Pedigrees

It was 24 years ago in October that I saw a 2-year-old dark brown colt that I liked at the Trakehner stallion market - Koerung - in Neumuenster.

HOFRAT is his name.

The stallion Hofrat is an elite in Trakehner breeding.

Reserve winner of the Trakehner stallion show HLP Adelheidsdorf Reserve winner of the dressage horses with 136.0 points. Won the Trakehner Federal Championship. Hofrat has won several times in the Prix St. Georges class under Theo Hanzon. In his Intermediaire II debut he achieved a nice score of 67.24%.

Hofrat is the father of the Hanoverian champion stallion Hotline. Hofrat is the father of the 2011 Trakehner champion stallion Höwelmann. Hofrat is the father of Edelmuth, Trakehner Federal Champion of 6-year-old dressage horses. Hofrat is the father of Hofgraf, winner of the qualification in Verden for the Nuremberg Burgpokal with Holga Finken. In the Trakehner Index he has been in... More

When Bigger is Not Better - Eventing
STUDY SUCCESS! Once again I’m mentioning some mighty atoms…this time from the Eventing world. NOT because small horses are right for all riders, but because they show that an inch or two smaller is not a disaster in terms of performance, even at elite level.

As we spread this message within the horse sport industry it will not be a disaster in the sale rings either. The bottom line for me is that a 16hh sport horse is currently undervalued and yet it has many advantages over a 16.3h horse.

All the horses mentioned today were successful at the highest level, however smaller horses are also very well suited to the majority of riders who compete at lower levels.

This is a no brainer when the statistics show that the majority of riders are female and in the 12 to 25 age group…..and I say again ‘I love all types of horses and I think diversity is hugely important, bearing in mind the huge diversity of the riding population... More

When bigger is not better STUDY SUCCESS!

As many have said in the past you can’t ride a pedigree, so it is no good going on pedigree alone. But a knowledge of pedigrees can also be a great help, although there will always be the outliers that are the exception, and genetic diversity that should be treasured.

I was reminded of this yesterday when that great Wexford huntsman and horseman Jeremy Cairns said to me,

“My wife’s dun hunter is ¼ trotter, ¼ Conny, ¼ Thoroughbred, and ¼ Tinker pony! Brilliant over any jump. We have yet to find any field to contain her…wall garden included!”

This hunter is 15.1hh but carries the weight and length of a 6ft 6ins Jeremy with great ease.

WEIGHTY MATTERS

Talking of carrying weight, the Thoroughbred horse in general is smaller and lighter than a warm blood…on average approx 200 lbs lighter when compared with a 16.2hh typical 40% Thoroughbred x warm blood. As force equals mass x acceleration the... More

Love and a Phenomenal Female Rider
STUDY SUCCESS!

It is difficult for us all to be truly objective about horses because we all tend to love the special horses and the breeds that come in to our lives initially, and our loyalty to them sometimes leads us astray.

Therefore because there are currently few Thoroughbreds in the sport horse world our loyalties tend to go elsewhere.

But the response to these posts suggests that there are many out there, like Martin Arnott, who would be prepared to give them a chance if they could find sufficient reasons.

ABERNANT XX, ABERALI XX, ABGAR XX, & ABERLOU XX

One of the most convincing reasons for most people would be that there are thoroughbreds out there with a great jump.

I have previously written about the thoroughbred horses that hold all the Puissance records ( Remember The Thoroughbred Option 8 ) but... More