Better late than never! >1. How do you decide whom you want to breed, and to whom?
I've only bred Lilja twice, but she was a broodmare before I got her and had had 4 offspring. When I bought her she came with a free breeding to a young, inexperienced stallion. He had nice gaits (in the pasture, not trained to ride yet) decent conformation for being so young, and was sweet. The baby turned out very nice. The other stallion was a first prize stallion who just happened to be owned by people I became friends with after halter & hoof pick-up training a number of their foals. I'd handled and excercised Gymir, been in his stall with him, helped hand bred him and watched him give lesson rides and lead-line rides to little kids. He has a wonderful personality, is five-gaited (didn't care about the flying pace but all his other gaits were clear and he had a very nice, easy to find tolt), being dun didn't hurt ;) I think it's definitely better if you know the stallion's personality as well as his physical attributes. >2. Do you feel qualified to breed? If so, why? If not, why? I've worked with horses long enough to have a fairly good grasp on conformation, and I am good at judging temperament. Being a vet tech makes me a little less nervous about foaling problems. >3. What would you like to see in your babies? I like them to be curious, think before reacting, friendly; Substantial build; good walk, trot, a healthy for the horse, soft gait. >How likely do you think youare you to get what you'd like to see? I've only bred my mare twice but have been happy with the results. >4. Who do you talk to for breeding advice? People only within this breed? General breeding advice like mare and foal care from experienced breeders of any breed and knowledgeble vets. Probably from within the breed about choosing a stallion. About the flying pace question: Like Wanda, I've ridden it once accidently. It was kind of fun, once I figured out what he was doing but it's not a practical gait by any means and I don't care if a horse can do it or not. A soft gait or two and a nice trot is perfect. Cherie
