Sunday 19 August 2012

Horse Studbooks Explained

By Ashley Kantter


You don't have to be in the horse world for long before you hear the words studbook and registry. Yet there are a few different types of horse studbooks which could cause a little bit of bewilderment to the untrained because there is no single definition of a studbook.

Warmblood Studbook

Horses within the Warmblood registries are raised for type and performance, they aren't a breed in themselves. So, a horse can be born to 2 Swedish Warmblood parents and yet be registered as a Danish Warmblood. This practice is especially common with warmblood stallions. That's why you can find stallions approved with multiple Warmblood registries with progeny in just as many studbooks. The only criteria is that the horse must be a warmblood or of an outstanding type that will improve the Warmblood bloodline (typically a Thoroughbred).

Open vs. Closed Studbook

Warmblood studbooks are primarily open studbooks since their selection criteria for qualifying horses are based totally on type, not bloodline. Open studbooks therefore allow outside blood (horses whose parents are not listed in that registry) so long as it is decided the new introduction will improve the breed. In sharp relief to an open studbook, closed studbooks don't allow outside blood. That means that a horse can't be registered with that registry unless it has at least one parent registered in that studbook. An instance of horses with closed studbooks are the Thoroughbreds and Trakehners (the only closed warmblood studbook). On a very rare occasion, closed studbooks will approve a member from another breed, but it is usually a foundation breed for that studbook.

Breed Registries

Breed registries are studbooks limited to a specific breed which explains why most breed registries are closed. Breed registries tend to produce horses of a really particular type and the limited outside blood will allow the registry to maintain a stricter type than open studbooks.

Performance Studbooks

Though warmblood studbooks breed for performance, they aren't performance registries in the explicit sense. Performance studbooks will permit horses from various breeds to be members as long as they comply with that studbook's performance parameters. Owners must be careful though as if their horse is already registered with a breed organization, they might be prohibited from registering with a performance registry.

The studbook world can cause confusion at times. There are breeds, types, open and closed registries, but understanding the diverse types of studbooks and having the ability to distinguish between them will only improve your equestrian knowledge. This is very important when breeding horses as the studbooks are the definitive lists of stallions at stud.




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