Question for Appy and Trake Breeders!

What do you look for when buying or choosing a brood/stud. 

Colour?
Conformation?
Stats? 
Specific Lines? 

I’m really a novice breeder and can be a little indecicive with my programs, but here are the traits I mainly look for when i buy new show jumping trakehners.

1: good color. I work with all colors except gray, but my favorites are cream variations. When it comes to pattern, i prefer those with the roan pattern.
2: conformation. I try to find horses that will help improve the poor areas of those who need a mate. I won’t consider those below 50.00 average conformation though.
3: stats. I try to look for horses that have stats that are a bit higher than the ones i’m finding mates for. Low non specialty stats are great as well. I use riding schools instead of showing, but still train them. However, it is my goal to show them in the future.
4: lines. This doesn’t really matter much at the moment, but will be looked into at a later time.
5: unrelated. I try to find horses that are not related to the ones i’d like to breed.

Edit: i’ve decided to only work with appaloosas that are varnish roan, no other pattern, but i’m unsure how to guarontee the varnish roan trait.
Other than that, what i look for is the same as what i look for when i buy new trakehners.

Last edited on 2019-01-22 at 21:51:08 by Sapphire Acres

As a long time Appy breeder here on EV.. I look for a combination of things really.. 

Stats -specifically extremely low non discipline stats.. I prefer foundations with 55 or less nds.. lined horses ( depending on the generation..2nd gens with nds less than 50 are fabulous! lol .. lined horses with nds in the single digits... this is the main thing i look for in horses.

Im not really a confo breeder, its not on my priority list right now.. if/when confo competitions should be introduced.. then maybe Ill worry about focusing on confo breeding..

Colour - Im not too concerned about because I can use credits to change the horses coat colour/pattern into anything i want ( if I choose to). I can tell you , that most peeps don't like few spots. To avoid breeding few spots, Try to limit breeding .. LpLp PATN1 patn1 or LpLp PATN1PATN1... 

However, if  you're breeding it with het lp ( Lplp)..  you get some pretty leopards.. I love the leopards..!!

As for lines, I dont look for any specific lines.. I don't buy outside lined horses very often, because most have very high non discipline stats. I do have a handful of breeders I will definitely grab horses from because I know they breed quality stock. 

I breed show jumping Trakes and western Appys.

My number one priority is non-discipline stats.  I won't use anything higher than in the 50's for anything I breed, but those two breeds are currently down in the single digit totals (or nearly there with the Appys) so I am very picky there.

Color and conformation are my next priorities.  If something has a nice color (cream, roan, or tobiano for the Trakes, anything fancy for the Appys, while trying to stay away from Pattern 1, though I do like Leopards - I'm just trying to avoid Few Spot) I will gravitate to that over a grey or plain color.  I will use items if necessary, usually on my top stallions, to jazz up the herd a bit.  But I also pay attention to the conformation, and will choose to buy or breed a higher conformation when it is available, as long as the rest is similar.

I don't care about when a horse has been bred, or how many times, or if it is related to other horses in my herd, as long as I can use it somewhere.  I don't see the point in being picky over something that doesn't actually affect the horse.

My ultimate goal is to first breed the non-discipline stats to zero, then raise the conformations to the 90's, while breeding the total stats as low as I can.  Theoretically, at that point, I will re-open my showing program, but I may not even bother, and instead just flood the game with showing superstars for others to buy.

Thank you everyone!

These are my personal goals right now but I will hopefully be incorporating some of your goals soon. :)

Appaloosas - Western - Foundation 

Now that almost all of my herd are at minimum 60.00 confo and all goods, I am working on lowering their no spec stats. 
I have a mixture of patterns most being few spot, but I have acquired a mare that carries roan and oh I am in love xD 

Trakes - Show Jumping - Lined

I am currently focusing on making sure all their confos are at least excellent then I will focus more on their stats, most have fairly low non spec anyway though. I do have a few double creams who I am super excited to start breeding and showing with.