How important are inbreeding, line breeding and nicking?
What is the Female Family Number and how do I use the information?
Can I see the result of a projected breeding?
Can I enter new horses into the database?
What if I need to make a change to an existing entry?
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The Outcross Percentage is based on the ratio of duplicated names to unique (or non-duplicated) names within the fifth, sixth and seventh removes of a given pedigree. There are 32 ancestors in the fifth
remove, 64 in the sixth and 128 in the seventh for a total of 224 names: This total is then searched (or scanned) for unique names (non- duplicated).
As an example, lets say we found 182 names in this seven generation pedigree that were unique. Dividing 182 by 224 (total) equals 81%(rounded) outcross.
Refers to the offspring of inbred names having an equal number of males and females (i.e. 7 males and 7 females).
How important are inbreeding, line breeding and nicking?
Inbreeding is used to set "type". By mating animals that are related and share desirable traits, the genes responsible for those traits will become "homozygous" and be inherited by all subsequent offspring. Yet many breeders select matings based on shared ancestry instead of shared characteristics and the result is increased genetic "heterozygosity" which allows for greater genetic variance instead of reinforcement.
Line breeding is simply inbreeding in the 5th, 6th, and 7th removes. Line breeding is the equivalent of combining the blood of the dam of the sire and the sire of the dam. The technical jargon goes on, but you get the point. These duplications are illustrated on many of the reports and pedigrees. Line breeding must cross over in order to meet the balancing factors.
Sibling Inbreeding-Another thing to look for is inbreeding to siblings, (that is half, three quarter and full siblings that cross over both halves of the pedigree). This method is called sibling inbreeding, and it works incredibly well. Keep in mind that any inherited qualities will appear in the resulting foal with the same physical strengths or weaknesses as the duplicated ancestors.
Nicking is a term used to describe the phenomena whereby mares of one given tail male bloodline would produce above average runners (a hero ) when mated to the sires of another tail male bloodline. Historically, this information was not often apparent until well after a stallion was past his productive time or dead. Now, in this age of computers, it is possible to get an early lead on which male bloodline crosses appear to perform better or worse. It should be understood that this is only one of the many factors that play into the analysis of the pedigree. The odds against producing the hero are pretty small with 2-3% superior horses world wide.
Dosage is a technique for classifying Thoroughbred pedigrees by type based on the performance over time of exceptional stallions. Designated Chefs-De-Race , (literally Chiefs Of The Race. ) these stallions consistently pass their abilities (or aptitude) to their offspring.
Based on the five traits that these stallions predictably and consistently transmit to their offspring, each chef is assigned to one (or sometimes two)* of five aptitude groupings covering the spectrum from speed to endurance.
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B - Brilliant. These sires transmit an early brilliant factor and are associated with early development of speed.
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I - Intermediate. These sires transmit miler talent. (They are difficult to find these days)
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C - Classic. These sires pass on classic distance. In America, that is 1.25 miles and internationally, 1.5 miles.
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S - Stamina. These sires pass on staying talent beyond the 1.5 mile.
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P - Professional. This aptitude tends towards more than 2 miles. (2.5 and 3 miles)
*NOTE: Split Chefs are designated by combining two of the classifications listed above (i.e. IC Intermediate/Classic)
For bookkeeping purposes we assign a total potential value of 16 points to each generation divided evenly between the number of sires. Chefs that appear within the first four removes will contribute 16, 8, 4, and 2 points respectively. The points for all chefs present are then tallied in the appropriate aptitude columns. Chefs that confer two of these characteristics (Split Chefs)* have their points split between the two aptitudes. In the end, the total points in each column result in the Dosage Profile (DP), a series of five numbers that reflect the relative proportions of each of the five aptitudes. (Cigar s DP, for example is 7-2-10-1-0.)
Dosage Index (DI) is derived from the profile to reflect the ratio of speed‑to‑stamina in a pedigree. The higher the DI, the more speed is supposedly present in the pedigree. The Average North American DI is 2.40 with a 4.00 DI generally being the cutoff, over which a horse is not considered likely to get the American classic distance of a mile and a quarter as a three-year-old on the first Saturday in May.
