Add to this that the geographic and stud fee indices are also missing and what you have is basically a big bunch of nothing.  Maybe this has something to do with economics and if so, we get it.  But the breed is in enough trouble as it is without robbing the small breeder of some of his most valuable tools.

          One can only hope that our lament won’t be the only one and that enough complaints are registered that this mess is fixed either via an on-line search engine or with a supplemental index one can order.  These are necessary tools for intelligent breeders.  Don’t make it harder than it already is!

          Needless to say, we were anxious to compare The Thoroughbred Times stallion register to see if they had likewise wrecked their ‘big book’.

We are happy to report that this will be our ‘go to’ book for 2012, reversing the usual Blood Horse preference because this book has kept everything the Blood Horse has cut out and the cross section, though the print is small, is nowhere near as small as what the Blood Horse now has.

          We’re not very happy that Round Table’s picture is gone from the ‘Classic Gallery’ but we always welcome our old boss John Sparkman’s commentary (even when we do not agree with him!)

          And while we no longer use it, we tip our hats to the dosage article because it has the historical background to go with the usual ‘down and dirty’ Roman nonsense.  There are some parts of this book, namely the Ragozin figures, which we find out of place in a stallion book.  It places too much emphasis on a horse’s speed as a runner.

          Horses are not numbers to begin with, but when breeders expect them to breed like they ran instead of considering how they are bred and whether the pedigree fits the racing career – i.e. is the horse a freak? – it can mislead. 

          One thing we really would like to see is a hard article on conformation.  It’s not likely to happen, though Sparkman gives some good physical descriptions of horses, because some of our best sires are some of the worst conformed.  People flock to commercial horses and fail to see the worth in ‘breeders’ horses’ (i.e. breeders who breed to race their own).  There should be some provision for horses who get the most offspring to the track and also for those whose offspring make the most starts, giving at least some hint of who is sound and who might not be.

          In any event, we know that many people simply prowl around on line for stallions now.  But if you’re like us and want to have a book in your hands that you can peruse and consider, then The Thoroughbred Times stallion book is the better deal for 2012.  Good for them!

December 2011