Knowledge is Meant to be Shared

Lately I've been thinking about the amazing feat that is farming. There is SO MUCH to learn and know. Speaking just on the horse side of things you can spend a lifetime amassing knowledge about topics such as breeding and genetics, nutrition, training, health, deworming, stable design, pasture care, grooming, and the list goes on. Add in extra tasks such as making your own hay, maintaining farm equipment, keeping farm and financial records and you quickly realize that no one person can be an expert in all (or even most) of these areas!

We have been blessed to be raised in communities that value supporting one another and sharing the things we've learned. I think most of agriculture is like that, although at times you run across pockets where secrets are heavily guarded to maintain a competitive edge or people feel the need to tear one another down in order to feel like their program is better and these things are incredibly discouraging to me. I love it when those who have been doing things for years can share tips and tricks with those starting out, and also when old timers can appreciate the fresh insights that new enthusiasts can bring.

Lately, we've benefitted from advice from several friends on the best way to get hay dried and baled properly. I've also been enjoying videos from a fellow Brabant breeder on some very impressive training techniques. When faced with dilemmas on getting mares bred or handling tricky customer service scenarios I have several groups on Facebook where I can get feedback from trusted individuals. On the flip side, I enjoy being able to help others when they have questions about horses they have purchased for us, the breeds we raise, or processes such as importing or parasite management. At times, both sides of the coin come together such as when a past customer was facing a training issue with her colt that I couldn't help with but a good friend and our personal trainer was more than happy to weigh in with some ideas to pass along. All in all, it's a beautiful thing when we can help one another along and work together rather than against each others.

With that in mind, what are you an expert at that you can share with others? We can't all know everything about everything but we certainly have the topics that interest us and lead us to learn more. As you learn, be sure to pass along the knowledge you've gained to others who are facing similar scenarios!

Chasing the Blue: Part 3

This is the final installment in our mini-series looking at the high demand for blue roan Brabant foals and the challenges involved in breeding them. We started by taking a big picture look at color genetics in Brabant horses (here) and then explored the probabilities of getting a blue roan foal when crossing a variety of different colored horses (here). In the end, we found that the odds of getting a blue roan foal sired by our stallion Ash and out of anything other than a blue roan mare do not go above 50% and are often significantly lower based on the mare's genetics. With that in mind, what's a Brabant lover to do to get the horse of their dreams???

The first step is to take time and evaluate the priority of color in the horse search. For some people, their purchase of a blue roan Brabant is a long time dream and nothing else will do. That's totally fine, but also needs to be met with the realistic expectations that it could take longer to locate this perfect horse than it would to buy another color. Other people will decide that their dream of being a Brabant owner simply can't wait and that they are open to other colors as well. In the end, there truly is no bad color for a good horse and the power, majesty, and grace of these creatures is evident regardless of their coat color. Simply being aware of the realities that blue roans are in high demand and are one of the more challenging colors to produce is a good starting point when evaluating what are 'must-haves' and what are 'wishes' in searching for the perfect horse.

For those who are set on getting a blue roan another option is to pursue importing a horse from overseas, where the number of Brabant horses are higher and therefore the number of blue roans available are also higher. This is an option that I always lay out with a lot of cautions because importing is an expensive and time consuming process and can have unfortunate results if not done carefully. The truth is, with blue roans in such high demand many breeders choose to keep their high quality blue roan foals to produce more in the future. This means that often the blue roans for sale are not the best horses, but ones that the breeder did not feel met their standards. While this is not the case with every horse and it is certainly possible to find quality blue roans it does mean that if you're shopping based on color you must pay particular attention to all the other aspects of the horse (genetics/inbreeding, temperament, health conditions, conformation, etc) in order to select the best foal. A good blue roan foal is also going to command a premium purchase price in addition to the substantial costs of importing.

Another way to go about finding a blue roan is to consider American Brabant horses with a lower percentage of European blood. By crossing a blue roan stud such as Ash to black horses, such as Percherons, the odds of getting blue roans increase as there are no dominant Agouti alleles coming into play and turning a black based horse into a bay. We've written in the past about how the percentage of European blood affects the look of a horse (here) but for those who are looking for a colorful horse with the Brabant mind and are less concerned about the European style/build this can be a great option. One other quick note about the percentage of European blood... We find in our herd that once the horse's percentage of European blood reaches the high 80s or 90% level they look and act very much like a full, 100% Brabant. We often get folks that are adamant that they want nothing less than a 100% percent foal. Again, if this is your preference we are happy to help with that but I often encourage these people to be openminded about high percentage Brabants rather than holding out for the true 100% horses, simply because there are so many more options to choose from. Once again, it comes down to knowing what you are truly looking for and how to sort through the various color, gender, percentage goals to find a horse that will make you smile every time you see them in the field :)

Our blue roan mare Beech- we love her for much more than just her color but she's got the look to go with the mind and the build of the perfect Brabant horse

Photo credit goes to Foxglove Photography

Chasing the Blue: Part 2

This is the second post in our three part series looking at what it takes to get the elusive blue roan Brabant horse that everyone is seeking. In part one, we looked at the genes that control color in the horse and which traits are dominant or recessive. Today, we'll consider the color possibilities for different crosses.