Center of Distribution (CD) is a more complicated calculation derived from the profile. Theoretically, as with DI, the higher the CD, the lower a horse's distance potential. Average CD in this country is +.70. A common misconception is that the center of distribution is a direct indicator of the optimal running distance for a thoroughbred horse. This is not true, as the center of distribution is only an indicator of speed in relation to distance.
What is the Female Family Number and how do I use the information?
Female Family refers to the direct ancestry of a horse through its dam, to its second dam, to its third dam, and so on as far back as possible (a.k.a. tail-female). In the mid-to-late 1800s, the female families that consistently produced winners were each given a designation (or number) that each dam passes on to her foal. Thus the Female Family Number (FF#) came into being. The current listing of FF# contains over 124 designations of which 27 predominant families consistently produce superior performers and are considered the most powerful female families in the world (see table below). The distinction of these designations recognizes the production capabilities of certain female family lines that consistently produce quality stakes performers, or producers. An analysis of the FF#s within the top and bottom lines of a pedigree truly shows the breeding potential of a mare.
The FF#s will appear color-coded on your pedigrees as:
Green (most powerful) 1st Tier 1S, 1W, 1N, 2S, 2D, 4M, 5H, 8C, 8F, 9C, 9F, 13C, 14C, 21A, 23B
or
Red (second most powerful) 2nd Tier 1C, 1L, 1K, 3L, 4D, 4R, 5F, 8H, 9E, 9H, 12C, 14F, 16C, 20
What is the difference between Sire Female Lines, Dam Female Lines, Sire Numbers, and Running Numbers?
Here we are dealing with four different classes of numbers:
Sire Female Lines (SFL) - the percentage of 1st and 2nd tier FF#s (see FAQ) found in the sire's side (or top half) of the pedigree.
Dam Female Lines (DFL) - the percentage of 1st and 2nd tier FF# (see FAQ) found in the dam's side (or bottom half) of the pedigree.
Sire Numbers (S#) FF#s that consistently produced the
best sires.
(They are:3-8-11-12-13-14*)
Running Numbers (R#) FF#s that consistently produced
the best runners.
(They are:1-2-3-4-5*)
Computer analysis of the female families has identified those that consistently produced the best runners (R#s) and those that consistently produced the best sires (S#s). The best sires either traced directly tail-female, to these 5 S#s, and/or were inbred to them. (On the ULTI-MATE 2000© aptitude chart, all of the FF#s are listed afterwards with the tier groups in red or green, and the other female family numbers are in black.)
Two calculations indicate the percentage of S#s and R#s both in the 3rd remove and 6th remove and is displayed on the aptitude chart.
Can I see the result of a projected breeding?
You most certainly can! Simply by entering the selected Sire and Dam in the appropriate fields on the main screen, you will be able to view the projected results. Utilizing the variety of reports will enable you to view everything from aptitude of the projected foal, to pedigree, to the Four Balancing Factors, siblings by dam, crossover in six removes, duplication of names and more.
Can I enter new horses into the database?
YES! By entering the name of the horse into the Main Name Field on the chalkboard you can see instantly whether the horse is listed in the database. If not listed, simply click the NEW button on the Closest Horse Name Field and then fill in the Sire and Dam fields in the same way. If the Sire and Dam are already in the database then all of the pedigree information will fill in automatically and you have only to enter the year of foaling, sex and whatever other information you choose!
What if I need to make a change to an existing entry?
Changes can be made to any listing in the database by using the Edit tab. This tab allows you to change gender (i.e. stallion to gelding), correct the name, and even change the status of that horse in many ways. Simply choose the Category.
Yes you can, but be sure that all relevant information has been moved or copied to the entry you are keeping before deleting any entry. There is no Undo command!
Once an entry is deleted from the database, it cannot be recovered! You would have to re-add the entry back into the database.