Thoroughbred Horse Breeding

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Thoroughbred Horses

All over the world , Britain is envied for her large and high class stock of Thoroughbreds, but in sport horse breeding we have made much less use of our abundant supply than the continentals have of their more limited numbers.

The tendency has been to use the Thoroughbred as a breed as opposed to using it to upgrade half bred stock , inject some " class " and stamina and with a bit of luck produce a good hunter , eventer or show jumper. How much more likely we would be to produce a good horse if Thoroughbreds were used selectively and upon the basis of data about their own ability to jump , move well and be trainable to produce athletic stock and bloodlines.

Fortunately , all these sources of data are being developed . Thoroughbred mares and stallions are being tested in arenas. British Horse Database ( BHD ) is starting to provide more reliable information about progeny and publications are drawing attention to bloodlines. All of this gives hope that Britain could make much better use of an exceptionally valuable equestrian asset - the Thoroughbred.

The Thoroughbred Stallion in Competitions

The spirited sensitive temperament of the Thoroughbred stallion has made it much more difficult to handle both from the ground and whilst being ridden.

Better horsemanship and the greater enhanced value of a stallion that has proved itself in the arena is changing this and leading to many more stallions who are out competing on a regular basis. ( This also, it has to be said , is also currently true for Warmblood Stallions ) . Forerunners of this trend in the 1960's were Sam Barr who's Welton Gameful was a successful event horse before founding the Welton Stud dynasty and Jennie Loriston - Clarke , who's Xenocles was both an advanced dressage and an advanced event horse.

Both of these stallions are to be found in today's sport horses , but more so Welton Gameful . This is not surprising as his pedigree contains past sport horse producers of the likes of Pharos and Big Game. This good blood has been continued into the next generations with three of his sons , Welton Apollo , Welton Crackerjack and Welton Louis all standing at stud.

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