When a stallion and a mare are bred the offspring receives genetic material from both parents. Each parent has two copies of each gene- called alleles- one inherited from each of their parents. One of the two alleles will be passed along to the offspring for every trait, and the combination of a single allele from the sire and a single allele from the dam will produce the foal's genetic code, which controls their color. A horse has a 50% chance of passing on a given allele for each trait to the foal that they produce.

In order to consider the potential color outcomes for a foal we will explore a few different color pairings using horses here at All the King's Horses. To keep things simple and allow for a consistent comparison of probabilities we will consider all crosses out of our imported blue roan stallion, Ash. Ash has been color tested and is genetically EE (black based, will never throw the red allele), aa (no chance of throwing the Agouti/bay allele), Rnrn (can produce roan or solid colored foals). The desired blue roan foal will be black based, not carry Agouti, and have at least one copy of the Roan gene. What happens when we cross Ash to different colored mares?

Blue roan x Bay roan

The majority of our mares are bay roan so this is a logical place to start our analysis. We know that Ash is always going to throw the black gene, which is dominant, so that takes care of getting a black based foal. The bay coloration is impossible to predict without knowing the mare's genetics, specifically if she carries one or two copies of the dominant A allele that leads to bay coloration. The chances of getting a solid black (no bay) foal will be either 50% (if she carries only one copy of the A allele) or 0% (if she has two copies of the A allele and is therefore guaranteed to pass it to her foals). Similarly, with Roan the exact odds depend on which alleles the mare carries. If she carries two copies of the dominant Rn allele then the foal is guaranteed to be roan (bay or black based) while if she carries only one copy of the Rn gene the odds of crossing two single Rn carriers results in a 75% chance of a roan foal. Taking the odds of solid black AND roan together, we find that the chance of getting a blue roan when crossing Ash to a bay roan mare could be 0% (0*1.00 or 0*.75), 37.5% (.5*.75) or 50% (.5*1.00).

Blue roan x Solid bay

This calculation is similar to the bay roan in regards to producing a solid black foal- depending on the mare's genes the odds are either 50% or 0%. However, in this case the mare will never throw the dominant Rn allele so the roan coloring can only come from Ash, an allele he will throw 50% of the time. This means that when we cross Ash to a solid bay mare the chance of getting a blue roan foal is either 0% (0*.5) or 25% (.5*.5).

Blue roan x Blue roan

This combination has the highest chances of producing a blue roan foal. Because Ash carries two copies of the black allele we know that his offspring will always be black based. When both parents are blue roan we can infer that neither carries the dominant Agouti gene, so there is no chance of the offspring being bay. In this case, the only real variable is the Roan gene. We know that Ash will throw roan 50% of the time. The dam may carry one or two copies of the roan gene which means that the foal has either a 75% or a 100% chance of being a blue roan. Pretty good odds here!

Blue roan x Sorrel

A sorrel mare carries two copies of the recessive e allele and will always throw the red gene, but this color will be masked by Ash's dominant E allele and produce a black based foal. Where things get tricky is with the Agouti gene. Because the mare does not carry any coding for black color she has the possibility of carrying the dominant A allele without expressing it! This means that, depending on her genetics, the odds of producing a black (non-bay) foal is 0% (if she is AA), 50% (if she is Aa), or 100% (if she is aa). As a solid colored mare she will never throw the dominant Rn gene but Ash will provide roan coloring 50% of the time. In the end, the chance of getting a blue roan foal from this pairing can be 0% (0*.5), 25% (.5*.5), or 50% (1.00*.5).

These are examples from our own herd but obviously a stallion with different genetics would result in different probabilities. If, for example, Ash carried one copy of the recessive e allele in addition to the dominant E allele he would still present as a blue roan but rather than producing all black based foals he would pass on the red coloration 50% of the time, further reducing the odds of getting a blue roan offspring unless bred to a mare with two copies of the E allele. A bay or bay roan stallion complicates matters further as they carry the A allele which is dominant and produces a bay foal rather than a solid black/blue roan. Similarly, if someone is dead set on getting a filly all of the probabilities would have to be cut in half to account for the fact that half of the blue roan offspring will be colts instead.

I know this summary has a lot of 'math-ing' but it's important to realize that the color of the foal is dependent on many separate alleles and if just one is off the color can change completely. Crossing blue roans to blue roans can improve the odds of getting the desired offspring, but requires finding the difficult-to-locate colors to begin with! Kudos to you if you made it this far... next time we will take a look at the practical side of things and how to deal with getting the right foal for your needs.

Our sorrel mare, Chestnut, is an example of the hidden bay gene- she produces bay foals despite not looking like a bay herself due to her having no coding for black coloration