How do you narrow down your short list & pick 'the one'?

[goodmorning]

I can not seem to figure out how to pick one of the final 4!!! I am at my wits end and about to pick out of a hat!! :eek: That doesn't seem reasonable, of course, but who knows....to make things worse, each stallion owner has been absolutely wonderful to deal with and have about the same stud fee...I have gone through the normal process, starting with stallions that I like, moving on to those that would suit my mare conformationally, and further narrowing it down to those that I feel would improve on her hunter qualities for the A/O ring...and somehow I still end up with 4. I am at a loss. I've even put together some photos of her, previous foals and respective sire's to help me out. Any tips on how to pick 'the one'? Are there any thought processes to help things along?

(For those interested in suggestions, or for conducting an unformal-poll ;) the stallion needs to be leggy, have a longish neck, shorten the back or consistently produce a wonderful topline, and of course have a wonderful jump. Mare is a gorgeous mover as are the offspring out of a variety of stallions, so this is a non-issue for the stallion.)

[Silly Mommy]

I go with my gut.

You can always do ET and use all 4!:lol::lol::lol:

Or use all 4 in consecutive years.

[ahf]

Somewhere in your inner turmoil, is a tiny little voice. If you've narrowed down the list as well as you say you have, one of those stallions is begging to be made number one. Just center yourself and find it.

One way to know is... if you make your decision and find yourself vaugely disappointed. Then you know...that's not the one. The decision has to make you feel incredibly excited. Not like you've just mediated a labor dispute.

Another way to winnow the field is make a list of what, potentially, can go wrong with the cross. Then decide what you can live with, and what you can't.

[YankeeLawyer]

One way to know is... if you make your decision and find yourself vaugely disappointed. Then you know...that's not the one. The decision has to make you feel incredibly excited. Not like you've just mediated a labor dispute.


That is so true!

[rideagoldenpony]

I honestly don't know HOW you sport horse people do it! There are just WAY too many fantastic choices!!!

[Rhyadawn]

The advice was given to me that this is where you get to be superficial. Once you have picked your top 3 (or 4 in your case), decide what would be the absolute "creme de crop" for you. Is it a colour? bling? those "to die for" ears on your fave stallion?

As it was said, when you make your decision, if you regret it you made the wrong one.

[goodmorning]

Once you have picked your top 3 (or 4 in your case), decide what would be the absolute "creme de crop" for you. Is it a colour? bling?

:winkgrin: If only she wasn't a gray mare....:lol: :lol: :winkgrin: :D

The stallion I would be through the roof to use is somewhat long-backed, although he passes along a wonderful hind-end & topline, but not sure I want to take the risk...so many of the nice H/J are a little long though...this is the one that I'd have to get frozen, so I could maybe give it one shot and then move onto the others :lol: That's one way to narrow down the pool! :winkgrin: Maybe I should just erase this one from the list? He's just so lovely with this mare in every other regard...Hmm.....

[YankeeLawyer]

:winkgrin: If only she wasn't a gray mare....:lol: :lol: :winkgrin: :D

The stallion I would be through the roof to use is somewhat long-backed, although he passes along a wonderful hind-end & topline, but not sure I want to take the risk...so many of the nice H/J are a little long though...this is the one that I'd have to get frozen, so I could maybe give it one shot and then move onto the others :lol: That's one way to narrow down the pool! :winkgrin: Maybe I should just erase this one from the list? He's just so lovely with this mare in every other regard...Hmm.....

Remember -- the perfect stallion is the one that is perfect for *your* mare. That helps me to decide, a lot. There are a number of stallions that I really love, but do not have a mare that would be ideal for them. So I go with other ones that I love that I think are the right match. My goal is to produce something at least as nice as my mares, but if I get carbon copies of my mares, I would be very happy. If the stallion takes anything away from my mares, I would not use that one again. So, I would be leery of breeding to an individual that does not exhibit a strength in an area that I am trying to improve on my mare -- even if that shortcoming does not always come through in his foals (for one thing, those may very well be taking after their dams, in that regard).

