Question from a Reader: Breeding a Morgan Mare

"I reached out to you a while back about crossing my Morgan mare with a warm blood. I was wondering what your experience has been with this and what I should look for in a stallion. I am looking for something with better movement and a bit more size than what my girl has. I primarily ride dressage. I got my mare from a rescue, she is 6 with the most wonderful personality, unfortunately she has some trouble with movement and most likely will just be my trail buddy as she loves it. As someone who will not be able to ever afford to be able to purchase something a bit nicer for dressage I have considered breeding her. I would appreciate any recommendations as I am flying blind here."

We love our Morgans, and over the years we've had a number of them.  In the early 1990s I was even leaning toward our primary focus being a Warmblood Morgan cross.  As fate would have it, our breeding program took off, and, although we've done a few Morgan crosses, the success of our Dutch horses has taken precedence over any other breeding.  That being said, I can tell you what I've learned and observed over the years of looking at this cross.

Although the Morgans bring a soundness, hardiness, trainability, and versatility to the table, they also come with a few drawbacks for dressage--all tied into the top line of the horse.  One, they're bred to have a lot of hock and knee action, but that action is primarily up and down, not up and out.  Two, and connected to number one, they generally have weaker loin connections than warmbloods, so they don't transfer weight onto the hind quarters as easily and naturally as most warmbloods. And, three, and also tied into one and two, Morgans don't usually have the best canters.  Of course, there are exceptions to theses traits; I've seen a few Morgans over the years that are true sport horses in a smaller package, but the majority of the Morgans bred for the contemporary show ring don't have the top line of a sport horse. So, in breeding a Morgan for dressage, if you're lucky enough to start with a mare that has desirable sport horse traits, then you'll have a chance of producing a decent baby.  If not, then your chances of breeding a new sport horse for yourself are really slim.  If you're going to try it, you want to make sure you pick a stallion who consistently produces a good canter and true lift in the withers.  Our most successful dressage baby out of the Morgan cross was from the stallion Polansky on Sunbolt Linda Gail, who was a blend of old school park horse and Government breeding.

What I'm going to say next is going to sound both like an act of shameless self promotion and a little harsh.  Here's the harsh part:  If you already know this mare herself doesn't have the movement to be more than a trail horse, than you're probably making a mistake trying to breed her in an attempt to produce a future dressage horse for yourself.  If you calculate the cost of the stud fee, semen shipping costs, collection fees, vet fees, maintaing the mare through the pregnancy and lactation, etc, etc, it's going to be pretty easy to spend $5,000 or more.  And, after you've spent that, you're probably not going to have the horse you wanted.  Here's the shameless self-promotion part:  Our business plan is to sell our babies on terms that people can afford.  You can buy a baby, that's already on the ground and observable, out of arguably the best collection of KWPN dressage mares in North America on monthly payments you can afford. The total is going to cost you more than it would cost you to produce your own baby out of your Morgan mare, but, in the end, you're going to end up with a horse that is bred to have the ability and conformation to do the job you want.

If you really love your mare and can be happy if she produces something just like her, then breed her.  We have certainly made some breeding decisions based on our emotional attachment to our mares.  Just make sure to pick a stallion who reliably produces uphill movement with a great canter. But, if you really want a future dressage partner, talk to me or another dressage breeder about the possibilities of payments and working with you to get a baby that's really going to allow you to pursue your dreams.