thinking of breeding my Dashin Elvis mare next year and was wondering how do you find out if a sire has character or manners.    Sure they can be advertised with all their stats to help decide on performance but how do you find out what their demeanor is?      If this makes any sense and someone knows of any sires that may fit please pass on details! 

I've been around several Firewaterontherocks offspring and every single one has had the most personable personality. Ranging from being able to run a pattern and then throw a young kid on to ride around, some like to play with their water buckets, some are total lovers, etc.   I currently have a yearling filly that was born with a presence.  She loves to explore and pick things up, and will probably drive me "nuts" down the road because she loves to steal hats, brushes, try to untie herself, etc.  I can deal with those "quirks" because I would rather have a horse like that than something boring with no personality.  I feel like you can channel that energy into a good work ethic if you start them right.

I think this is a great question as I have a mare that needs some help in the brain department.  She runs 1-D times in barrels and poles when we can get her dialed in, but she is her own worst enemy when we get to town.  Gets nervous or worked up at different things. I am crossing her now on a son of Dunnit Rawhide that is an amazing all around horse with a fantastic disposition.  He is a money earner in working cowhorse, fantastic pro level heel horse, and picks up bucking horses on the side.  Hopeing his brain transfers with her speed. 

I love Lions Share of Fame and was privledged enrough to watch him compete and see him interact at events. He has a great mind and would breed to him in a heartbeat.

Certain lines and certain studs can produce more laid back horses with brains but I have seen no correlation between the actual attitude of the stud and that being the key---if that makes sense, We have two studs---one acts like a big ole gelding and one is a STUD yet both produce baies that are very user friendly even though they themselves have COMPLETELY different personalities.

Definitely Shawne Bug Leo. Fantastic minds and character. Plus they are athletes.

Robin Herring broke down coming from a rodeo.  Some team ropers were nice enough to give her a lift.  They crammed 5 horses in a 4 horse trailer and one was Firewaterontherocks.  That says a lot about him.

I think it depends on both the mare and the stallion.  Some bloodlines just do not cross well.  

It isn’t quite that simple. There are so many viables. Yes, you can try and breed for brains. But a lot of it also depends on the way they are raised and the human interaction. Plus there’s a big difference between colts and fillies that are both by the same sire. Scrutinizer as an example. He threw brains. The fillies tended to be hot hot. The colts tended to be more laid back and easier to get along with. Ivory James...the colts have a lot more work ethic and try than the fillies. Same with PYC. 

But if you have a dumb mare...the stallion can only do so much. The reverse is also true. If you aren’t 99% in love with everything about the mare conformation wise and personality wise...you probably shouldn’t breed her because the chances of the foal being just like her are there.

Firewaterontherocks. 

My first was SO sweet and loves people and is so gentle! We lovedbher so much that we bought a second. 

The second one has SO much personality!! She’s smart and needs to be busy. 

Our farm is in a quiet residential area - when people walk by our pastures or ride by on bikes, my horses run to the fence in hopes of getting pet. We just had a drone video done of our farm and the horses looked up and followed the drone. They’re very curious. 

My older one is 6 and I’m taking my time with her, just now hitting 2D times but she still isn’t running hard. She’s easy to ride, wants to please, and is forgiving. My second just turned 2 and is going to a futurity trainer later this year. 

AMEN---stallion can only do so much.

I think the mare has alot to do with how that baby comes out just as much as the stud does. 

Ditto on the stud can only do so much.  There are things that the mare can teach her foal just because she has "custody".  I have a couple of mares that I bought that are really "watchy". They are fine to deal with when they don't have a foal by their side. But they are really untrusting when they do.  If the mare is hard to catch or acts nervous when you're trying to catch them, she's teaching baby not to trust humans.  You can overcome this if you work with the baby, but the suspicous imprinting is hard to overcome until later when they are weaned. I have other mares that I raised so they only know kindness. They don't run when I go in the stall or try to catch them.  Those babies are big pocket babies. 

Ditto to this - I have a mare who makes great babies.  However, you will permanently have a hard time if you don't leave them alone until they are weaned. She will not quietly let you handle her or the foal and that is imprinted very fast on the foal. She has had only one that was naturally curious enough to ignore her defensiveness and would come up and play and get petted. Different sires or same sire, her foals have her fast feet and energy and lets the sire stamp the head and conformation. 

Messaged you some info about Dashing Move Fame.  Really impressed with him. 

I have never bred horses BUT I will say after riding several horses by the same studs and out of the same mares I have learned quite a bit. I have ridden and started several colts and fillys by the same stud and would never know they are related by demeanor, trainability, or looks. HOWEVER, the 2, 3, 6 and 8 year olds out of the same dams couldn't be more similar in trainability, demeanor, and looks. I am talking spitting images of each other. They move, act, and look like twins just different sizes due to age. So I would definitely say mare power outweighs stallion power by a landslide - in my experience.