There have been a lot of good threads lately, so I thought I'd open a new discussion!
What do you believe is more important - conformation or talent? Would you forsake a champion stallion that had conformation faults? Would you forsake a conformationally sound stallion if he hadn't proven himself? What do you find is more important?
I say this because I think at times with the equine industry in the US anyway, often a stellar stallion with a lot to offer may be overlooked based on conformation alone. There are definately certain conformation faults we all tend to view as definitive no-no's, regardless of how talented the stud may have been. But is conformation really as important as proven worth? There are a multitude of talented champions in the world today, that most people would probably have looked at as foals and never thought they'd amount to a hill of beans due to certain imperfections. Should that be the deciding factor in not breeding an animal? How many horses have had ideal conformation and yet amounted to absolutely nothing - as a show horse, or as a breeding animal?
Very curious to hear opinions!
What do you believe is more important - conformation or talent? Would you forsake a champion stallion that had conformation faults? Would you forsake a conformationally sound stallion if he hadn't proven himself? What do you find is more important?
I say this because I think at times with the equine industry in the US anyway, often a stellar stallion with a lot to offer may be overlooked based on conformation alone. There are definately certain conformation faults we all tend to view as definitive no-no's, regardless of how talented the stud may have been. But is conformation really as important as proven worth? There are a multitude of talented champions in the world today, that most people would probably have looked at as foals and never thought they'd amount to a hill of beans due to certain imperfections. Should that be the deciding factor in not breeding an animal? How many horses have had ideal conformation and yet amounted to absolutely nothing - as a show horse, or as a breeding animal?
Very curious to hear opinions!