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~ Three Factors that Influence your Horse's Behavior ~
There are three major factors that make up any horse's behavior:
1) Genetics 2) Past Experiences 3) Present Situation
There are two additional things to consider, innate characterisitics shaped by the above three and trainability.
A horse's general character, disposition, physical and mental soundness and abilities are determined before they are born.
Genetics has a tremendous influence on you and your horse's future.
There are two methods of breeding - whether the breeder is aware of these facts or not. Genotype, which focuses on bloodlines
that produce; and Phenotype, which is basically breeding two individuals that "look good" and hope for the best.
Genotype breeders KNOW what those horses will produce, whether linebreeding for good foundation breeding stock or outcrossing
strong lines for certain characteristics.
Phenotype breeding is very common amoung "backyard" breeders. This type of breeding often produces weak bloodlines
and bad traits. Unfortunately, there are plenty of so-called professional breeders that do the same. You will see this in
alot of color breeds and it will also happen with new or popular breeds - turning out numbers to get the sales; thereby saturating
the market with a bunch of poor quality animals that will give the breed a bad name for a number of years until good ones
start getting out there.
Hybrid Vigor is when you outcross lineage, whether within the same breed or different breeds - and this will produce a
great riding or performance type of horse. Providing of course that your outcrosses are still strong lineage to begin with,
meaning two genotype bred horses. Done correctly, this will take the best of both lines and put them together for a great
horse.
Hybrid horses are USUALLY NOT used for breeding (although most phenotype breeders will), because their genetic patterns
are mixed. Bad traits can hide for a few generations and pop up when you least desire it. If the mare or stallion have bad
traits, they WILL show up eventually. A breeder must be very knowledgeable to use outcross horses in breeding and KNOW what
those crossed lines are strong in producing.
Another interesting fact is that the foal will usually take after the stallion for the general look or conformation, where
the mare will put her personality on the foal. So taking that PMS mare that no one wants to ride because she has an attitude
and breeding her for the sake of something to do with her, is a horrid thought even though commonly practiced.
Genetics are hard to alter, whether you are talking mentally, emotionally or physically. The offspring is already predisposed
to these conditions. Bad tempered horses will produce bad tempered horses, and conformationally weak horses produce the same.
Another bad school of thought is saying that breeding a long-backed horse with a short backed horse will get you the perfect
balance in between; very wrong indeed. You will get one or the other or something from previous lineage. DNA does not gel
- it picks one or the other. There are of course exceptions, but those will most likely produce freak traits you do not want
anyway.
With all this said, you also need to consider exactly WHAT your horse is bred for. A thoroughbred is bred to run, so they
have a strong will and desire to do just that. The flight instinct runs high on a race horse. A draft horse is bred to pull,
push and be on the forehand. A cutting horse is built downhill and has alot of herding instinct. (sidebar - do you know that
quarter horses where originally NOT downhill? But since they where being used for cow work, breeders actually bred for this
trait and bred the "correctness" right out of them).
On that note, it takes three generations to put a characterisitic into or out of a line of horses. So if you take a horse
that was bred to show and want a nice trail horse - you are in for alot of time, money and frustration. If you take a mustang
from the wild, and it has a foal that was born in captivity - it is still WILD. Not in the sense it will act like a horse
just off the range, but realize it still has very high survival instincts.
One more thing I have to mention is that some horses (like people) are smarter than others and some are not so smart.
Some retain lessons well, while others do not. Some are nimble-minded, some are not so. Some horses will try their heart out
for you, and some would soon kick you as look at you. Others you have to get up pretty early in the morning to be ahead of.
This can be deep in their genetics.
To sum up, know a horse's genetic makeup BEFORE you buy or breed. There is only so much influence you may have.
Three Factors, part II
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