EVEN MARK TODD CAN BE LED ASTRAY – Part 2

When we breed a mare and a stallion it is a fact that we breed the brain as well as the body. Nothing strange about that, and trainer after trainer, coach after coach, and expert after expert all continually repeat the line about the need for a good temperament…a good brain for working with humans. Unfortunately this message is often ignored as we put greater emphasis on beauty and brawn rather than brain. Or we misinterpret the message by breeding the type of docile horse that will put up with mechanical training in caged environments, instead of the bright, responsive and spirited horses that are the very ones that forge the strongest relationships with humans, and give years and years of pleasure.

THE THOROUGHBRED BRAIN

Thoroughbreds often gets a bad press with regard to their temperament but the evidence suggests that this is probably because of their bad introduction to life in ‘factory’ racing stables. If their introduction to life is good it is my belief that most thoroughbreds and part bred thoroughbreds are easier to ride because they are self-starters, who go more willingly forwards than those without this thoroughbred influence. This is not surprising because the best thoroughbred families have a willingness that enables them to persevere in a race and put their nose in front on the finishing line. As the great Italian racehorse breeder Frederico Tesio said, "A horse gallops with his lungs, perseveres with his heart, and wins with his character." We so need these horses and families that have the predisposition for a forward attitude because there are far too many horses out there that have a predisposition to be unwilling.

THE X FACTOR

Of course there are no certainties with breeding and the most wonderful champions are sometimes bred from the most unlikely and unsuccessful stock…but I would emphasise the ‘sometimes’ because a more logical route is to find or develop a family that breeds true as well as talented. It is no coincidence that many of these talented performers have a little drop of the X Factor brain, inherited from native ponies and native breeds. It is not just because I live in Ireland that I love the Irish Draught brain…they tend to have that wonderful combination of both gentleness and sensitivity.

The Household Cavalry in the UK have over 250 Irish Draught/thoroughbred crosses that are used for example on the Queens birthday parade every June in the centre of London. Anyone who has seen this spectacle will confirm the immaculate behaviour and dressing of these horses in front of over 250,000 spectators. They have tried other types of continental horses but have now gone back to their traditional Irish Draught crosses because, as their Colonel Richard Waygood said to me in at a demonstration in 2007, “ they are more willing.” The same applies to the use of so many Irish Draughts in the mounted police forces in the UK.

Interestingly the charismatic Richard Waygood’s favourite words of wisdom are these….”Life’s battles do not always go to the stronger or faster man but generally to the man who thinks he can.” Of course many find the traditional Irish horse to be less compliant but I honestly believe this is because of poor training standards. How else can you explain that the greatest number of tens in championship horse trials dressage have been given to Irish Draught/Thoroughbred horses…particularly because of Pippa Funnell’s double Badminton winner Supreme Rock and Bettina Hoy’s multi medalist Ringwood Cockatoo, who is still competing at the highest level at the age of 18 years.

MORE X FACTOR

Mark Todd also had some X factor in his legendary double gold medalist Charisma, who by the way was only 15.3 and was out of a 15 hand mare, Planet…I love the little ones! Planet was a great jumper and was by the stallion Kiritea who was 1/16th Percheron Draught horse! While Mark’s Olympic star from last year, Gandalf, is out of a thoroughbred but by the coloured stallion Pintado Desperado, who has some Australian stock horse and New Zealand station bred genes. Then there are so many thousands of ‘weekend’ pleasure horses who have crosses of native breeds and are also superstars.

On a higher level I have mentioned in a previous blog the extraordinary international show jumping exploits of those two ‘ponies’ and Connemara/thoroughbred crosses Dundrum and Stroller. (May 1st - WILLIAM MICKLEM NAMES AND SHAMES). Of course in more recent years we have had Karen O’Connor’s Pan American gold medal pony, the extraordinary Theodore O’Connor, who was 3/4 TB, 1/8 arab and 1/8 shetland pony! Talking of Arabs the famous stallion, Ramzes, who features in the pedigrees of many great warm blood show jumping sires, was 1/2 Shagya Arab, and William Fox Pitt’s Badminton winner Tamarillo was just under 1/3 Arab. The Shagya Arab has been used extensively in the warm blood world.

