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paintedlytening · Mar 28, 2025 8:16 AM

So when I really dove deep into this game, I was adamant on making my own line of breeding horses, specifically pretty painted/colored ones with decent papers. Well, now I've done that but I have SO many studs that passed breeding inspection, so I guess my question for some of you more seasoned players - how do you decide who to geld and throw into the show barn? I almost hate the thought of taking an A or Star* stud and gelding it, but also if I already have a barn full of them seems like it would be much harder to try and breed them all. I guess I could but I also want to know the opinion of everyone else!

For reference I have 17 A studs with the lowest PT of 10.30 and 14 Star* studs with the lowest PT of 11.70, perhaps I could try selling them but I don't feel like I usually have luck selling even if they are A or Star.

Thank you :)

annismyrph · Mar 28, 2025 9:09 AM

if you are comp testing, make sure they are SUP to their sire first.. then each other and keep the best one that matches your goals the closest.. My first "cull" for intact horses is for color , then I test for paper levels, the comp test them. if they pass all 3 then I visually and genetically compare them for what I am aiming for in that line. THEN I comp test them against each other, the best boy wins, the others get gelded and tossed in the show barns

Maribo · Mar 28, 2025 12:11 PM

I only keep one colt from a stallion, unless they can be used in different lines. They of course have to be superior to sire. If they are 2nd gen, they have to be superior to an expro if they are from C/yellow parents. They have to be homozygous for the genes I breed for in the line, ie. if they are for my platinum line, they have to be at minimum homozygous for platinum and satin, which means that any foals (that are male) that are not from parents carrying both, is an automatic geld. I make exceptions from this for my higher generations, simply because I rarely breed them, so I dont have that many to choose from. I prefer breeding foundations and bootstraps, so anything in between are kinda neglected :P

MackZ · Mar 29, 2025 1:17 AM

Like Annismyrph, I use a lot of comp testing and gene comparison to choose my studs. I try to keep 2-3 studs per generation because I like having a wide variety of patterns and colors, but each stud must be maxed or AGA a maxed colt of the same gen, as well as having all or most of the genes I want in my line. All other colts get gelded and moved to a show barn, unless they have near-perfect genes and papers and I can't stand the thought of not using them, in which case I'll usually change them to a filly.
I'm slowly trying to whittle down my herds of broodmares so that I can switch to more ET breeding for the 45-day pasture bonus.

WhiteValley · Mar 29, 2025 7:04 AM

I also use comparison testing. They must test superior to their sires (until they reach cap, then they must be AGA). I then test them to a benchmark stallion and geld any that aren't equal. Having said that, I still have too many stallions and have a hard time deciding who to geld! :)

Humboldt · Mar 29, 2025 8:48 AM

Gelding them will help them earn more points and therefore more money. Most colts will bring more value to your barn as a gelding.

Kintara · Mar 29, 2025 6:46 PM

Really comes down to breeding goals. I mostly breed even generations, so it gives me a baseline to compare to, and improve each generation. So anything that doesn't test superior to that baseline, I just geld. I also want horses to have particular colours, so that will influence my choices. So decide how many stallions you want to keep, and eliminate those that compare worse, or don't get the right colours.
With my AI breeding I end up with a lot more superior colts now, so I do turn a lot of them into mares. But they would likely be better being show geldings really.

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