Quote:
Originally Posted by Merlinsky
I seem to recall a study that said breeders matching mares and stallions of similar size, whatever that is, tended to find success over people that had average sized mares going to large stallions with the idea that the taller the suitor, the better (I think the idea was to get a bigger yearling for sale, but not sure). Does anybody remember that?
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Breeding really big to really small doesn't give you "average" - it will give you big or small, or more frequently a weird awkward physical combination of both.
Physical matches in phenotype tend to carry genetics that reinforce and give you predictable offspring that look like their parents, rather than come out weirdly as surprise recessives in the offspring.
Mares tend to control the physical size of foal at birth, but a stallion that throws big birthweight babies can contribute to dystocia, and as mares birth so very quickly, any trouble in the birthing process can spell death and disaster (it's hard to get a mare and foal through a c-section alive, unless they are in the hospital when the problem happens)
Growthy, big babies - be it genetic or due to excessive feeding - tend to sell well at sales as they are physically impressive, but fast-growers also tend to have more growth-associated issues radiographically at sale (OCD's, crooked, etc.)
So attempts at getting physically big babies for sales success can be fraught with complication.
Pick good genetics, and just help them reach their genetic potential.
In the choice of Zenyatta and Tapit, I'd not worry about a big mare with a smaller stallion, as I would the other way around. More refinement, keeping the size down in the foal, predicability in what he throws looks-wise (he's good), trying to prevent big and clumsy offspring would be a good thing, regarding those physicals, I'd guess (rather than breeding her to a big, rangy stallion)