Page 42 - 8 June 2012 Special Broodmare Edition

THE BROODMARE’S
INFLUENCE
For many reasons, mares are an integral part of any breeding program.
by Larry Thornton
The renewal of Speedhorse Magazine’s Broodmare of the Year Award gives us the opportunity to reflect on the importance of the mare in the production of the foal. One
of the things that always stood out in my pedigree study is that the mare is a key to the success of the good breeder. Even the people who stood the great stallions always seemed to have a special set of mares that were an inte- gral part of their breeding program. So let’s look at some areas that help us understand the role of the mare and how that role influences our breeding program.
THE FAMILY APPROACH
The base, or foundation, of any pedigree comes from the tail female line. The tail female line is the bottom line of the bracket
pedigree that flows from the first dam to the second dam and then the third dam and so on down the line. This line goes to the taproot mare, or the foundation mare, in this line. The tail female line introduces us to the family approach to the broodmare influence.
Our greatest example of the family approach to breeding horses comes from
the famous Italian Thoroughbred breeder Frederico Tesio, who built his breeding pro- gram around mares and mare families founded by a taproot mare. From 1924 to 1954, Tesio bred 21 Italian Derby winners in his native country alone. He bred the likes of Nearco; Donatello II; Niccolo dell’Arc; Ribot and Nogara, the dam of Nearco. Ribot and Nearco were undefeated as racehorses with successful careers as breeding stallions.
ESTERS LITTLE KLU TB
Ester’s Bunny
Splashing Bunny
Beat Your Pants Off
Splashing Fortune
Stolis Fortune
Ochoa
Jumping Tac Flash
Jusjumpn
Fantastic For Me
Catch This Dash
Feature Mr Bojangles
40 SPEEDHORSE, June 8, 2012
The tail female line that traces back to Esters Little Klu can be found in such modern-day racehorses as Ochoa and Feature Mr Bojangles.