One question I’m often asked is what guidelines are there for people getting involved in breeding thoroughbreds for the first time. In particular, how can one select a mare which has a reasonable chance of becoming a successful broodmare.
For the purposes of this article I’m assuming that there is a sale coming up in which a significant number of mares are being offered for sale. I suggest that newcomers focus on mares which have won at least one race; sometimes racehorses, no matter how impressive their pedigrees, just don’t want to be racehorses – in other words, they don’t try. These mares are to be avoided because they tend to leave foals which demonstrate exactly the same fault. There’s nothing more soul-destroying for a breeder to produce a stunning foal, spend vast sums of money raising it – maybe even put it into training themselves – only to discover that the horse just doesn’t have the competitive spirit. Being a race-winner doesn’t automatically guarantee that a mare is courageous – she may have won a weak maiden race early in her career and then decided that enough is enough – but it is certainly a positive indicator. Needless to say, finding a mare which has won, even in modest company, in each of two or three seasons, is a great way to start your selection process.
The second thing to look for is a consistent family. If a mare is a winner and is from a winning dam which has produced a series of winners, then the conclusion is obvious: if one chooses a suitable stallion, the resulting foal should have a good chance of following the family tradition. Conversely, the sort of mare to avoid is one whose dam has had several foals, few of which have either been to the races or been successful. A significant percentage of non-runners may indicate conformational or temperament problems; a significant percentage of non-winners implies strongly that the mare is not passing on desirable genes.
Finally, and this is where some degree of expert help is required, an assessment needs to be made as to the quality of stallions which have served the mares in the family under consideration. If a family has a record of producing useful winners by average, or worse, stallions then this is a family with room for improvement. If one can find a winning mare from such a family and the mare herself is by a decent stallion, then this the sort of mare one ought to consider buying.
Next week: some further pitfalls to avoid.
