continued
hayloft and a couple of manure forks to fend off the coyotes. This should be an easy decision, right? I’m an experienced Warmblood breeder, well-versed in the selection process of my studbook—all I had to do was clearly identify my breeding goals and then select the six horses most likely to further these goals, aban- doning the rest to the predators of Southern New Hampshire, the aforementioned coyote, the hungry stray house cat, and the ever-elusive saber-beaked Blue Jay. (Given that it was January when I was contemplat- ing this escape, the Kamikaze Deer Fly did not make the list.) All and all, nasty creatures. A wild, wild envi- ronment to be sure.
So, the selection process! It’s what being a Warmblood breeder is all about, right? It’s the heart of these European systems designed to produce the world’s finest equine athletes. It’s we Americans that are unable to understand that breeding horses is no different than hybridizing tulips or getting more milk out of the next generation of the Holstein cow. I just needed to look at the situation in a positive light—forced culling.
Well, immediately, I eliminated the grouchy Connemara and the four Morgans because, one, they can’t con- tribute to my Dutch breeding program and, two, they would be the first five horses to figure out how to climb the ladder into the hayloft. This left me with six more abandonees. The three year old gelding (this is a breeding operation after all), the yearling filly I can’t catch (she’s really nice, but time was of the essence), and the young mare who refuses to fight for her grain or hay (the rest of the horses would have picked her to go “negotiate” with the coyotes anyways…) all stay. I’m down to three more that can’t get on the trailer. I call my friend; she says, “I don’t care what else you decide, but the National Treasure gets on the trailer.” She’s talking about our 21 year old Thoroughbred mare whose pedigree belongs in every future sport horse in America. That leaves me deciding among four phenomenal broodmares, a three year old superstar filly, a promising two year old filly, a yearling stallion prospect, and the KWPN-NA’s top jumper mare for 2008 (my current third favorite). Shoot. The jumper mare has to stay; I breed dressage horses. Specialization, man! I knew I didn’t like the concept—now I have to deal with the consequences. Two to go. OK. This is Warmblood breeding; stallions only get approved in fairy tales—the yearling colt stays. One more. I can’t believe I’m thinking it: LaVita. My oldest broodmare. My goddess. The horse for whom I’m building a spare bedroom/stall. NO!!! But, it’s what my studbook tells me to do. She is, God forbid, an all- rounder—herself a dressage horse, but she’s produced not only other dressage horses, but also, I can barely type it, a jumper. Cut out my heart and seal over the hole in the roof of the trailer for her ears…I can’t do it. I’m not moving and the heck with the European selection process! I’ll stay in the land of Seasonal Affect Disorder if I have to give up that which is the equine incarnation of my soul.
WT
About Scot Tolman: He has been breeding Dutch Warmbloods for the past 19 years at Shooting Star Farm in Southwestern New Hampshire.
74
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73