses to cross with my horse well even though they were unproven. The fourth mare was mature but her breeders were over horsed and I was able to lease the mare with an option to buy at a very reasonable price when my stallion was old enough to breed

Originally, the plan was to buy four broodmares. The individuals that I selected were very different individuals but there were some commonalities as well. After I had found my four broodmares, I came across an older maiden mare that I had actually foaled out in my days as working as a groom. Her owners had gotten out of the horse industry and she was their last horse to find a home for. The price was right and I added a fifth mare to my broodmare band.

The plan was to breed each of these mares twice to see what they produced. Then I could select the ones that crossed the best for me and cut back to two broodmares.

To be continuted.........

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