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Do You Have a Line Bred or Inbred FellPony that You Would Like to Breed?
I can help you make good decisions for mates that will result in the best line crossed foals that will contribute to future bloodline diversity.
Breeding a heritage rare breed is a multi-faceted challenge where our main goal is to build up and retain genetic viability without compromising desired traits for the future. Preservation goes beyond our time and moment of ego, involving thoughtful decisions that consider the collective gene pool. Understanding gene flow, genetic drift and the dangers of line breeding to a breed as a whole are essential........ so our children and their children can not only enjoy these treasures but are able to do so without the burdens associated with deleterious genetic mutations.
The critical facets require responsible breeding where the substance is found in deep understandings of the genetic concerns related to small populations and small gene pools. There exists a prevailing trend of repeating what is popular and fashionable based on observable traits. The desire to perpetuate desirable traits must be tempered with a real in depth understanding and analysis of the actual breeding pool within a population.
An intense independent bloodline research led me through a process that identified the North American Fell pony foals born from 2017-2023. This project wove through the identification of 51 contributing stallions and 125 contributing mares, landing with 4-6G reverse pedigrees back to foundation contributors. The results provide a wealth of information, identifies bloodline bottlenecks and points of concern within the breeding gene pool, allowing us to make more informed decisions for the future. For the 7 yr. period, North America has averaged 37 foals a year. This fact makes it even more critical that breeding decisions are made in balance by considering in triad: type, individual line breeding, and the collective gene pool. Expect more details coming in the future with regard to bloodline diversity and how all breeders can and should encourage each other to prioritize these concerns.
The Dales pony breed has been in decline in North America. Since roughly 2015, several NA breeders have closed their programs with only a few small scale breeders left to keep things going. As a newer breeder wanting to better understand the bloodlines available in North America, I researched the Dales Pony Society's stud records via the online Grassroots Database. This helped to determine what bloodlines are being represented in North America. I was able to identify 110 ponies who have contributed to the NA gene pool. Sadly, nearly half (52) of those contributors have not produced in the last 6 years with most now being too old. The list does include 20 prospects for breeding as indicated to me by their owners.
The first document is a list of the current NA breeding pool which was determined by ponies who have at least one DPS registered foal on record or has been indicated as a prospect to me by the owner of the pony. The document shows 3 main lists: ponies that have had foals since 2013 (Active), ponies that have not produced since 2013 (Non-Active) and Prospects. Click on title to view document.
North American Dales Pony Breeding Pool
The second document contains a collection of reverse pedigrees related to the North American breeding pool. All 110 ponies were traced to their common ancestors and organized to see how they are related. This document will be a helpful tool when making breeding decisions such as breeding pairs, breeding prospects, and importing new stock.
North American Dales Pony Breeding Pool Reverse Pedigrees
Republishing, duplicating these documents is not allowed and protected by standard copyright laws. Permission to post links to these documents is required by Kimberly Dunn. Documents updated December 2019.
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