This is Kathy Naylor, I have been following the discussion of breeding protocol. I would for one be willing to run for a position on the board if that is what it takes. I am with Rob and Gaila Noel 100% in doing what ever it takes to get the books opened up to New Blood in the RMHA! We need all of your support and most importantly we need your response, each and everyone of you need to place your message of support ( if you indeed support reopening the books), on this disussion forum ASAP. Call or email all of your friends of all registries and lets see how many of you support this position, together united we can make it happen!!

-- Kathy Naylor (knaylor@proaxis.com), January 03, 1998

Answers

Elections

I will certainly support Kathy if she decides to run for the Board. I hope there will be others who will also volunteer to run for Board or officer positions.

-- Annete L. Gerhardt (gerhardt@sinosa.com), January 03, 1998.

Election support

I also will support Kathy. She is obviously an open minded lady who is working to do the best for her horses and the others in the breed. I surely respect a person who is open enough to discuss one postion and then come back and modify her position when she sees the worthiness of someone elses.

-- Becky Gage (bgage@neosoft.com), January 03, 1998.

Opening the Books

I think the first step in this process is to eliminate the policy of gelding colts that are out of grade mares. This is (in my humble opinion) one of the worst mistakes that the Association has made. We have been forced to geld some of the better breeding stock because of the grade mare status, but yet if the colt were a filly, we get the full support of the registry to use her in a breeding program. I may indeed be a little dense in the head, but someone needs to tell me how that ever made any sense.

-- Bruce B. Blackburn (brucebla@midohio.net), March 12, 1998.

Opening the books

The reasoning for this is obvious. One mare cannot have a very big impact on the breed. A stallion can have a much greater impact. A stallion out of a grade mare, if he has poor qualities, could have a large adverse impact on the breed. But while is a fact, the odds of it happening are minimal. It first assumes that the grade mare was of poor quality--whcih she shouldn't have been if the registrar was doing a good job. Then it assumes that people will use a poor stallion a lot. A breeder, who has a poor stallion, might use him because it is the cheapest route to follow. But if he produces poor babies, people will not want to buy them. So most breeders go for the best stallion they can afford. Also, if a poor stallion is offered to the public, again most people won't use him because they will get the best they can for their money.

An offspring of a grade mare will, most likely, be bred largely to other mountain horses that are at a minimum 1/2 Mountain. Most will probably be more than 1/2 Mountain. So the Mountain blood will start to predominate by the second generation. And it will continue.

The advantage is that the stallion has brought in fresh bloodlines, and genetic diversity, which can have a wider affect since he is a stallion, than if he were a mare. The disadvamtageous--well, I personally don't see any.

-- Becky Gage (bgage@neosoft.com), March 12, 1998.

Opening the Books

Becky thanks for your well stated comments, although I am not nearly as well spoken that is exactly what I ahve been saying for years. The advantages you outline in your post far outweight the possibility of diluting our breed by bringing in fresh blood. If the registrar is indeed watching these grade mares we can use this as an avenue to increase the available genepool and at the same time improve on the qualities that make our horse unique. I am all for a well regulated approach to an opening of the registry books.

-- Bruce B. Blackburn (brucebla@midohio.net), March 12, 1998.