How to measure "success" as a Breeder

[Elaine]

It’s been a tough few days around here, but to lighten the mood, late last night we got an email from England, with an update on Commander…


http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp21/logresfarm/Commander-w-Whitaker1.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp21/logresfarm/Commander-w-Whitaker.jpg

These are photos of Commander, our 2004 colt, by Contango out of our grand old mare Fancy Ruler – who died early this spring. http://www.dogshownewsnetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794

The rider in the photo is England’s great show jumping rider John Whitaker. We sold Commander to England in the winter of 2007. I believe we are the only American Warmblood breeders to have sold two Warmblood Stallions to a European Union Country. (Cooldanz in 2006 was the first stallion we sold to England.) To see Commander in competition ridden by Mr. Whitaker is a thrill. Whitaker rode the Great Show Jumper Milton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R9FYYhJBX0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pxwYCURa3U&feature=related

John Whitaker has his choice of the top young talent in the world. He chose Commander.

Those of you who have sat up all night in the whelping box with a litter of puppies know exactly the feeling we get when we see these photos of Commander. We planned the breeding for years in advance, I broke the sack on him and helped him stand to nurse that first time. It's the same feeling you get when you see your kids in the ring for the first time... the glorious feeling that Bob and Cheryl have when they see Rowan in the ring, showing like a millions bucks. That feeling – watching the kids you bred take wings and soar - it is what makes all the effort so worthwhile. That feeling defines "success."

Commander is still a young stallion… his form is excellent for his age, the best is yet to come. We are thrilled with his progress to date. Absolutely thrilled. It is heartening to see his mother Fancy Ruler living on through her sons and daughters.

[dobesign]

The horses, like the dogs, are astoundingly beautiful. The best part is that they are functional too! Congrats!

[andyhilt27]

You must be proud.....with good reason.

[Elaine]

Breeding horses is a lot different then breeding dogs… gee, ain’t that profound, bet you didn’t realize that. :p

Back to my point… I can plan a breeding, do the breeding, whelp the litter and see the offspring in the puppy classes in the 11 month period of a mares’ gestation. For everything you do to breed dogs, you have to add a few zeros to the numbers on the check to do the same in horses. IF you miss the mark a bit when breeding dogs, you still have amazing companion animals. IF you miss the mark by too much in equines you have an animal not well suited for any purpose, with a life span of up to 30 years that you are responsible for.

For a whole lot of reasons, I think responsible equine breeders take it slow and wait for a few years (as long as between 5-10 years) to really see what they’ve produced before continuing on. Of course taking it slow means you miss certain opportunities, and 20/20 hindsight can be the source of considerable regret. Looking back, we probably should have repeated the breeding that produced Commander.

Commander’s sire Contango is now dead (though there is still frozen semen of his and we intend to breed a daughter of Commander's dam to Contango next spring). Contango's offspring are really starting to shine in international competition. His son Ravel just won two huge International Dressage competitions (including the World Cup). Ravel will no doubt represent the USA in the 2010 World Equestrian Games which will be held here in the USA in Kentucky (huge for the USA to hold this event). Ravel was in Hong Kong in 2008 and god willing, he will represent us again in the Olympics in 2012. There are several other up and coming Dressage super stars sired by Contango, and he is a noted jumping sire as well.

Contango was always unique, in that he was one of a handful of stallions that the Germans regretted allowing out of Germany. He was purchased back in the mid 1990s by Mary Alice Malone / Iron Spring Farm (heiress to the Campbell Soup Fortune, worth about 1.4 Billion). Contango would likely have represented the USA in the Olympics in his lifetime, but after he was imported is was discovered that he was EVA positive, which caused an abortion storm at Iron Spring Farm, until they figured out what was wrong and how to deal with it. Because of his EVA status, no European country would allow him in, not even for a competition, so he spent his life here in the USA. Regardless of his talent or ability, he could not go abroad to compete in international competition. Also, breeders were afraid to use him because of his EVA status. There is a vaccination protocol that makes it possible to breed to EVA positive stallions, but in involves isolating the mare and most breeders with multiple mares did not wish to take the risk. Some repro vets would not allow his semen on their property. So, Contango was not used much in his lifetime. We took the gamble, it paid off for us …we got Commander.

But there is more to being successful than just producing talent… you have to make sure that talent gets in the right hands. We made some sacrifices to see that Commander got to England, to be available to be in training with John Whitaker. (we turned down offers that would have meant he stayed here in the USA and essentially became the gelded riding horse of some "daddy's little girl." :(:eek:

So from planning the breeding, to doing the breeding, to paying for the whole thing… to waiting for a healthy foal (and for us, we are waiting for a Pinto foal on top of that)… to raising the little rascal, seeing him/her into training… and then attracting the right buyer or situation for the horse…it is a long journey that requires steadfast commitment to long-terms goals. And you have to understand enough about structure and movement to make the right breeding choices to begin with. Doesn’t take much to see how easy it is to miss the mark, which makes the photos of Commander so rewarding. We absolutely nailed it with him.