Why are people in the horse world obsessed with bloodlines?

Question

Will a good horse have better off spring than an average horse? Do they think the same about people and doesn't it lead to inter-breeding?

Answer 1

They are obsessed with bloodlines because they know the roll that genes play in animals. Just like you know that if a man and woman that both have blue eyes have a kid. You know the kid will have blue eyes because both have recessive genes for that trait.

With bloodlines, you know that certain bloodlines (animals that are genetically similar due to patterns of animal breeding) normally carry a certain trait. You have a better chance of getting that trait you want by breed two animals from the same bloodline that both have that trait.

Part of what makes an animal what it is genetics and the other part of what makes it what it is are the conditions that it encounters while growing up.

If you breed two animals from the same bloodline, for the most part you have a good idea of what you are going to get because the mother and father have almost the same genes and the baby will be very much like the mother and father.

However, if you cross two different bloodlines you may get nothing nearly what you are looking for because the two parents may have genes that are totally dissimilar.

The idea is to take the bloodline you have and avoid breeding animals together that have the same bad qualities. They both need to be from similar genealogy. You keep trying to add a good traits to the bloodline you have and reducing bad traits.

Here's a good example of how bloodlines work. I give you a 10 digit number that is say the number to win the Kentucky Derby:
Let's say it is: 5-7-8-2-3-6-9-5-4-1

Then I give you one tickets with a10 digit number but you only know 7 of the digits on it. Let's call it Ticket 1:

Ticket 1: 5-7-8-x-x-x-9-5-4-1

Then I lay another 10 digit ticket on the table (Ticket 2) that you also know 7 of the digits on it.

Ticket 2: 5-7-8-x-x-x-9-5-4-1

Then lets say I throw a 3rd ticket in a hat that you know none or only 2-3 of the digits on that ticket. Then I told you that you get to combine the digits of two of the tickets together but have to keep the digits in the same order. Would you pick Ticket 2 or the ticket in the hat? The ticket in the hat could be the one that you could combine to win, however that is highly unlikely. Whereas with the first two tickets you know they each have 7 of the digits you need. The first two tickets represent two good animals from the same bloodline. The third ticket represents a good animal from another bloodline. Each of the digits represents certain genes you want to get right to obtain a winner.

If your bloodline is missing a good trait you want, you breed another close or similar bloodline to it that has that one good trait you need. Then breed to keep all the good traits you already have, add no new bad traits, and improve that one point. So you breed the baby (50% your bloodline, 50% another bloodline) that has the good trait back to an animal that is 100% pure your bloodline making sure you keep the good trait you wanted to add in.

It's more a matter of science, statistics, and probability.

Answer 2

It all comes down to breeding and what they want the horses to do. In horse racing you have 2 major kinds of races, sprints and routes, which are broken up into like a billion different ones and where breeding comes into it, what you are referring to as bloodlines, is people are looking for a mother and father, who excelled at a particular distance, in the hopes that they have given that gift to their child.

So a 6 furlong Grade 1 Stakes winning mother, bread with 6 furlong Grade 1 Stakes winning father hopefully produces a eventual 6 furlong Grade 1 Stakes winning foal.

Another angle you will see played on that in one way or an other is the gift jumping a generation, so you might find a no name sire or mare as a particulars horses parents, but they have a grandparent/s that were graded stakes winners.

Hope that clears it up for you,

John B.

Answer 3

I don't think that people are "obsessed" with bloodlines but rather with carrying on what they believe is a good thing. Also, people try to keep a breed true without letting outside blood in.

There are too many people that just breed to breed without taking into consideration what they are breeding for. People that are "obsessed" with bloodlines at least have a goal in sight and are trying to promote a certain breed instead of getting some grade horse that probably has a better chance of ending up at a slaughterhouse.

Answer 4

Yes, a good horse will probably have better offspring than an average horse provided you look at the pedigree of both sire and dam. If you want to raise race horses, you look for a horse with a famous race horse in his or her background. If you want a cutting horse, you look for one with a good cutting horse in his or her pedigree, etc. Yes, it does lead to inter-breeding. There is an old saying that if you get a good horse out of inter-breeding it is called "line breeding", if the horse is inferior it is called "in-breeding". Selective breeding just improves the breed of horse you are raising, it is not a bad thing at all.

Answer 5

A horse with good genes bred to another horse that compliments that particular horse will usually (is more likely to) produce good minded, healthy, athletic, SOUND foals. Horse breeder are interested in lines because some lines generally produce certain kinds of foals when breed to certain types of mares.

No, we don't think the same about people, but people don't pick their partners based on how smart or athletic their kids are likely to be.

Horses are not usually inbreed unless its on purpose, for a reason. (Like in the creation of a new breed or the revival of a dying one, etc.) Inbreeding doesn't do any damage until it happens a few times, though.

Answer 6

In the animal world inter-breeding doesnt matter that much. People are so obbsessed with bloodlines because if you have a sire that was excellent in cutting and a dam that was good in team penning then your gonna get a really good cow horse that can do a lot of things. IF TRAINED PROPERLY!!! It depends on what the sire or dam excells in that will tell what the offspring will be good in.

Answer 7

breed the best to the best and hope for the best

better genetics mean better horses/ dogs/ people what ever...

not all horse people are "obsessed" which is why there are some lower quality horses out there (ones with bad confirmation or bad temperment)

IF people thought more about human genetics the human race would have eliminated alot of negative genetic inherrited traits

Answer 8

It is already understood that selective breeding can effect the outcome of the offspring. Cross breeding of certain human cultures have resulted in higher IQ levels of the offspring. Try wikipedia for information on purebreds, crossbreeding and selective breeding.

wikipedia.com

Answer 9

because bloodlines are like us like we have a father and a mother u didnt now if there pure or not but with horses its all about money the bloodlines are because there father or there great great grand father or mother could be a champion and they could be worth quite alot like my pony is worth 5 grand because he Has great bloodlines and a all-rounder

Answer 10

I own a granddaughter of Seattle Slew. Its bragging rights, yah know? But she was too slow for the track, too cranky for lessons and for all that she's my favorite and the best horse I've ever owned!