Wild stallions have been seen with bands of mares of the same color. A stallion may have a "thing" for bays, or blacks or chestnuts. Or pintos for that matter. Pretty good proof that the stallion is making some choices of their own based on taste.
Who knows what non-color choices that stallions are making--ones that we as simple humans can't see.
STALLION AND MARE CHEMISTRY
Moderators: Roguelet, WaveMaster, madelyn
It's not only the stallions that make distinctions regarding colors in mares. My broodmare band is in one very large (17 acre) field. The ladies tend to segregate according to color. And they ALL drive off the greys. It is understandable if you have every had to locate your band by the moonlight, and those light greys shine like earthbound moons. If they show up to us like that, don't you think they make it "easier" for predators to spot the band? The bay mare with the forelock that entirely covers her star is accepted into the dark bays mini-herd. The chestnuts with white socks and stockings are a group by themselves.
So Run for the Roses, as fast as you can.....
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louis finochio
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When I observed my poor mans race horses, racing pigeons I noticed the better bred pigeons would be chosen for a mate with my best breeders.
How these cocks pick out the best hens for a mate is intriguing to me.
Their is something to be learned from this observation.
When I attend a sale I can select the class individuals from the non-class individuals by the intelligence in their eyes, as the eyes are to camera to the brain, and the window to the soul.
Maybe those cocks are choosing their mates by a class indicator that only they can discover.
How these cocks pick out the best hens for a mate is intriguing to me.
Their is something to be learned from this observation.
When I attend a sale I can select the class individuals from the non-class individuals by the intelligence in their eyes, as the eyes are to camera to the brain, and the window to the soul.
Maybe those cocks are choosing their mates by a class indicator that only they can discover.
Those without sin cast the first stone.
Louis Finochio
Louis Finochio
madelyn wrote:It's not only the stallions that make distinctions regarding colors in mares. My broodmare band is in one very large (17 acre) field. The ladies tend to segregate according to color. And they ALL drive off the greys.
A Morgan gelding I often rode at school was nutso about that - he HATED grey horses. If there was a grey in the class and his rider dropped his/her guard, that demon pony would run clear across the ring to attack it.
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erins isle
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roving boy
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The flip side of horses that do not like grays would be the late Meadowlake. A big chestnut with chrome, Meadowlake was a stallion with good libido. However he was nuts for gray mares! When he had a gray mare he became much more difficult to restrain in the shed - he came in ready and roaring to go!
If a gray mare was to be bred to another stallion, they had to be sure not to let Meadowlake see her or else he might not breed whatever bay or chestnut mare was waiting for him at that breeding session! He really had a "thing" for the gray girls.
If a gray mare was to be bred to another stallion, they had to be sure not to let Meadowlake see her or else he might not breed whatever bay or chestnut mare was waiting for him at that breeding session! He really had a "thing" for the gray girls.
Roving Boy
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louis finochio
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Native Dancer gr. 1950 and his dam Geisha gr. 1943 are to be found in Meadowlake's 3rd and 4th generation as Meadowlake's affinity for grays is all in the family.
Does anyone know of how many superior runners that were gray that were sired by Meadowlake?
Does anyone know of how many superior runners that were gray that were sired by Meadowlake?
Those without sin cast the first stone.
Louis Finochio
Louis Finochio
I agree, griff... actually perhaps Louis, who started this thread, didn't stop to consider that birds look for different things in a mate than horses do... The mother bird has to be a very good brooder and the father bird has to be a very good provider. Not things horses generally seem to stop to consider..... which is why I asked how many horses he had bred using this method. I don't know actually what birds have in common with horses, except perhaps West Nile Virus......So Run for the Roses, as fast as you can.....
I've seen the segregation by color as well. Interestingly enough our mustang adoptee who was bay would only take the most wildly colored animals into her herd. She collected my near white Welsh pony, a paint Shetland, a palimino Welsh, and an old strawberry roan QH mare we had 
She liked her herd to be pretty
She liked her herd to be pretty I don't have low self-esteem. I have low esteem for everyone else. ~ Daria
madelyn wrote::lol: I agree, griff... actually perhaps Louis, who started this thread, didn't stop to consider that birds look for different things in a mate than horses do... The mother bird has to be a very good brooder and the father bird has to be a very good provider. Not things horses generally seem to stop to consider..... which is why I asked how many horses he had bred using this method. I don't know actually what birds have in common with horses, except perhaps West Nile Virus......
This post doesn't very much make sense to me; Louis said he got a better RACING Pigeon by letting the birds choose their own mates, not a better brooder Pigeon or better worm or bug catching Pigeon.
Therefore even IF horses don't care anything for how good the other horse is at laying and brooding eggs or catching worms, of what consequence is it?
Also, it's important to understand that this is a question not of a Pigeon or Horse knowing better than Man what the fittest member of the opposite sex is; it IS a question of the Pigeon or Horse possiblly knowing better than Man what the best combination of fitness and Genetic Compatiblility is due to the obvious likliehood that a Bird or Horse has instinctive faculities by which they may percieve subtleties relating to the Genetic Code of other Horses and Pigeons.
For instance, studies of Horse Incest Avoidance show that a stallion can tell merely by smell whether a pheromone sample came from one of his many daughters or not...
Skeenan is correct, when horses choose mates they probably care much more about things like getting the optimal amount of inbreeding, getting Complimetary Genes, and getting an optimal combination of Immune Genetics than necessarily getting the fastest possible foal they can.
But still, a strong immune system, the right level of inbreeding, and complimentary genetics WILL help the overall vitality of a horse and that certainly won't hurt his or her capacity to win on the track in my humble opinion.
But anyway, why am I evidently trying to put Pedigree Analysts out of business?
-llbean
Last edited by llbean on Sat Nov 19, 2005 8:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.