[Rhyadawn]

[QUOTE=goodmorning;3180275]:winkgrin: If only she wasn't a gray mare....:lol: :lol: :winkgrin: :D QUOTE]

Ooops! didn't know. Sorry.... the ears thing still stands though ;)

[spacely]

SM is right, go with your gut. You won't be disappointed.

[Waterwitch]

All else being equal, I would choose the one with the strongest female family.

[Home Again Farm]

Silly Mommy and ahf nailed it!! Great advice.

[Reiter]

All else being equal, I would choose the one with the strongest female family.

YES! Very important and too often ignored!

[goodmorning]

Thanks everyone :) I have the field down to 3, with a #1 emerging but 2 & 3 in a statistical tie :( Finals are next week, as is graduation, and my attempt to break out into the real-world, so I think this is hampering my final decision. The comment on being centered made me realize that I should probably wait a week and things will be much clearer :yes:

The suggestions have been very helpful. I think I've spent the last few years learning how to analyze things, which is a great when it comes to narrowing the field, but interferes with the gut-feeling.

Thanks again for the wise advice, it is very much appreciated :)

[winter]

If it makes you feel any better, I am in the same boat. Can not decide.
Of course it's getting down to the wire. There are so many nice ones, I really don't know how people with multiple mares do it every year!

[Samotis]

Go see the stallions and his offspring. I never would have even known about the stallion I bred to until I saw a young horse I liked and he happened to be the father. It is a big "go on your gut" I am very happy with my choice and I had plenty to choose from and I just had a good feeling.

Good luck, let us know who you pick!:)

[flashykatt]

Get three more mares.


Um...am I the only one who comes up with this kind of justification?!

[goodmorning]

:lol: I think Silly Mommy suggested about the same thing! I think I would be eating & living with the horses if I went that route! :lol:

But of course, you do realize that if I bought 3 more mares, then I would have to come up with a new list for each mare, and probably have the same issue all over again! It's a vicious cycle.

[Hampton Bay]

With my one and only mare, I went with my gut. When I found on that I just fell head over heels for, I stopped looking. Granted I had narrowed the field down quite a bit to find him, but when I did I just knew.

When I went to see him, I was even more impressed. The SO actually recommended a different stallion he had that he thought would make a better match with my mare (the other stud had a slightly longer neck), but my gut was still very stuck on my initial choice.

Now that I have my filly, I could not be happier. As much as I liked the other stallion too, I really don't think I would have been as thrilled while I was waiting for my baby, or with the final outcome. My filly seems to have the one thing I loved most about her daddy, his trot. She resembles him strongly in other ways too.

If you have it narrowed town to 3, my advice would be to roll the dice, literally. Assign each stud two numbers. If you are not happy with the one your rolled, then keep rolling until you roll one you are happy with. That will tell you all you need to know.

[acottongim]

I'm right there with SM and HAF and the others that have said go with your gut. I narrow it down to a few possibles, then the one that "sings" to me... the one that makes me get goosebumps thinking about the cross, the one that makes me wish that it was NEXT YEAR already is the one I go with. I have been 100% happy with every one of my foals doing this. Think about it this way.... you have to assume that the foal will be with you for the rest of IT'S life (always assume lol).... do YOU want that foal/bloodlines? You already know which one you want for your mare. You just have to listen to yourself to figure it out LOL.

(worst comes down to worst.... put the photos of the studs up in the mare's stall and let HER pick LOL)

[DownYonder]

Several years ago, I went to interview Oldenburg breeder Harli Siefert for an article in The Oldenburg Horse magazine. For those who don't know Harli, she is one of Oldenburg's most successful breeders, having produced an incredible number of licensed stallions stemming from a single foundation mare. She bred Conterno Grande, Couleur Rubin and his full brother Couleur Rouge, Rubin-Royal and three licensed full brothers (incl. Romanov Blue Hors), Don Chico, Rubin Cortes, etc.

When asked how she made her stallion selections, Harli pressed her hand to her heart. "I know here," she said. She went on to elaborate that she narrows down her choices, based on conformation, movement, pedigree, performance, temperament (and not necessarily in that order), but then relies on her gut feeling. If she doesn't get a tingle of excitement thinking about the pairing, she passes on that stallion and chooses one who DOES give her that thrill.