01/09/2026
How far away genetics matter :
Its been told numerous times within the horse community "Well i don't like the horses X in his pedigree but its so far back it won't matter" How many times have we all heard that ? For me its been a bunch. My pawpaw is 90 yrs old and has been in the horse breeding buisness for a very long time , 50+ years of it. But before that in the plott hound breeding buisness for just as long , grew up with it. He can tell you of times a dog having a trait that went back 7 generations to a specific dog that had that same trait. For horses , hes noticed stuff almost as far back as that. Take Monte here , he has a habit of pawing while eating. Nothing harmless , and not aggressively. I never could figure out why he did it. I went thru possibility of pain , and ulcers. Nothing helped. My pawpaws memory sparked one day and he remembered something. Montes great-great-great grandsire did the same exact thing. Not aggressively pawed the ground , just calmly , just like Monte. So that in of itself is a lesson. Stuff has a way of skipping several generations before landing with one horse. So next time your looking to buy a horse whether for breeding or riding , especially breeding , and you dont like a couple names on the pedigree and think "Ahh to far back to make a difference " Just remember, nothing is ever to far back to not matter
