HGG Community Forums

http://hj2.huntandjump.com/adv_search.php?status=any&ageg=&agel=4&agee=&erag=&eral=&erae=&heightg=&heightl=&heighte=&boneg=&bonel=&bonee=&f_basic=horsegender&f_adv=none&f_limit=25&stallion=1&gelding=1&bty=1&lined=lined&foundation=1&name=4&name_lm=like&color=&color_lm=like&owner=3790&owner_lm=like&breeder=&breeder_lm=like&sire=&sire_lm=like&dam=&dam_lm=like&barn=&barn_lm=like&pasture=&past_lm=like&tattoo=&tat_lm=like&tat_and=and&club=&bc_lm=like&bc_and=and&e1=&e2=&a1=&a4=&a2=&a3=&f1=&f2=&p1=&p2=&s1=&s2=&s3=&c1=&c2=&c3=&d1=&d2=&g1=&g2=&ch1=&ch2=&z1=&z2=&sa2=&sa1=&kit1=&kit2=&kit3=&kit4=&kit5=&kit6=&kit10=&kit11=&kit12=&kit7=&kit8=&kit9=&sp1=&sp2=&sp3=&pax31=&pax32=&rb1=&rb2=&o1=&o2=&l1=&l2=&ice1=&icei=&ice2=&ice3=&ice4=&ice5=&ice6=&ice7=&ice8=&ice9=&ice10=&ice11=&ice12=&ice13=&nexn=&nexx=&nexr=&nexg=&nexb=&brindle1=1&brindle2=1&wf1=1&wf2=1&wf3=1&wf4=1&wf5=1&wf6=1&offset=25&offset=475&offset=0

A link so you can see my gorgeous stallions....and the amazing guys I had to geld. Homozygous satins. A KP. Ices. Rare Kit patterns. Some just really cool looking guys. And a lot of very plain stallions.... why do the pretty boys always get snipped?

I love the coloring your geldings Grumpy and Labeled. I can't imagine having as many colts to go through as you have. If they don't pass testing, they don't get a name; they are just "Showing #" in my barns, I would go nuts naming every horse I own.
I already went through all of my stock, and snipped/spayed everything that was uneven bred except a small handful (3 or 4 horses which I might breed for flash show horses only) for the health of my herd. It is unfair that so many pretty ones get culled; eg, almost all house bred or lined brindles. Oh well, time to cull more stock out of the breeding barns and pastures.

How long should one concentrate on a generation?

I am right now in a predicament that I jave way to many studs to mares?

Should I try to compare my studs to each other like my 2g studs?

I still dont understand how to find a benchmark? Can someone explain how they did it?

Thanks guys.

Best:

How long should one concentrate on a generation? I concentrate on them until they are, as a general group, where I want them and they are producing really high quality foals to go on to the next generation. That said, while I am pretty happy with my gen 3s now and will shift my focus to my gen 4s, I have breeding lines that were started later and therefore are behind and will need specific focus at lower generations to get them up to standard. For instance, I have several nice gen 2 KP stallions but no KP boys at gen 3. So I never really quit paying attention to a generation...I just may not be having to cull as hard on the mare side of that generation as I was.

It's way too easy to have too many stallions. Different players have different philosophies there. I believe strongly in then benchmark theory, but even within that I tend to be comparing each stallion to both a benchmark and to a superior to benchmark horse (often the benchmark for the next generation) or a superior to the last generation benchmark (in the case of my gen 3s, who must be superior to my gen 2 A Papered stallions). That way I'm constantly scanning for colts that are even better than my current benchmark....but this is a bit obsessive and quite expensive...

Should you compare your gen 2s to each other? Didn't you already do this a month or so ago and everything was AGA? Comparing stallions of a generation to each other can be a way to find a superior foal, but it's an awful expensive way to do it if you're going to be completely scientific about it.

How did I find my benchmarks? When I started playing, there was an older player who is no longer in the game who had a similar breeding and culling philosophy to the one I use now. The philosophy made sense to me, as did the constant striving for better quality. She had some really beautiful stock and I was able to buy some colts from her that had tested AGA her benchmarks. So I started by comparing my colts to the ones she had bred. After a little while I was actually able to breed a colt that was superior to hers, so he became my new benchmark. And it sort of gained momentum from there and now my gen 2 colts from regular lines are required to test AGA a low A to pass muster. My colts from boosted lines will be required to Paper A and I have no doubt that the next phase of my game will end up seeing me breeding higher quality boosted lines so that then I'm running two threads at each generation.....

when I don't have a benchmark to test to, I require my colts to be superior to the best stallion one generation below them. So, for instance, if you created any ExPro or ExPerf stallions from the recent herd helpers, I would compare your colts to him looking for AGAs or even better, superior colts. And when you get frustrated, I remind you to look at the numbers above to help remind you how many foals you really need to put on the ground to get that superior colt or filly that is actually advancing your lines.

That's how I do it. Certainly if all your colts are comparing AGA a benchmark, it's not much of a benchmark!