Our Breeding Philosophy
Having been breeding horses for nearly 30 years, we have developed some pretty strong opinions as to what works and what does not.
Everybody wants to breed beautiful, athletic, trainable babies, but it's not as easy as it seems. Time provides a perspective that sheds new light on old truisms. We have all bred to stallions because of their breathtaking movement, their competition record or the success of their offspring. This has sometimes worked and sometimes not. We now have different criteria for our breeding program that we think will produce an ultimate sporthorse.
The number one thing we seek to produce is a trainable, tractable temperament - in other words, rideability. We also believe a majority of the genetic influence comes from the dam and so we are excruciating in our selection of broodmares as we feel they contribute heavily to a foal's temperament. We feel ever so strongly that a sport horse can go farther in almost any discipline with a moderate amount of talent and an extraordinary amount of rideability than with extraordinary talent but a difficult temperament. Of course, no one want to produce an average horse and the commercial market demands looks and movement (often over temperament). European warmbloods exhibit such extravagant movement that buyers sometimes seem unable to stop themselves from buying a horse they will never be able to train just because it looks fantastic. Our goal became to breed horses with the movement that would allow them to compete against the best, but with temperaments that would set them apart.
So, it was this philosophy in mind that we have crossed one of the finest Swedish Warmblood stallions in the U.S. with an absolutely gorgeous Shire x TB mare. The mare herself, very refined and impeccably correct, rivals warmbloods in movement, but her temperament is as easy as a backyard pony. The warmblood stallion is currently competing Grand Prix on the California dressage circuit. The resulting foal is half warmblood, 1/4 Shire and 1/4TB and he is to die for. Very uphill, huge bone and a genetic legacy that promises trainability, movement and success in any discipline.
His name is Pear William - Wills for short. We think he will be gray. He's the start of a whole new breed of sporthorses! Come by and see him for yourself.
At eight months Wills is starting to show us so many wonderful things – except a trot! He never trots except a few strides in upward and downward transitions. His gait of choice is the canter, even if he’s only going 5 ft., he’ll canter there! And what a canter it is: Uphill, balanced. cadenced, just about everything you would wish for.
The other thing he’s showing us is he loves, absolutely loves to jump. He consistently goes out of his way to sail over anything he can find – just for fun. As in the picture here, he could easily have gone around the pile, but chose instead to jump it. Look at those knees! We believe now he’ll be black like his Mom (thought for awhile he was going to be gray). He has a wonderful laid-back, obedient nature and will be an astounding, athletic, quiet partner.
Wills is now a big boy at 4 years old and 17H! Check him out on our Sales List.
Wills at 8 months!
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Havoc DSH
This filly is destined for great things - She is 3/4 TB and 1/4 Hannoverian and while she will be suitable for any discipline, she was bred with the new eventing foremat in mind. Out of a TB mare who produces lovely movers, she will have superior movement for the dressage yet still have enough TB blood for the x-c phases. She won her Belgian Warmblood Inspection class (as did her dam, at 14 years old!) and really is a true sporthorse. Good bone, but refined, very uphill, a lovely trainable temperament. She truly offers the best of TB and warmblood breeding. She is a stunning black bay with a sock and should mature around 16.2. Her sire is Gatsby a 1/2 TB 1/2 Hannoverian who we feel is a perfect match for TB mares being bred for sport. She is his spitting image, by the way. Check him out at foxdalefarm.us If you are looking for a partner to develop, consider one who is bred carefully and specifically for sport. $10,000
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Intrepid
½ brother to our Wills by the good TB stallion Innkeeper, which makes him a ¾ TB (Perfect for eventing!) Innkeeper is a 16.2H TB stallion who sold for 1.5 million as a yearling. He raced, showed H/J and evented. He is approved Oldenberg/ISR and he is one of the nicest sporthorse TBs standing today; his temperament is such that he was used for riding lessons. Intrepid is a striking red bay with four socks! He is a very special young man with as much versatility as anyone could wish for. Owned and offered for sale as a yearling by Drs. Eric & Margo Clegg at $10,000
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