09/17/07 Quarter Horse mystery

The mystery of a National Foundation certified Quarter Horses. I'm Jeff Keane and I'll be back in a minute to hopefully shed new light on this complex subject. Talk with any Quarter horse buff out there and they will likely quote you "foundation" bloodlines they feel have most influenced the AQHA breed. Here is Becky with the root of this discussion. What is the rule on foundation breeding? Isn't every Quarter Horse somehow related to even a small corner of the breeds foundation. Some Quarter Horse sires thought to be legendary don't fit the foundation bill. Impressive and Doc Bar are not foundation credible, too much thoroughbred blood. The National Foundation Quarter Horse Association has been certifying this pedigree using an intricate system since conception in 1995. Basing numbers on the amount, or should we say lack of, thoroughbred blood in the horses lineage has proved to be the magical equation. Each generation contributes a percentage and the total thoroughbred influence is added up and deducted from 100. Any horse left with a number of eighty percent or higher is eligible to be certified as a National Foundation Quarter Horse. The classic bulldog type AQHA horses such as Bueno Chex, and of course Wimpy are all included in the classification at 100 percent foundation. So next time conversing with a friend or searching for that great Foundation sire to breed to, you may what to consider the numbers. The higher the percentage the closer you are to the tried and true foundation Quarter horse. I'm Jeff Keane.