Mitochondrial DNA in Horse Breeding: Your Stallion Ain’t Jesus and Your Mare Ain’t the Virgin Mary By Heidi Schlenker Breeding stallions and mares is a blend of mitochondrial DNA, structure, and pedigree: not a sermon. This article explains why structure, genetics, and mitochondrial DNA, not miracles, make the difference. Breeding…
“A pedigree saturated with Hall of Fame horses is a pedigree full of exceptional horses.” Her study dug through thousands of pedigrees across disciplines and found what many of us old-school breeders already suspected: when it comes to breeding on, conformation and genetic influence are everything. But Susan didn’t just highlight fancy names on paper. She tracked how deeply those names were embedded using a 3-part system: • How many unique AQHA Hall of Fame horses showed up in the first 20 generations • How many total occurrences of those HOF names appeared across those 20 generations • And how many duplicated ancestors were in the first 8 generations
Discover how a refined horse head improves responsiveness, softness, and communication—plus what conformation says about trainability.
Learn why shoulder slope in horses is the #1 factor in balance, movement, and soundness—and how poor conformation leads to injury, bracing, and vet bills.