Breeding in the Digital Age

There is a very worrying trend emerging, driven by the juggernaut of social media. Certain stallions are the focus of globally driven showcases and powerful advertising campaigns  - often ridden by famous riders and accompanied by frenzied clapping audiences- which creates enough anxiety to push the horse to even greater trot strides

Social media has significantly altered the landscape of horse breeding - it prioritises sensationalism and amplifies emotionally charged content -  and yes it is very compelling- and presents serious challenges for the breeder.

It pushes the focus towards what is highly publicised -  usually young stallions at presentation days, or may direct attention to one highly publicised win or performance  at a major competition. Many breeders seem happy to base a breeding decision on this, lost in the dream of a foal in the image of its father. Buyers are affected in the same manner.  They want a Glamourdale foal or a Secret  foal - with little regard to the dam - except the dam sire (maybe).

Videos and photos of the stallions are carefully edited to show the horses best features while  attempting to hide any flaws in conformation and movement with clever camera angles. They often make the stallion appear more accomplished than they are, when in fact they have undertaken a period of intense training by exceptional riders  -   often  the best riders in the world, who present the stallion in the best possible manner. This gives the impression to the average breeder that this kind of extreme movement is possible in the progeny.

Public opinion and advice given in different facebook groups is used to make breeding decisions - often from the fast spread of inaccurate information from  ' online experts' .

Social media creates an environment where popular stallions from showy marketing campaigns are favoured over data and scientific based breeding principles. It has created a shift away from long term empirical selective breeding plans and toward superficial short term results - with an oversimplification of what are in fact very complex decisions.

It also contributes to unrealistic expectations in both breeders and certainly buyers that the foal will be a miniature replica of the stallion. This creates image driven impulsive decisions.

Commercial breeders are good at creating this vision also, with other breeders jumping on the same bandwagon.

This approach also leaves out most other stallion options. Many older or smaller stallion stations, and even the Celle stud, do not have the publicity driven campaigns behind their stallions - or the marketing ability of the private wealthy stallion owners. They may just focus on promoting one or two of their more impressive  stallions -  but this does not mean the rest are not worth considering.

There are also older stallions at Celle and other stations that are simply ignored by breeders - they may be plainer in appearance or not have the flashiest paces, but they could well be the best choice for certain mares and should not be overlooked.

When choosing stallions for mares, all available stallions with semen for sale should be brought into consideration for test matings to determine the best genetic compatibility for each mare - as a starting point.

The right stallion for the mare is not usually going to be the popular or commercial choice, or the flashiest stallion that everyone is rushing to use - and this is big mistake that all breeders have made. Breeders need to look alot more closely at the mare and what is needed to  improve on her strength to upgrade her progeny.

There will be mistakes made, it is inevitable -  some crosses will not work and will produce average foals - all breeders have them, no matter what they say.  Even top mares will have foals that are more average - it is the nature of inheritance that foals regress toward the median average of the breed. Very few foals will live up to expectations  or have anything like the ability of their  champion parents .  What  is important is to learn from these mistakes and develop the critical eye that is needed for improvement. 

It can take courage to go against the popular trends and do your own thing . If you have your own ideas and want to pursue a certain method or type of breeding, then go for it.  Do not listen to others telling you that you won't sell a foal if its not by a fashionable stallion - or if you have an ugly mare who just happens to be prepotent - follow your own plans and experiment if you have ideas.  We need breeders who take risks, who make their own investigations and carry out their own trials -  this can be how advancement is made. As long as the health and longevity of the breed is kept in mind.

Commercial breeders push the hype of the new and / or popular stallions -  and they do it very well -  they are selling the dream that the foal will be just like its father. Just from the sheer numbers pumped out by these breeders, and the prices paid for the foals - they  will always have a certain percentage of winners and competitors in  major competitions. 

Commercial breeders  can still use commercial stallions -  and also breed for the long game of top competition results  - and better horses. They can use selective breeding strategies that incorporate fashionable sires  - a shortlist can be made up for each mare and a 'best' choice made. Even though the sale of the foal is the primary goal- it is still in the best interests of the commercial breeder for their horses to perform  well in sport, and choosing the 'right' stallion for each mare, the one that complements and supplements her strengths, will give a more consistent result in the competition ring.

The right choice for the mare is what raises the probability of producing the high calibre athletic, typey foal -  not just using a stallion because it competed at the Olympics, or because everyone else is using that stallion, or because it is unimaginably spectacular and haunts your dreams.  Aside from the lucky nick mating where the stallion just happens to ' nick' with the mare -  average foals will be the result if the stallion choice is not based on extensive research and putting the mares needs first.