Great topic! Sorry I am late in getting into it, I have been in Florida on holiday for three weeks, am finally now home (welcoming snow?? :) and sat down to check out the past three weeks of Haflinger info I lost out on.
First off, you should personally contact the stallion owners to talk with them about what their stallions are producing with what types of mares. Knowledgable stallion owners know what crosses well with their stud, and will tell you as they obviously want the best get out there to showcase their stud.
That said, a stallion owner will know that their stallion will throw a heavier boned foal, off color foal, add height or nicer neck etc. Now, if the stud isn't proven, all that goes through the window and it is a shot in the dark as to what they will prodcue in the coming years, when partnered with the right mare.
Also, when looking at any stallion picture, ask when it was taken. Many times you will be surprised to learn the pitures were taken earliy in the horse's career, sometimes using the same picture as a three year old and the horse is 10 or older now! They change! :) A Rock's best picture was a three year old picture of him. He looked great. We have that picture up, and then we show him at 12 years old too. Some say 'his neck is thicker and appears shorter' etc, well, he's 12 years old, and a stallion! Yep, usually that happens! :) But look at his get's necks, they are pretty darn nice. A rock also had a snow white mane and tail, and now it has more flaxen from age. He's also 12 and still competiting and doing quite well, not to many Haflinger stallions out and about after their 2 year old year, doing anything.
Tell the stallion owner what you want your resulting foal to do and be, and usually they will help you decide where and how to cross your mare to get the best foal possible. Stallion owners don't want to take the $1,000 breeding fee to get a bad foal on the ground, it will cost them a lot more than the $1,000 breeding fee in the long run.
Good luck!
Jacque in Ohio
--- In haflingerfriends@yahoogroups.com, "castlerockjacobs" <castlerockjacobs@...> wrote:
>
> I was looking at the Haflinger Magazine for Dec. -Jan. that I just got. On page 30 I was looking at the National Champion SIP stallion Arno van het Nieshof and thought I could ask this question as he is recognaized a one great horse. I wonder how one would pick a stallion by the current appearance? I like the darker colors with no mealy gene and so if I saw a picture of him, I would consider him or a darker stallion. However, looking at his get on the same page , they all have extensive mealy gene..one verging on very light too. I know the mares have equal influence but say I had a mare with minor mealy gene like Meg and wanted to breed that out by picking a stallion...how would I go about it? Is mealy gene dominant? Is the smooty gene dominant? If you breed smooty to mealy..what would be the result? Is one dominant over the other?
> How much should one go by the picture of the stallion in say Haflinger Magazine?
> Say a stallion's hip is too high and his withers not uphill...how dominant is that? How about the layed back shoulder that allows the great front extension for driven dressage?
> How do you modify some of these things and not end up with too thin legs?
> If you breed a shorter horse to a taller one does that guarentee the foal will grow larger than the Mom? Woden is almost 4 and it does look like he will only be as tall as his 14HH mom in stead of his 14.3HH dad. I know some still grow till 5.
> If you are breeding do you just work on one improvement at a time? or say could you pick a stallion that would produce a nonmealy, more toward the darker color with great extension and front hooves almost touching the rear in movement with a great topline and pretty face? If not I guess you would pick movement first?
> Since breeding has dropped off because of the market I just thought a discussion on how you move to the standard would be interesting. And if some of us are making a decision for a certain use, how would we go about it? I am hoping everyone will pitch in here as well as some big breeders who see lots of get. thanks in advance. Victoria da Roza, Walnut Creek, Ca.
>
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