You have to appreciate the data that the Dutch registry compiles. It takes a lot of guessing out of the entire process of picking a mate for your mare. There are obviously no guarantees to any foal but you can at least make an educated decision.
Start with your linear score sheet. Review it and get to know what it means (click here to learn about the linear score sheet). Now that you have an idea of what is on it, decide what you want to improve on your mare. Narrow it down to no more than 3 things because the chances of improving on things decreases as you add more and more to your list
For our example we are going to pick the mare that is in the linear score example Here is her linear score sheet. For simplicity we are going to only focus on one trait, the walk.
As you can see her score on the Walk was 6.5. The walk has 3 parts >Toeing-
Now that we have that figured out on her score sheet we need to look at a stallion’s offspring report and focus on the walk. (information on how to read the stallion offspring reports click here)
On the Stallion’s offspring report they list on a scale where 100 is the middle score and on the Mare’s linear score sheet the middle score is 25. Every 5 points up or down on the mare’s linear score sheet will be the same as 4 points up or down on the stallions sheet. So 20 for a mare is 96 on the stallion’s and 30 on the mare sheet will be 104 on the stallion sheet.
To increase a trait you will want to get an average of the mare and stallion reports that equals the desired results. So to increase 5 points on the mare sheet you will want to select a stallion that is 8 points higher on that trait. Here is a chart that shows Stallions and mare’s points and how they relate
To increase a trait you will want to get an average of the mare and stallion reports that equals the desired results. So to increase 5 points on the mare sheet you will want to select a stallion that is 8 points higher on that trait. Here is a chart that shows Stallions and mare’s points and how they relate
Remember your goal is to get the foal to average out to your desired results. Your mare already has her linear scores so now you have to pick according to what you desire for it’s offspring. To increase your chances of getting the desired results you can pick a stallion that is much stronger in that trait than you need, but you must also evaluate the grey areas on the chart to see if that will pull you too far in the undesired direction.
So in our example Toeing-
So in our example Toeing-
Our general goal will be to average our our scores to get the desired offspring
So our mare’s walk is toeing 20 -
116 is a very remarkable score so we are going to try the best we can to get the highest rated stallion for this trait.
Having said all that lets actually take a look at some stallions scores for the walk. There are 2 ways I’m going to look at this. The chart from the linear scores, and the bottom score for the walk.
So our mare’s walk is toeing 20 -
116 is a very remarkable score so we are going to try the best we can to get the highest rated stallion for this trait.
Having said all that lets actually take a look at some stallions scores for the walk. There are 2 ways I’m going to look at this. The chart from the linear scores, and the bottom score for the walk.
Stallion A
To prove that you have to look at both the chart and the number at the bottom. At quick glance both stallions appear to be spectacular in that they both have a walk that is 112 in the overall scores at the bottom of their sheets. But when you look closer you will see that the stallion A is Toeing-
When we look closer we see that the stallion B has a high score of 111 for short/long and 113 for weak/powerful. As I mentioned it’s very hard to find a 116 score so we are trying to get as high of a score as we can find within reason.
Ideally our mare would need a 108 for toeing-
There is no exact science for the match making process but using the charts and data that the Dutch have compiled can help you make an educated decision
When we look closer we see that the stallion B has a high score of 111 for short/long and 113 for weak/powerful. As I mentioned it’s very hard to find a 116 score so we are trying to get as high of a score as we can find within reason.
Ideally our mare would need a 108 for toeing-
There is no exact science for the match making process but using the charts and data that the Dutch have compiled can help you make an educated decision
If your head is spinning and you would rather we run the numbers for you please feel free to e-mail us. We will run the numbers based on what your goals for your mare are and the available semen for a small fee. Contact us today via e-mail
FHANA had a 2 hour webinar that covers this information in 12/2015 so here is the link to view that webinar FHANA Linear Scores and Selecting a Stallion for your Mare
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