2016 Miniature Horse WORLD Issues Feb/March 2016 | Page 46

The Pros & Cons
of Breeding

Stallion at stud: tall
(short), dark (gray) and
very, handsome stallion
standing to available mares
at a reasonable price. Small
offspring guaranteed when
bred to 34 inch mare.

Your Lines

By Kaycee Lunde

I

personally have had great experiences breeding to an outside
stallion and I believe it gives my breeding program a cutting
edge. Utilizing an outside stallion is a trend that is slowly picking
up in the mini world and it is very common place with the large
breed horses (Quarter horses, Arabians, etc). It is so easy to keep a
Miniature stallion that many breeding programs may have several to
choose from on each farm.

PROS:

REDUCED
1.
STING FACTOR
TO YOUR
Filed under don’t let
this happen to you…
you cruise the internet, you
fall in love with a horse, you
do your research and you
buy him sight unseen. The
horse arrives at your farm,
unloads off the trailer and…
hmm. Is this the same horse
from the photographs? Unfortunately the horse looks nothing like you had anticipated. The
realization sets in that you paid
cold hard cash for a dishonestly represented horse. For us here in Canada,
shipping a horse up from the states can
cost upwards of $1500 for each horse
transport. Add to your purchase price,
taxes, brokerage, US/CAN exchange, etc.
and you have taken quite a kick in the pants.
It’s happened to many breeders, including me.
Spending thousands finding the right stud could
backfire if he’s not the best match for every mare
you own. By using an outside stallion you cut down
the “risk factor”. It’s not measurable of course, the
money you ‘could’ have spent, but I believe a person
could save money in the long run.

44 Miniature Horse World

F E B R UA R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 6

OPTIMIZING
2.
YOUR GENETIC
POTENTIAL AND GETTING
TO YOUR END GOAL.

Take a look at your mare herd. Who is the
shining star? Who is that one mare that you just
can’t miss? Who can you breed your mare to that
will take her to the next level? Do your research.
What are you looking for to compliment her? Movement? Check. Expression? Check. My intention is
to breed for a foal that will be better than its dam
and sire and could compete at the World level.
I want to create MY ideal horse in the least
amount of generations I can. Does every
carefully planned breeding result in a gorgeous show foal? No, of course not. But I try

D rawings courtesy of F i . F i . I llustration

BOTTOM LINE.