FOUNDING FATHERS

It is well known that the Thoroughbred originated from just three Arabian stallions crossed with just 28 English mares in in the 18th century…the Godolphin Barb, the Brierly Turk and the Darley Arabian. This means that the genetic gene pool of Thoroughbreds is actually very small, especially when you realize that 95% of Thoroughbreds go back to one predominate sire the Darley Arabian. This both helps them breeding true and makes the native breeds a great outcross. The great sadness for me, particularly in our quest to produce ‘brains’, is that we are using ponies and native breeds so much less in our breeding programmes.

THOROUGHBRED GODS

Next week I will continue this series of articles on breeding on a high note, as I explain about the Thoroughbred Gods of both the warm blood world and all performance horses.…. stallions that not only had the right bodies to pass on in their genes but also the right brain. It is staggering information. Happy days, William

www.WilliamMicklem.com

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Comment by William Micklem on May 16, 2011 at 3:45pm
Brilliant...good luck...William
Comment by Christine Beavers on May 16, 2011 at 1:47pm
My Connemara-Hanoverian mare (pictured) agrees! Brain is bred for, and she is proof!
Comment by William Micklem on August 4, 2009 at 1:04pm
You obviously set a good example Patricia...well done and continued good fortune with your 'thinking' horses...it is the only way to go to fulfill potential..William
Comment by Patricia Grant on August 4, 2009 at 12:39pm
I have worked with part-Arabs, part-TB, and full TB. They are just so smart. Once you show them what you would like them to do, they are very willing. The people that I have seen who have trouble with these horses is that they try force the training and do not allow the horse to think. These horses do not tolerate abuse.
Comment by William Micklem on July 29, 2009 at 6:19pm
Well Onlyme you have that great gift of treating horses as individuals and you are obviously thoughtful...so progress will be made. I wish you luck and THANK YOU for your kind comments...William
Comment by onlyme on July 29, 2009 at 6:02pm
I think the best combination for an eventer is the thoroughbred x connemara - except they can sometimes end up smaller than ideal! My friend has one and although it has the attention span of a goldfish (its 5) it has the most amazing outgoing character, who is very brave and talented.

I totally agree with you about the thoroughbred brain and temperment, although my horse is 3/4 irish tb and is the most laid back horse I have ever come across! He still has that willingness but he takes everything in his stride! But the stallion that he came from has an amazing temperment and is very laid back, something that obviously breeds!

But i find that the laid back horses are hardest to train I think as I found I had to keep reminding myself that they are stil young even though they may act older, and I have to be careful not to do too much too soon!

I love reading your blogs, they are fantastic! I read somewhere of a stallion that drives in a pair with a mare!!
Comment by William Micklem on July 26, 2009 at 3:58am
....I might have been a savage in his circumstances! Worth considering...sounds as though he had severe mental problems...William
Comment by Geoffrey Pannell on July 25, 2009 at 7:22pm
He's long gone now, this was 20 years ago. I would like to have known then what I know now, might have made a difference. Beautifully put together, but just a savage. Had to have two handlers to serve mares with him. The chap that was working the stallions before me was chased out of the yard and refused to work with him at all. I had a few hairy moments with him , but we came to an understanding in the end. He was never a horse you could trust. But you know as bad as he was , he taught me a few lessons. Cheers Geoffrey
Comment by William Micklem on July 25, 2009 at 4:24pm
Hi Geoffrey...good to hear from you again...would love to have met this stallion you describe and work out what made him tick...and kick! It takes all sorts to make a world. William
Comment by Geoffrey Pannell on July 25, 2009 at 7:13am
Could not agree with you more William, once again , right on the money. I worked for a large TB stud many years ago , they had 7 stallions. They were all great to work with, except one! This horse had such a poor temperament , when he was racing all he wanted to do was fight the other horses. Could have been a good galloper if they had cut him, he did run in a Melbourne Cup, but having paid 1 million dollars (aus) for him at the yearling sales , they needed to recoupe some money somehow. So he went to stud . When I started at the stud he had one crop on the ground as yearlings . They had four legs, but they went in four different directions. All the time I was there he didn't have any outside mares. He was an absolute monster, the offspring were very difficult too . I never saw any of his foals go to a race track or any of the fillys have foals. A complete dead end TO THAT FAMILY. Cheers Geoffrey

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