Selecting Stallions for Breeding

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” -Winston Churchill. Horses not only inspire their riders, but also the spectators. The art of equestrian is generally disregarded as a competitive sport. Being a rider not only takes raw talent but also devotion, skill, concentration, knowledge, and strength. With a variety of riding styles, it’s difficult to express which one is superior to the others. There is tension between the horsemen with different riding styles; each believe their accomplishments take more skill. Western Pleasure riding and English Hunter Jumpers are two distinctive techniques with diverse characteristics, but

Percherons and Quarter horses each have different physical features. Both the Percheron and the Quarter horse have straight profiled heads. While the Quarter horse has a short and small refined head, the Percheron has an exceptionally broad forehead, small ears, and large eyes. Both Percherons and Quarter horses have very deep and broad chests. Although the Quarter horse has strong legs and flat knees, the Percheron has clean and heavily muscled feet and legs.

Percherons and Quarter horses each have different physical features. Both the Percheron and the Quarter horse have straight profiled heads. While the Quarter horse has a short and small refined head, the Percheron has an exceptionally broad forehead, small ears, and large eyes. Both Percherons and Quarter horses have very deep and broad chests. Although the Quarter horse has strong legs and flat knees, the Percheron has clean and heavily muscled feet and legs.

This lab took place at the Linn Benton Horse Center, and it was an introduction to halter horses and how to judge them. We looked at three stallions; two were halter horses and one wasn’t. We assessed their balance, muscling, and structural conformation in the way that a halter judge would.

Standing on his hind legs, this rare andalucian stallion is fearless. His ears are turned back while his noble looking head is held high. His all black coat glistens in the late afternoon sun. His face displays a strong confidence with his nostrils flared, his veins bulging from his cheek bones, and his fiery black eyes burning holes into the souls of those who stare into them. His neck muscles are tensed and thickened with adrenalin. His black main is thrown into the wind like a flag rippling in the winds of a tornado. His muscular front legs are brought up to his chest displaying his flashing gray hooves that could crush a man's scull with one blow. His backbone and underbelly are held almost straight up and his hind quarters are tensed.

The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) recognized a stallion named Impressive as the origin of HYPP. Born in 1969, it soon became known that Impressive was, like his name, impressive. He quickly rose to the top of the halter horse standings and he became one of the top-producing sires, with many of his offspring becoming champions themselves. Impressive seemed to have it all: an excellent pedigree, terrific disposition, and exceptional conformation. Impressive was originally bred for racing but he was not cut out to be a racehorse. He was originally bought as a yearling for $20,000 but three months later he was sold for double the original price. He won 31 champion ribbons in the halter ring. The vast majority of Impressive’s offspring

The science behind evaluating racehorses is deciding which faults make a direct impact to the horse’s career. The requirements needed for a horse to succeed starts at the conformation of the foal/yearling. To which conformational faults are passed down from parents, however, faults may or may not have consequences to their racing career, and therefore different trainers/bloodstock agents may have different inceptions with regard to acceptable faults (TOBA, 2015).

There is little evidence of how horses were managed within the first years of domestication (Dierendonc). However, in most horse husbandry systems today horses are kept confined and solitary with very little social contact. This can be seen as optimal to ensure physical health, to prevent injury or to allow exact individual monitoring (Dierendonc, 2006). However, these systems often ignore the basic needs of the horse, e.g. social contact, foraging and locomotion needs, often resulting in abnormal behaviours. The start of stereotypic behaviour usually is related to chronic stress due to mal-adaptations to cope with the environment (Hausberger et al., 2009).

Unknown to most people, there are between 75-200 horse breeds in the world, each with specific characteristics that make it unique. However, all species of horse share defining characteristics that have evolved over time and all are

People have been breeding horses to obtain a certain appearance for a long time. People have preferences in how tall their horse is, what its conformation is like, its muscling, and even its color. Horses have been bred to display solid coat colors as well as coats of mixed colors. Frame Overo is a very appealing coat color type that consists of two different colors marking the horse. Frame Overo is a color associated with paint horses that have white patches on their abdomens that do not extend to the midline of the back, where they are a darker color such as brown (Metallinos et al, 1998). As appealing as these coat colors are, breeding two frame Overo horses for their coloring comes with great risk. Less than twenty-five percent of offspring produced by these animals inherit a lethal genetic disease known as Lethal White Overo or Lethal White Foal Syndrome ("Frame Overo").

There are countless breeds of horses in the world from east to west, from North America to Asia; yet only a few of those breeds are preferred for riding. Arabian horses are a popular breed used for riding; they originated from the Arabian peninsula. They are favored for riding because they have great endurance, speed, and strong bone,which refine the pleasure and ability to ride freely. Another species treasured in riding, especially for races, is the Thoroughbred, who originated from England. The Thoroughbreds are used in races for their amazing speed, agility, and competitive spirit; they are said to be rather hot-blooded, serving the racers perfectly. The final breed that is valued in riding, in just a fun and free way, is the mustang; as,

This breed originated in seventeenth century Britain. Thoroughbreds have a few characteristics that make them a unique breed. They have a fine sleek hair coat that is very shiny and beautiful. These horses are usually very energetic and athletic as well. Their body build is specific with their lean muscle, powerful haunches, and long sloping shoulders.

Equines have been essential to the evolution of our society for over 4,000 years, providing speed and strength to aid in work, travel, and war. They are extreme athletes, capable of producing high speeds and stamina and are able to do so efficiently. This is due partly to the muscle physiology of the equine. In most mammals, 40-45% of body weight is made of muscle mass. In horses this percentage is increased to over 50%. Horses are not all the same, however. Different breeds have different skeletal muscle builds as well as muscle types. For example, the Thoroughbred, one of the most athletic breeds of horses, has a muscle mass percentage of almost 55%. (Gunn, 1979) Conditioning of our equine athletes is an important part of equine care, especially

A bull being used for artificial insemination can breed up to 500,000 cows in their lifetime, which is usually only 5 to 10 years. After their death, a bull’s semen that is kept in the correct way, can still be used to breed generations down the line. The time for keeping semen frozen is projected at 40-45 years old. A bull that is known greatly in the show cattle industry for being deceased and still able to buy semen from them is the bull, Man Among Boys. With artificial insemination, a person can breed for the qualities they want or need, unlike natural breeding which they would receive only the qualities from the same bull that is located at their farm. Also, an advantage of artificial insemination is the availability. Anyone can find semen sales anywhere from a local cattle farm or online. And finally, fewer sires on a person’s farm is needed because they would receive a stick of semen instead of an entire

Due to the large size of horses it can be dangerous to work with ones that are hard to handle. The term “Imprint Training” is popular in the horse industry meaning early handling of foals with to focus on improving their behavior, learning ability, and for them to gain confidence in the world around them (Lansade, 2004). This imprint training is believed by many horse people to help horses and make them easier to work with when they become older (Lansade, 2004).