HP Iconic Gold drew my attention from a video clip on Facebook, just as a foal trotting across the arena with his dam. But this was no ordinary foal, nor was it an ordinary trot. The hind leg action, and front leg lift and suspension, with lightness, softness and incredible athleticism, along with swing and a vitality and expression not commonly seen in foals. I then read that he had been purchased by Frederic Wandres, rider of GP horse Bluetooth and rider at Kasselman stables, and Wandres purchased this colt after watching this very same video clip, clearly seeing the same qualities that so clearly stood out to anyone paying attention.
Somes times a horse will attract my attention, then i go to the pedigree and then the reaction is ah ok, now I can see why i was drawn to the horse in the first place ; this colt is inbred to its own female line which is always the most powerful pedigree configuration and often leads to horses having special qualities, possibly from the transmission of superior mitochondrial DNA.
Bred by Lone Boegh Henriksen from HP Performance horses in Denmark, Lone very kindly gave some history into this mare line. She said she had been a great fan of Evald Grotelusdrens’ multi generational breeding program, and the Elfenblume mare line in particular.
Lone said her fascination with this line began when she purchased Elfenliebe from the Oldenburg auctions.
She then visited Evald’s’ farm many times and worked hard to buy the mare Elfenperle who was not for sale. Elfenperle also happens to be the dam of young stallion Independent by Ibiza, whom she owns in partnership with Paul Shockemohle and Andreas Helgstrand.
The mare Elfenliebe was from a different branch of this same mare line. Her pedigree is Diamond Hit / De Niro / Rohdiamant.
From Elfenliebe, Lone bred HP Viard by Vitalis who was purchased by Catherine Dufour as a foal, as well as two fillies to retain for breeding – Elfentraum by Furstenball and Elfenvita by Vitalis. All these mares are currently in foal to Epic Zone.
Lone is expecting two embryo transfers from Independent and Elfengold for next season, so the opportunity to buy a sibling to Iconic Gold will be on the table.
Elfengold – dam of Iconic Gold
Also dam of GP horse Dimanche Royal (De Niro) and Elfenfeuer (Florencio) – GP horse in the USA
Elfenperle – Dam of Independent
The pedigree of HP Iconic Gold clearly shows the inbreeding to the Elfenblume mare line. The question when this type of inbreeding and pedigree structure is seen, is was it a random chance mating that perhaps the breeder is not aware of, or was it deliberately selected for?
In this particular case, Lone, from her great love and respect for this dam line, made the intentional decision to breed her mare Elfengold to a stallion from the same mare line – creating a close inbreeding to daughters of the mare Elfensonne both sides of the pedigree tail female each side in the 3 x 2 position.
This was a bold and creative decision for Lone to make, as most breeders shy away from this, believing instead that outcrossing at every possible juncture is the way to go. The pedigree of Iconic Gold is an ideal example of a prime time to carry out an inbred mating.
Lone made this decision from an informed position. She had observed the progeny over the years from the different mare family branches and was familiar with how that line of mares produce. The quality was also there in the phenotype of the mares. Often top broodmares are not at all attractive, but these mares of Lone’s had made it all the way to the Brilliant Ring in Rastede so we know that their conformation and paces were of the highest standard. Similarly with sire Indepenent, all stallions that have been licensed will pass muster on their type, or they would never have made it this far. So all the phenotypical bases were covered. Knowing how a line produces is a crucial element to consider before attempting an inbred mating.
Inbreeding and linebreeding are considered dirty words in warmblood circles and this topic has a tendency to polarise people. Perhaps this comes from a lack of understanding and the technical difficulties involved in studying this subject, as people tend to rubbish what they do not understand or are fearful of.
The truth is that inbreeding, linebreeding and outcrossing – in equal measure – are the cornerstone of intentional selective breeding in any animal. Historically these are the only tools available to the breeder to shape animals for their intended purpose, and they are not just ideas plucked out of the air, they are based on the actual scientific principles of genetic inheritance. If you are a breeder, every time you do a mating, you are either inbreeding, linebreeding, or outcrossing, and you are either doing it knowingly or inadvertently, and either effectively or ineffectively.
HP Iconic Gold has all the right ingredients for a judicious attempt at inbreeding. He is from a top mare line which has several branches of elite Brilliant ring mares, who have produced licensed sons and international GP horses as well as broodmares capable of producing the same. Mare lines such as this are rare, and should be preserved and reinforced in this manner wherever possible.
