Breeding Philosophy: Mares
The mares of Red Hills Ranch reflect years of experience and research, as well as personal preference. Experience both with our breeding program and in observing many client's breeding programs has taught us the subtleties of mare selection.
Mares are responsible for much more than half of what is produced in your foal crop. Furthermore, herd dynamics and the many mother mares that foals interact with, effect their individual personalities. Equine social development is complex, and making sure one has a balanced, happy, herd dynamic ensures that foals become friendly and confident members of society.
Experience is earned, and we are still "earning" ours. What we have learned thus far is that we prefer mares who are quiet and easy to handle, yet sensitive enough to not be dull. Just as you would want under saddle, we like handling broodmares who can stand quietly, yet respond subtly to cues. It takes a mentally balanced mare who enjoys human interaction and learning, to accomplish these goals. You will hear us tout "temperament" over and over again, because although this breed is generally well tempered, there is a phenomenal range of temperaments being bred. For us, beauty is as beauty does, and if I don't enjoy living with a mare, why would I want to reproduce her?
Our mares reflect our ideal conformation, versatility, athleticism, temperament, and racial type. I want kind, beautiful, athletic mother mares who demonstrate their ability to consistently produce exceptional offspring.
Breeding Philosophy: Stallions
Every year welcomes the exciting challenge of selecting stallions for our mares. The conformation, movement, and temperament of various stallions are weighed and compared to each mare. Something we always take into account is the tendency of each parent to contribute phenotypic characteristics. One of the primary goals of our breeding program has been to select mares who pass along our "ideal" disposition. However, it is always very important to evaluate the temperament of offspring from each stallion in consideration. Most stallion owners will tell you that their stallion has an excellent disposition, but it is up to each mare owner to decipher what this means in terms of what the goals are of their individual breeding program. Similarly, some stallions are known for "stamping" foals with certain characteristics, whereas other stallions produce a more varied foal crop, reflective of the types of mares they have been crossed with.
Fertility should be another important consideration when evaluating stallions. Although most stallions are fertile (have produced offspring), all stallions are not created equally in this important quality. Frustratingly, it is not always easy to discern the true fertility or conception rates of stallions because of so many variabilities that come into play during breeding season. However, we make every effort to breed to stallions with excellent fertility rates, in an effort to try to pass along excellent fertility rates to our offspring and future generation of breeding stock.
We would be happy to discuss the rationale behind any breeding choices we have made!