Wolf Manor Estate's Breeding Philosophy

WOLF MANOR ESTATE is thrilled to be involved in laying the Foundation
of an amazing new horse breed here in the United States of America.
                                ~THE DRUM HORSE~
{ For information on the Purpose, Standard of Conformation, Registration
Requirements & Classifications of the Drum Horse... Please Click on the
GCDHA & ADHA Links Here >> }

                 Wolf Manor Estate's breeding program will focus on :
         The Drum Horse   ~~~          The Clydesdale ~~~      The Georgian Grande

Knowledge & Appreciation for the Foundation Breeds that make up each breed
of horse we have chosen to produce play a Very Important role in formulating
our Breeding Strategy. Each breed of horse has a certain Heritage that
MUST be acknowledged in a Breeding Program.
Knowledge of the Heritage of EACH Breed involved in the make-up of these
three Breeds that Wolf Manor Estate will be breeding is of the up-most importance
to us.

The Old Saying..."Breed the Best to the Best to get the Best".... Will only work if
the Breeder has knowledge to define what "The Best" means in that particular
Breed.

Breeding expensive Stallions to expensive Mares does not necessarily guarantee
great offspring. Breeding Show-winning Stallions to Show-winning Mares also is
not a guaranteed recipe for a quality foal.
All to often "gimmicks" are used in the Show Ring to mimic desired traits
that a horse ~ Especially a Breeding Horse ~ SHOULD HAVE NATURALLY.
The "Show Ring" continues to evolve with Fads & Trends. The qualities that
place a horse highly in the Show Ring come and go with these Fads & Trends.
These "Fads & Trends" will NOT define Wolf Manor's Breeding Program.

So...If Price & Show Records do not formulate Wolf Manor's Breeding
Philosophy.....What does?
Answer:   QUALITY produced from the Knowledge of the HERITAGE of the
Breed.
{ Quality of the horse itself & the Quality of it's Lineage ~ Not how much
Money it cost or if it won Top Honors at all the Shows. }
Wolf Manor will base it's Breeding Program on the Physical & Mental Quality
of the Horse itself as well as it's Heritage ( the desirable attributes of bloodlines
& history that brought about the breed).

         How will we determine Quality here at Wolf Manor?
Our Horses for our Breeding Program are found, chosen & approved on these
factors:

TRACTABLE ~ A horse that is easily controlled { Amenable, Obedient,
         Biddable} that expresses an even docile disposition and a
         willingness to work.

BALANCE ~ The compatibility between the forehand & hindquarters, between
      the right & left sides of the horse & between the limbs & trunk of
      the body. A well balanced horse performs more efficiently with
      less stress upon muscles & joints and is more likely to stay sound.

BONE/SKELETAL STRUCTURE ~Bone structure is 90% of the Conformation
     of a horse. The lengths, density & angles of the lay-out of a horses
     bones, plus their muscular & ligamentous attachments determine
     Balance, Athleticism & Soundness. Bones & angles create the
     'Points of the horse'. The desirable bone proportions & relationships
     that are "Ideal" for a specific type of horse will create a horse
     that will be more bio-mechanically efficient. A "Well put together"
     horse is desirable not because it looks best, but because it stands up
     best to the test of time & in all disciplines that it is asked to perform.

INTELLIGENCE ~ An intelligent horse possesses the ability to learn quickly
      & understand how to deal with new and trying situations.
      Intelligence holds a direct relationship with Tractability.

ATHLETICISM ~ The ease of movement that comes from the bio-mechanical
     efficiency a horse possesses. An Athletic horse will raise the root
     of it's neck, flex it's loins & demonstrate impulsion and thrust
     showing balance, rhythm & Natural self-carriage when moving at
     liberty. This expression of athletic movement is associated with a
     horse that will stand up to work & will be a pleasure to train & ride.

SOUNDNESS ~ A horse needs to be able to eat, drink, outrun predators &
    reproduce to survive in nature. A sound horse is capable of
   performing all of these functions to a maximum genetic potential.
   A Sound horse to people is one that is capable of holding up under
   the pressures of what ever performance discipline we choose to use
  the horse for ...a horse that is serviceable. Conformation and
  Soundness are intimately linked.
  Most people only think of legs and hooves when the term soundness
  is brought up. Horses can be unsound in other areas besides just
  lameness issues affecting the legs and hooves....such as health,
  reproductive capabilities, temperament and other conformation
  defects such as Parrot & Monkey mouth which may interfere with
  grazing and in turn the health of the horse. Any permanent
  abnormality in the respiration process is a serious unsoundness.
  ANY defect that affects serviceability is considered an unsoundness.
  Any abnormal deviation in the structure or action of a horse can
  render it partly or completely useless.
  A defect that detracts from appearance but does not impair
  serviceability is considered a Blemish... not Unsoundness.

BLOODLINES ~ (Pedigree) ~ A horse's pedigree in it's simplest form is it's
    family tree. It is like reading a book...a history book of the
    horse's genetic past thru it's ancestors. Study of a horse's pedigree,
    both past and present can reveal a wealth of information about the
    genetic make up of an individual horse. Genetic makeup...every
    physical trait... from hoof quality to coat & eye color is governed
   by a horse's genes. Movement, aptitude for a given discipline,
   disposition & mental attributes...to varying degrees are impacted
   by a horse's genetics. Through careful research of Bloodlines
   (Pedigree), a person seeking a horse for a given performance
   discipline can use the pedigree to determine which horse is most
   likely to meet their expectations and the breeder will have a greater
   certainty in the outcome of a given mating. The Pedigree greatly
   helps breeders to accomplish their goal to ingrain the most desirable
   traits of a breed, while improving less desirable ones.

(The Qualities are not written in order of importance; rather an overall
combination of them is desired)

Wolf Manor holds the Bloodlines of a horse in High Regard, for only through
Knowledge of a breeding horse's heritage can one better understand what
qualities will be passed on to future generations.
Heritage is Everything ~ after all...all the qualities that are listed above are
all the qualities that we strive to pass on ...or "stamp" onto future generations.
Knowledge of Bloodlines helps us to ensure we are matching up the best
qualifying horses to pass on certain desired traits to their foals.
There is another factor that will play a part in our Breeding Program ~ Color.
Color is the last thing that we would look for in determining a Quality horse.
However, the Heritage of certain breeds involves color. One of the defining
factors that make the Drum Horse a Drum Horse is Color ~ Pinto markings.
Therefor, color will be a factor in our Breeding Horses chosen to develop that
breed.

Wolf Manor's goal for breeding Drums, Clydesdales & Georgian Grandes will
not be to mass-produce these breeds for profit. We will instead focus upon
breeding a small number of well chosen, well matched horses to produce
offspring that will not only meet each individual Breed Standard, but will better
the breed.
We strive to breed horses that will achieve high standings in the Show World
NATURALLY without the use of "gimmicks". However , our focus is not simply
to breed horses just for the Show World. Our Goal is to breed a horse that will be
a Pleasure for it's Owner and will be able to perform Soundly & Willingly at
any task the Owner chooses to do ~ be it Trail Riding, Driving, working on a
Farm, Showing, Dressage, 4-H events, being a Police Mount or a Therapy Horse.

          In short, Wolf Manor Estate's Goal is to breed Tractable, Sound,
         Fertile, Long-lived Horses with Overall Balanced Conformation &
              Natural Athleticism that Represent & Improve upon their
                                           Respective Breeds!

              "HONOR, COURAGE & VIRTUE MEAN EVERYTHING....
            MONEY & POWER... POWER & MONEY MEAN NOTHING."
                                         ~~Secondhand Lions~~