How Many Foundations?

I'm breeding Thoroughbred for dressage, I want to do this with my own lines so currently have 4 mares and 2 stallions all brought from the equine center.

What I'm want to know is how many foundations does it take to breed a good strong heard? I dont want to start having to buy more foundations as breeding them in along the lines will low the average stats.

So please guys let me know how many you started with and how you have got on :)

CRB

I usually do 12 mares 12 stallions to start a line = 6 foals

which = 3 3rd generation foals

By that time you should start another 12 mares 12 stallions (24 total) to end up with 6 3rd generation foals

I started with 64 for my Clydesdales, 22 for my Appaloosas, 28 for my Dutch Warmbloods, and 74 for my Quarter Horses.

The thing to remember is that every generation your herd with be half the breeding population of the herd before it. The more foundations you buy the more expensive it will be but also it will allow you to continue breeding for longer without restarting your breeding program.

Are you going on the basis that you only have a breeding pair? So if I have mare a and stallion a you breed them and then not again?

I have the thought that I have 4 mares and 2 stallions which in the first generation I will have 8 foals or 16 if I breed each made twice.

How is my logic here?

My logic is terrible!!

All the foal would have the same grand parents and therefore wont be breedable, am I correct in this

Last edited on 2016-05-14 at 06:15:40 by Chaple.Rivers.Belle

yes, that's correct - all your third gen foals will share grandparents, so that's not ideal.

if you add two more stallions to your current herd you'll have 4 pairs which will take 20 weeks to mature. those pairs will give you four foals (so 2 pairs) which will take 20 weeks to mature. those two pairs will give you two foals (1 pair) which will take 20 weeks to mature, leaving you 60 weeks - a year and some change - before you need to add any other horses to your herd.

I have 16 vanners, 40 paints, and 30? vanners - that I should up to 32.

I'm going for easy numbers that eventually get down to a single foal. I breed my lines twice, sell the first set and keep the second for myself. Each pair is only bred to their mate so I don't worry about interbreeding down the line.

In short, if I had four pairs...

1a - 1b / 2a - 2b / 3a - 3b / 4a - 4b
create
1c / 2c / 3c / 4c - sell that set to other responsible breeders, either in total or in pieces.
1d / 2d / 3d / 4d - keep this set.
pair
1d - 3d / 2d - 4d (normally matched by conformation, just to get a little boost for it)
create
1e / 2e
Then eventually they breed to get one or two of my "final" foals.
Somewhere near the second generation reaching breeding age, I'll start again - though I haven't gotten that far yet!

Like Nittrous I start off with an amount I can breed down to one. Usually its about 32, though a few breeds I am testing have started with 8 or so. But its all up to you :D

I have this add along the line thing going with shetlands, just adding more and more blood, but most of them are related now, so I am selecting the individuals carefully. I started with two ponies Stipke and Alex and they aren't even in most of my pony's. Then I rescued a bunch of them, bred those again and now I buy high quality horses every now and then. I now got a stable high statted herd.