KENTUCKY BREEDER OF TENNESSEE WALKING HORSES APPLIES TIME-PROVEN THEORIES OF BREEDING TO PRODUCE OUTSTANDING COLTS
Occasionally a personality appears on the Walking Horse horizon that is bound to make a mark on the breed . Such a man , in our opinion , is Mr . GORDON WILDER of Lexington . Kentucky . Most outstanding in his approach to the Walking Horse business is a keen understanding of the background of the breed and a knowledge of the type of stock that must be developed if the Walking Horse is to continue to thrive . Here is a man who has spent a considerable amount of time in study and research of the breed , and here is a man with a program and a goal . We present here his story , as he tells it , which we feel will be of great interest to Walking Horse lovers everywhere .
" I started with Tennessee Walking Horses as a small boy in Alabama , following my father ’ s foxhounds . It was not unusual to ride 30 or 40 miles on one hunt . I came to Lexington , Kentucky to make my home in 1921 , and have had a pack of fox hounds here until recent years , and hunted on Tennessee Walkers . " In 1960 , I decided to get into the breeding of Tennessee Walking Horses . After some research , and from previous knowledge and experience , I decided to build my band of young brood mares around Midnight Sun . His record clearly showed him to be the most prepotent sire of Tennessee Walking Horses living . ' Records live-opinions die .’ I decided to buy top Midnight Sun yearling fillies , and do selective line-breeding around him by breeding to top sons ofhis . I have no criticism to make of other prominent stallions . It so happens that I selected Midnight Sun .
" I want to make it very clear that I am not attempting to develop any new theory of breeding . What I am endeavoring to do is to carefully follow past proven scientific selective line breeding with very occasional in-breeding , which , through the years , has been done so successfully with dairy and beef cattle , swine , poultry , plant life , etc . With Tennessee Walking Horses , Mr . ALBERT DEMENT , the Master Breeder , followed selective line-breeding very successfully in his breeding program . Last Chance , Merry Boy , Merry Legs H ( known as Little Merry Legs ), Snip ’ s Chance , the dam of Midnight Beau , and the grand dam of Sun ’ s Delight and Johnny Midnight , and others , are fine examples of what has been done in Mr . Dement ’ s master breeding program . There are many other examples of highly succsssful selective line-breeding , such as
Wilson ’ s Allen , Go Boy ’ s Shadow , Merry Maker , etc . We even have prominent cases of successful in-breeding , such as Curlee ’ s Spotted Allen , Billie Wilson , sire of the dam of Sun Dust , Wilson Allen Jr ., etc . " I do not approve of line-breeding , as such , except where there is a definitely proven prepotent sire or dam whose strong blood you want to maintain . I certainly do not approve of inbreeding except under extremely careful and selective conditions . Just to line-breed a registered stallion to a registered mare would be the height of folly ; to in-breed in this manner could well be a catastrophe . A carefully-thought-out program , combined with the exercise of good judgement and common sense , applies to horse breeding as to most of our other life endeavors . That ’ s the long and short of it .
" To carry out my line-breeding , and occasional in-breeding , long-term program closely around Midnight Sun I have bought since 1960 top yearling Midnight Sun fillies at Harlinsdale Farm annual yearling sale held during Celebration week . I now have 10 top young mares by Midnight Sun . Before going to Tennessee for Celebration week , I carefully study the Harlinsdale Farm sales catalogue , and pick out the ones I consider top bred for my breeding program . I extend their pedigrees out seven and eight generations , if possible . Bloodlines are very important to me , and I believe I place more emphasis on the dam line than most breeders . Though I am very pedigree-conscious , I am breeding first and foremost for natural walking ability . Like begets like , and I think the best bredones , with natural walking ability behind them , are certainly more apt to have foals with natural walking ability . I also try to breed for conformation , smartness , alertness , style , fineness - no one admires a goodlooking smart one more than I-but none of these
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SUN ' S MIDNIGHT DUKE - 62 '/ 2 % MIDNIGHT SUN blood - the outstanding sire chosen by Mr . and Mrs . Gordon Wilder specifically for breeding purposes . Now standing at Harlinsdale Farms , Franklin , Tennessee .
10 VOICE of The Tennessee Walking Horse