Looking for advice choosing a stallion for my TB mare

Pocabella

I'm thinking about putting my mare in foal next year and am looking for advice on what stallion to choose.

She is a 14-y-o TB mare with a brilliant temperament so I'd love to breed her with something heavier than her, probably an ISH with great jumping ability.

Does anyone have any advice on this in general.

Thanks a million

mothoin

Jack of diamonds, he stands in lissava

Boherdeal clover, he stands in county laois

Really decide whether you want a jumper or an eventer, the two above have lovely stock on the ground!

Pocabella

Thanks a million. Jack of Diamonds had come across my radar already alright. Good to see another endorsement. I hadn't come across boherdeal clover but he's a worthy contender for sure.
It won't be til next year obviously but thanks for the suggestions.

mothoin

Oh and flexible! Very few pwople seem.to think of him!

Ave Sodalis

Not sure about stallion, that's really just personal choice in terms of skill sets etc but I have to say, you can't go far wrong with a good Thoroughbred/Connemara cross.

Pocabella

Yeah the Connemara that's also an option that I'm really thinking about. They're all round deadly! I'd only be afraid that it'd end up being too small. The three avenues I was thinking were ISH, ID or Connemara. I love the mare to bits so I'm just looking to complement her and have something of hers as an eventual successor. I know it's down to personal choice really but I was just floating the my thoughts for suggestions.

fits

A lot depends on your mare's strengths and weaknesses and what type of animal you want to breed. Its sort of impossible to recommend without seeing the mare.

Pocabella

I've attached 3 photos of her.

Conformationally, the glaring abberrations are as follows

She's got a nice shoulder and deep girth but is a little light in the hindquarters. Her hind legs are a little close and she's slightly pigeon toed behind.
Her neck is also very long.

I'm looking to produce something that I could eventually break and use myself that has a good jump and an even temperament.

mothoin

Your pictures re-affirm my original posts

Jack of diamonds
boherdeal clover
flexible
I will ad Ramiro b aswell, as he is a very commercial sire at the moment, and crosses very well with thoroughbred mares!

What is her breeding? If you go with Jack of diamonds or Ramiro b and get a colt foal, i'll buy it off you!

Pocabella

Her sire is some obscure stallion called AhSayLad and her dam is Indian Orchid who's out of the same dam as Desert Orchid. Unremarkable breeding by all accounts from a racing perspective. She never even raced. I'd say she was too laid back. She's an aul dote.

Ok cool I'm interested that you day the photos back up your original suggestions. How so? I like the look of all those stallions! What sort of sums of cash would one be parting with to summon the romantic advances of any of those fellas for my mare?

fits

Flexible is expensive. Can't remember how much exactly, but it was out of my reach right now. There are details on his website.

fits

She's a lovely mare. I would be tempted to breed her to a connemara.

Rips

Yeah same here - she'd make a nice cross to a connemara. You might get something a bit short for sure, but to either ISH or ID you run the same risk of breeding something that has no more bone then she does.

Check out this lad - AI only though as he is a working stallion. I have met him in the flesh and he is just fantastic, brain, movement, ability - the lot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJMBxW2zJiA

I bred my own ISH to an ID (just the one foal to keep for myself) and I'm very sorry I didn't know about this lad.

I had considered a few but nothing grabbed me.

Templebready Fear Bui throws nice stock aswell, might be a little heavier.

Just for arguments sake, my mare is 15'3 and heavier then yours, deeper in the body and has more bone - she was bred to a 16'2 traditional ID type (very heavy) and the resulting foal is... 15'3, with no more bone then herself She is heavier in her frame just and she doesn't have as much blood (which is what I wanted)

Rips

Oh, hilarious, as I said - I know this stallion in the flesh so I was never much interested in his breeding ... just clicked my own link to check it was working... and see that his sire is... Templebready Fear Bui!

I obviously have my 'type'

Valentina

Glenhill Gold. A friend of mine has two super horses by him out of TB mares. Check out his Facebook page for photos of some of his offspring

Pocabella

Hi again,

Fits, Valentina and Rips thanks for your responses and apologies for the delay in replying to you, I was out of the country.

Thanks for the compliments on her Fits Rips he looks lovely and a proper endorsement as you've met him in the flesh. Valentina he also looks like a good bet. I'm getting some cracking advice here it would appear I just ned to focus what I'm looking for exactly I assume and decide on one.

Pardon my ignorance on this but what's the time frame on when one needs to get cracking? Obviously June or July so I would have thought for a summer foea but does there need to be numerous prelim vet exams and then a few tries with the stallion/AI. What's the ideal month to conceive?

fits

I will be getting my mare looked at at around St Patrick's Day next year and see how she is from there. July is a bit late, and you might need a couple of cycles for her to take.

Esroh

From a commercial point of view. ie If you plan to sell your foal then early foal = big mature foal for Sale later in year . The same applies to showing. 99% of judges will see the big first at a show in June or July over the nice month old.

If you intend to keep it then it really will not matter by the time its 3.
For example although TB's are bred as early as possible the majority of Classic winners of the 1900's were actually born in June.

When planning a foaling ,you have to consider.
Have you the Facilities to Foal inside early in the year.
A mare and foal in Feb or March and even april can take a lot of looking after. The last few years weather has not been great for having them out fulltime.

Ask any mare where she wants to foal and she will pick a nice clean fields just before dawn in Late April or May over a stable. Its the place nature intended and its more likely she will get to do it without you fussing:D.
My best mare will wait until I have got up to check and then gone back for a cuppa and will have foaled before the kettle has boiled. 7 foals and never been there for 1 but have gone back out to find her just getting up.

So as Fits says start watching early in the year and the cycle should be fully established by March and then with the help of scanning you should be able to get the timing right and Nature does the rest

Rips

And your mare's sire can't be that obscure, because I stumbled across the proper spelling of his name in a race listing today, here is a link to his stud page.
http://www.esatclear.ie/~sfk/bridgestud/Aahsaylad.htm

He's a nice horse, nice looking thoroughbred to breed a riding horse anyway.