I am far from being able to implement a breeding program, but when I am able to, I was wondering how to go about developing a strong program?

What do you look for in the mares you pick up? I am thinking of starting with TB's, but might want to dabble in a few different other breeds.

What is the process you guys have gone through? What have you found that works/doesn't work?

Thanks for any and all advice!

~SPR Equestrian

I started off reading all the guides and blogs about it (which is always a good start not only for breeding). There are some pretty useful ones in the guide-section of the forum.

After that I went through the LB studs and mares to see how they trained and produced and what to be looking for when buying new stock.

What I've found works best is matching, tracking training, culling and being patient ;)

How matching, tracking training and culling works is explained far better in the guides than I could. Through tracking training you'll be able to match your horses correctly and culling means you're weeding out your week horses so you have more resources left for your stronger ones.

Start with a good army of show geldings, you earn money when they show, they will be the backbone of your stable. Keep getting more geldings and you will have barn upon barn in no time :3

What I look for in my AD mares.. PEE combos and EEEs. I started this account on PPE combos and that helped me get PEE combos but never an EEE. I personally think its better to use PEE combos. Decent training. They don't have to be training super stars, but I expect all up WK5/10. All up WK 14 or 15 is preferred but not everyone tracks that far. A few bars WK4/8/9 is a requirement most of the time but occasionally I'll make an exception based on breeding history. Breeding history. Do not get a mare with consistently poor foals thinking that you can somehow make them better. One EEE within S combos and P combos doesn't mean the horse has potential, it means RF worked in her favor. Avoid her. look for PEE combo producers. When I find a mare like that I'll check if she was matched correctly and if the studs had good production. I'll likely take her if she's not too expensive. I'd prefer a PEE combo and EEE producer though.

Don't settle for a crappy mare because you can't currently find a good one. I waited months on my WB SA to start breeding because I wanted to find the perfect mare.

Make sure you match your mares correctly. If you find a stud that matches but doesn't produce EEEs and/or W combos consistently then don't use him. Every stallion my mares breed to are ABLB or breed LB. If you can't afford a good stud then wait until next RO and brood her out this RO.

I'm very experienced in this game (I've played before this account) and I love to help another player. Shoot me a PM about literally anything and I can help you :)

It's much better than struggling with the daily income and occasional sales to get by and allows you to become successful more quickly. I typically make about 2 mil net profit each year.

Once you've done that, I'd recommend buying mares. Do not invest in stallions. This is literally the number one mistake a starting play could make, in my opinion. Once you're established and have quality horses, don't be afraid to do so, though.

Any decent boy will be 5 mil+, and the LB ones are pretty much worthless (unless you bred RID or PON, in which case the LBs are good because they're not really on the ABLB).

Instead, save up for top 50 ABLB straws or breedings. Don't worry about glasses, medallions or svens until you can afford to splurge. Rely on good matching and solid mares.

A good mare in an established breed will have at least 75% of foals PEE+ (if EEE or higher rating). I highly recommend bidding on the brood of a LB mare. Don't go for 5 cheap matches and hope for an OK horse; give yourself the best chance by going for 1 big match.

And if the horse flops? Oh well, sadly, that's the game. But it's not a problem because you've got gelds to earn the money back. ;)

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I would be glad to help you match or answer any questions. I'm pretty experienced and I've bred ABLB horses.