Many horse owners embark on the journey of horse breeding and an inescapable fact is sooner or later the progeny of your beloved mares will need to be started under saddle. Keeping one of your homebreds to replace your aging personal horse is a common reason to hang on to a home bred horse. This photo is Tiberio Lafite aka Tigger, my husband's Grand Prix horse that he trained from start to finish. Tigger is now 28 years young, (sometimes he still believes he is 3), and in retirement. The plan to hold back a home-produced young performance prospect as a replacement was always in the cards. Even if your business plan is set to market the foals rather than raise the young horses to adulthood, there are often issues such as injury, market changes or simply the temptation to wait and see if a particular horse is one you'd like to keep for yourself, that result in a homebred horse in your own backyard to start yourself. Over the decades as a horse breeder, first Hanoverians, then D
Dressage training advice for riders basic through Grand Prix from proven GP competitor/trainer Nikki Alvin-Smith of Willowview Hill Farm, http://www.WillowviewHillFarm.com, Stamford, NY. Horse breeding advice and training of young warmblood and Iberian horses, plus how to successfully shop for horses in the USA and Europe from an experienced importer and USA producer of performance sport horses and ponies.