offset in knee...hereditary?
Moderators: Roguelet, WaveMaster, madelyn, Diane
offset in knee...hereditary?
Hi all, I'm about to commit several mares on stud fees, some of them maidens or else I've never seen their one or two prior offspring before I owned them. One of my mares is fairly offset in one knee, which to best describe it meaning her cannon bone comes outward at an angle from her knee. She was very sound and a decent stakes type. Do I go with a less expensive stallion in the event she passes on this trait, as I am hearing this is mostly hereditary? Anyone with ideas? I havent been breeding that long, and what a learning curve! Thanks.
It is not necessarily going to be passed on, but I would not breed her to a stallion who is offset, IMHO. Tapit is very offset and it isn't stopping people from breeding to him, but at his fee, I'd think that most breeders would send a correct mare to him. Even being offset does not mean the horse cannot run or that they won't do well on the track. Nobiz like Shobiz is slightly offset in one knee and he did not pass that on to my colt and his knee did not affect his racing ability.
Best advice would be to talk to the farms that have the stallions you are interested in. They should be very straightforward with you, I know one farm was when I called about a particular stallion.
Best advice would be to talk to the farms that have the stallions you are interested in. They should be very straightforward with you, I know one farm was when I called about a particular stallion.
As with any mare--and they all have faults--I think you just have to find your comfort level as far as how much you want to put into a stud fee, ie what level of risk you're willing to assume.
Offset is hereditary, and certainly more prevalent in some sirelines than others. I'd avoid those with your mare if at all possible--no sense in doubling up on a problem. But, as with other faults, it's also possible to breed away from successfully.
If it were me, I would make the decision based on where she fell in my heirarchy of mares, talent and family-wise. If she's near the top, it's unlikely that I would spend more money on a less talented or lower quality mare simply because that mare is more correct.
Offset is hereditary, and certainly more prevalent in some sirelines than others. I'd avoid those with your mare if at all possible--no sense in doubling up on a problem. But, as with other faults, it's also possible to breed away from successfully.
If it were me, I would make the decision based on where she fell in my heirarchy of mares, talent and family-wise. If she's near the top, it's unlikely that I would spend more money on a less talented or lower quality mare simply because that mare is more correct.
thanks LB! Agree agree agree. Im sticking with lower end stud fees although i love the stallions for the price range. Stephen Got Even, Mizzen Mast, Include, Pleasantly Perfect, War Chant, Quiet American, etc. Trying to have a shot at a big horse, but not brave enough yet to pony up for stud fees like Tapit. Still doing a ton of research, so much to learn!
I could tell you next to nothing about any other conformation faults or what I'd like to correct in my mare so I just found a stallion who was physically very similar to her since I know what she is going to contribute 100% of the time. That knowledge came from talking to her breeder to understand where she inherited some of her "traits" and I even got the details on their foaling habits (they all tended to go way late).
You have a mix of stallions from a physical perspective. My mare is 16.2 so I'd never send her to a stallion any bigger than her (I don't want a horse who can pull a bud wagon), so how big/small are your mares? By the same token, I'd only go to a small stallion if I knew I could count on him throwing to the mare, ie like Birdstone. Most farms should be able to tell you what you might get.
You have a mix of stallions from a physical perspective. My mare is 16.2 so I'd never send her to a stallion any bigger than her (I don't want a horse who can pull a bud wagon), so how big/small are your mares? By the same token, I'd only go to a small stallion if I knew I could count on him throwing to the mare, ie like Birdstone. Most farms should be able to tell you what you might get.
Thanks Tappiano. My sire choices all have one thing in common, they can throw route types. There are other really nice stallions who can get sprinters or middle distance, but if i'm in love with the routers, I might as well stick to those types of stallions. My mares all tend to be small to 15 3 tops, so any additional height is very welcome. Thanks for your insight.
When I book mares for clients, one of the factors I help to put in consideration is not to throw a big stud fee on a maiden mare (there are exceptions to that like a Horse of the Year, or Eclipse Award mare) the point being that first foals are often quite small and are not often the mare's best. Also you have no idea if the mare will throw a rat until you have seen a foal out of her.
So Run for the Roses, as fast as you can.....
Mac wrote:Thanks Tappiano. My sire choices all have one thing in common, they can throw route types. There are other really nice stallions who can get sprinters or middle distance, but if i'm in love with the routers, I might as well stick to those types of stallions. My mares all tend to be small to 15 3 tops, so any additional height is very welcome. Thanks for your insight.
Re your list, I would not necessarily assume that War Chant will throw you a route type. I've owned a couple and neither wanted any part of a distance.
I had an Avenue of Flags mare that was quite offset in the knee as was her sire. I bought her from some folks that bred paints and her paint foal was very offset. Her next TB foal was not offset but extremely over at the knees, next TB foal was fine and the next foal toed out a lot(even with bridging) but did seem to grow out of some of it as she aged. So it is a crap shoot when you have a crooked mare. sometimes the foal looks just like Mom and somethimes just like Dad and more rarely like some of both.