EQUESTRIAN INSIDER
Caitlin: How do you make the “Perfect Match” when pairing a Stallion & Mare?
Chris: I always try to be realistic about who I’m breeding and what I’m breeding for. You need to be familiarized with what the mare your breeding has produced in the past (if any) and then recognize the weaknesses those foals might have had, then find a stallion with those strengths to balance them out. For example, if I have a mare with a longer back, I would match her with a stallion that has a shorter back in conformation, and vice versa. The main factor to always keep in mind is the trainability of the bloodlines you are going to cross. In today’s world, Amateur horses have the highest demand on the market. Aside from talent, Amateur prospects need to have a good mind that allows them to be anything without limits. What you plan to produce needs to always balance what the other does not have, but needs more of.
Caitlin: What would be your favorite quality that your Stallion, Dark Pegasus, passes to his offspring?
Chris: They have all been very beautiful. Their necks sit very upright and naturally stretch out in unique ways. The overall look of each of his babies tends to favor the mares but provide the special attributes we all aim for: size, animation, and stretch. We are not working any of them yet, but so far, we’ve been most impressed with the way they are developing as youngsters.
Interview with Chris Brannan
THE SKY IS THE LIMIT: BREEDING FOR THE FUTURE AT WINGSWEPT FARM
DARK PEGASUS & CHRIS BRANNAN
Dark Pegasus x Walterway’s Give Me Kisses
Dark Pegasus x Starry New York Night
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Samur x Callaway’s My Blue Heaven
Coverage by Caitlin Snyman
EQUESTRIAN INSIDER
Caitlin: As a breeder and a trainer, does the Half-Saddlebred Registry peak your interest for what’s to come in the future in Saddlebred Breeding?
Caitlin: Sell or keep? How do you decide when each youngster you’ve bred is ready to sell early on, or keep longer as a Wingswept prospect for a future sale?
Chris: We always try to breed a little bit of everything so we have a lot of directions we can go with each foal crop. When we breed for a Five-Gaited prodigy, I will usually keep those until they are three or four in age. This allows us to develop them to their full potential the way we set out to
when we made the cross and brought them in. The ones that are really fancy are hard to keep much longer than the first year, they sell very fast here! But throughout their development as weanlings, yearlings, and on into their junior years, we sell them when they are marketable and ready.
Chris: I think it’s great for our industry and for the market of Saddlebred Breeders. If people are interested in branching out to other breeds and crosses, it’s excellent. But, for us to branch that direction, we would need to see where it goes and what comes of it as time goes on. It’s not something we want to jump into before understanding everything fully.
Caitlin: Stud Fees...How do you validate the value of a stallion’s breeding fee?
Chris: It all depends on what is being produced from that stallion, and what they have done in their careers. Great gaited studs, for example, had/have a massive impact in the show ring, which adds more value to their bloodlines and their ability to reproduce another horse with the same traits & quality bloodline. Familiarizing
yourself with the stallion’s own career is just as important as the career of the offspring he has already produced. Even if that stud has little to no record in the show ring, it can be of no concern when outweighed with the success of his foals. It really just depends on the stallion and what your needs are.
Caitlin: What breeding “trends” have you noticed are popular today, and do you agree?
Chris: Everyone wants to produce a beautiful horse with extreme attributes. It’s a good and bad thing in my opinion. But, not every beautiful horse has quality, and with quality comes “trainability”. If you’re not breeding quality, you can’t sell them…and at the end of the day, we’re all breeding to sell because we can’t keep them all.
Interview with Chris Brannan
WINGSWEPT FARM
Corporal Williams x RWC Samur’s Lady In Blue
Sultan’s Great Day x Bueno Chica
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Samur x Undulata’s Lady Holiday
