The Decision to Breed Part I: My Mare

This is my mare Layla (registered name: Starlite Duchess):

While she is not they "typiest" mare, she is clearly recognizable as an Arabian. Her pedigree, a cross of primarily CMK and Egyptian lines, is currently not "en vogue." I personally find that a bonus--overlooked lines contain valuable genetic material and diversity that will be lost if only what is "popular" is bred. It's probably a fair assumption to say that she was bred for the rare black color, but I don't think that detracts from what an overall nice mare she is.

No horse is perfect, but I find Layla's faults to be minor and should be easily improved with the right stallions. She is slightly toed-in, has a somewhat long back and face, and I prefer a higher natural tail carriage (although her tail set itself is fine). On the other hand, she has a lovely, long neck, straight and strong legs, and a substantial build capable of carrying even heavy riders without a problem (I'm not light!). She has a tractable (if not overly friendly) personality and is a very solid trail horse. About anyone can ride her, even children. She's very pretty, and I have to admit I do love that gorgeous black coat. She's also very "feminine."

All that aside, why did I decide to breed my mare? The world already has so many horses needing rescue, why bring more into the fold? The answer isn't just about my mare, it's about the future of the Arabian breed as a whole.

The way I feel about breeding is that we cannot leave the breeding of our future stock to the willy-nilly whim of the ignorant breeders who just want a baby (it'll sell, everyone wants a baby from MY mare). Nor can we leave it just up to the show breeders, who tend to only breed along "fad" lines and ignore older, yet quality lines. If everyone were to breed that way, some valuable bloodlines, which have much to offer to the future of the breed, would be lost forever. Some already have been. Breeding shouldn't be about what's popular at the time, but that's what makes money for breeders.

Layla is a maiden mare and not young at 14 years. From her, I'd like to get two fillies to start a very small program. Eventually I'd like to get a second mare, but I don't intend to have more than three or four broodmares at a time. Any horse I have will be broke to ride on the trials at a minimum. I do hope to get into some showing for fun... if it ceases to be fun, I will cease to show!!