1962-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1962 June Voice | Page 9

7
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse
Check Broodmares' Pedigrees, Advises Dr. Schmuck
(Editor’s Note—Dr. Harold C. Schmuck
is a medical doctor in Canton, Ohio, owner
of Whiteway Farms—and a prominent
breeder of cattle and Tennessee Walking
Horses. We appreciate his contribution of
this article. BAG.)
BY HAROLD C. SCHMUCK, M.D.
1010 Shorb Ave., N.W.
Canton. 3, Ohio
For a number of years I have been
reading with both delight and reserva­
tion in all leading horse magazines—
fancy and expensive advertisements
and propaganda regarding the value,
prepotency, configuration, disposition
and transmissability of the character­
istics of this and that breeding stallion.
Many of us are delighted when we
hear and read of the exploits of this
great sire and how he transmits all—
and 1 say with reservation and a skep­
tical eye to the veracity of such state­
ments. Can a stallion transmit—truly
transmit all of these characteristics?
What about the part the broodmare
plays?
Does she not play a part in the
genetic makeup of the offspring?
Having bred Holstein cattle for
25 years, and being observant in my
office practice, I return to one rule
which in my mind seldom fails—
whether this is in the field of domestic
animals, or in the field of human re­
lations, the genetic factor in the pedi­
gree or family tree of all offspring can­
not be disregarded.
So we study the b ackground of our
wonderfully propagandized and fault­
less sire only. We find he has first-
many, many wins to his credit (most
of them due to the ability and
patience of his trainer).
Now let us look at the foals from
our “Cinderella Stallion’’! From
whence did they come, genetically
speaking?
First we will have to admit, as a
known and proven fact, that genetics
surely play the predominant role in
the breeding of domestic animals. As
a matter of passing interest, is it not
stupid when millions of dollars are
spent in improving our domestic crea­
tures and no funds are spent to im­
prove our own intellectual and physi­
cal capacities?
The Ever-Present Genetic
Factor
As we all know the TWHBA&E
sends out five-generation pedigrees.
The transmissible characteristics of
the third and fourth generations are
practically nil. The backgrounds of
our sire or dam are certainly interest­
ing—and we hear how many crosses
our horses have to Allan F-l and Roan
Allen F-38. And in the third and
fourth generations they only look
good on paper.
But remember that in the inherited
characteristics of our foal 50 per cent
come from the sire and 50 per cent
from the dam. Therefore 25 per cent
come from each grandparent. And
some of these ancestors may have
been more prepotent than others,
therefore are better known in the ped­
igree. So let us return to the pedigree
of our “Cinderella Stallion”.
One will note that the upper part of
the pedigree contains animals “that
have proven” themselves and have
been prepotent enough to transmit
those characteristics down the line.
In other words, the breeder had
thought enough of the colt’s back­
ground and his prepotency that he
did not geld the stallion.
Now let us glance at the dam of our
sire. Examine her pedigree carefully.
What is her genetic background and
lineage?
Chances are again that the sire of
the dam was an acceptable well-bred
horse. Now be sure and examine the
dam’s dam. What do we find here?
Here’s where we meet with disappoint­
ments! Have you met with disappoint­
ment in this part of the pedigree?
Good Pedigree In Dam Needed
Here is where I am a firm believer
in having a good pedigree on the
dam side. Just why do breeding estab­
lishments advertise “we breed to
selected mares”—and reserve that
privilege?
Are they afraid to run the risk of
having their “Cinderella Stallions”
mated to any registered mare whose
pedigree did not come up to the
breeder's expectations. Many regis­
tered mares have pedigrees on the
dam’s side who are “stone cold.”
Do Not Neglect “Bottom Side”
We may neglect to look at the bot­
tom side of the pedigree—but the man
who breeds good foals does not!
So the ordinary small breeder for­
gets his broodmare’s pedigree. Just
how well-bred is this mare? Has she
had good foals before? Does she trans­
mit her characteristics to her foals?
She sure does—so examine her genetic
background.
So therefore the man with an un­
limited amount of money can afford
to send his trainer to all parts of the
country to purchase and bring to his
stallion the best bred broodmares
obtainable. He therefore breeds them
and in two years will have a stable of
highly acceptable youngsters.
He then advertises his "Cinderella
Stallion” and says “come and see his
colts. You’ll be amazed at their out­
standing uniformity and Walking
Horse characteristics.” Why—might I
add—should he not have them? He
had not forgotten the broodmare.
They are bred the best, are they not?
I say again study your pedigrees
and don’t sell your broodmare short!
In our livestock operations we have
approximately 250 Holstein cows and
heifers. Although these heifers are all
properly traced and registered at
birth, they are not identified until
freshening time. However in a group
of 50 young heifers sired by the same
Bull many of these can be identified
as being daughters of certain pre­
potent cow families. Again the genetic
influence regarding body conforma­
tion comes to mind. Anyone who
knows characteristics of their Brood­
mares can see these transmitted to
their foals.
How To Pick A Stallion
Now the next question is to what
stallion should I breed my mares?
This question is an enigma. If we
knew the answer we would have the
key to breeding good horses. To the
small breeder, I would give this ad­
vice. I would choose a stallion who
has sired colts of good size, good dis­
position, and acceptable conforma­
tion, whose service fee would be with­
in limits I could afford to pay.
There are many good walking stal­
lions siring good foals that have never
had the opportunity of intensive train­
ing and have never been shown, that
are excellent breeding sires, and trans­
mit their characteristics to their prog­
eny.
There are many good stallions who
“nick” well with mares of acceptable
pedigrees—whose breeders do not se­
lect mares of certain bloodlines only.
These stud fees are well within the
limit of those whose desire is to breed
good horses. These breeders should
be commended and encouraged to
continue in the practice of giving serv-
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