This mare line has produced stallions Depardieu (De niro), De vito – (De Niro), Dimanche Royal ( De Niro)- these last 3 being Grand Prix horses, Don Charly (Don Gregory), Florion (Florencio), Frazissimo (Franziskus) and Independent (Ibiza) – owned by Lone, Andreas Helgstrand and Paul Shockemohle in partnership.
Some of the other GP horses from this line are Romanesque (Romanov), Pentimento (Prince Thatch), Feather (Fidertanz), Dimanche Royal (De Niro, Eflenfeuer (Florencio), GP sire Bernstein (Bonds), Sambaya (Sir Donnerhall), Forion (Florencio), and Lavinia (Sion), and this is just a starting list.
This is exactly the type of mare line where it is a good idea to consider inbreeding as an option, in order to concentrate all the mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA (from both parents) together, for the probability of bringing something really special into the world.
Inbreeding is certainly not for every mare or every mating, nor is it for every breeder. It should only be undertaken by breeders who truly understand the issues and risks, and and comprehend that yes, they could produce an absolute superstar performer, but they could also produce something that needs to be culled due to recessive genes coming together. All horses carry recessive genes, out crossing simply masks them, and they are a risk no matter what method of breeding is used. Any concentration of closely related genetic individuals carries the risk they will join up.
For those willing to take these risks from time to time the rewards can be truly great, and we need breeders who are prepared to take risks. We want people with their own ideas who think outside the square, not just to create super performers, but to ensure pre-potent breeding stock for the future.
It is very important to the future of the breed to preserve important mare lines in this way instead of just following the herd down the fashionable stallion path. Many of the horses featured on this website are in fact the result of inbred matings, or they are from inbred dams and grand dams, and the simple reason for this is that inbred animals make the best breeding stock, and top sport horses generally have genetically balanced pedigrees. Often the worlds best horses have this type of pedigree formation.
Pedigree theory is most reliable in the area of predicting good breeding stock. It is not difficult to fore tell which stallions or mares have the pre- potency to succeed at stud. It is more difficult to predict this in riding horses as sometimes a horse will get the best throw of the genetic dice from its parents but will be unable to reproduce itself. The chance of getting those same genes lining up again in a sibling where there are two very loosely bred parents is almost nil, due to limited compatibility and genetic reinforcement between the parents. This is why many people have lost money buying a sibling to a champion horse, especially if it is of the opposite sex.
However In prepotent matings which have concentrated linebreeding or inbreeding, and where the parents are genetically compatible and the pedigree has balance and flow in important bloodlines, the chances of another good sibling appearing are far more reliable.
Lone has two embryo transfers cooking now who are full siblings to Iconic Gold, and the chances are excellent that these siblings will be of a similar quality. Sometimes even the second mating in full siblings can produce the better result.
For some breeders, such as Lone, the risk of inbreeding back into the same mare line is worth the risk, and the rest of us should be thankful because breeding stock with this level of pre-potency could inherit that special genotype that can last through the generations as breed shapers.
HP Iconic Gold’s Pedigree
The daughters of mare Elfensonne can be seen at 3 x 2 – Elfenzauber and Elfendream. Just to make this very clear both parents are inbred to the same tail female line. In terms of pedigree design, it doesnt get more powerful than this. The tail female line brings into play mitochondrial DNA from this top mare family, as well as any sex linked genes on the X chromosome. Mitochondrial DNA is responsible for the entire cellular processes and energy resources in the horse and it is only passed on the mother line, never from the stallion. Breeding back into the female line reinforces and concentrates the genes from these great mare families and increases the chance that the nuclear DNA from both parents will align favorably with the same mitochondrial haplotype.
The good things just keep on coming with the rest of the pedigree.
Jazz is 6 x 4 x 5 through daughters only,. Daughters of a sire are what is known as filly factors.
De Niro is at 3 x 3 via daughters only, another filly factor
Heidelberg daughters are at 7 x 8 x 7 , a filly factor
The dam side has Figaro daughters at 7 x 5, another filly factor.
Another core influence in this colt’s pedigree is Furioso II, full brother Mexico and their three quarter brother Futuro.
Furioso II and Mexico are by Furioso xx and out of Dame de Renville by Talisman.
Futuro is also by Furioso xx and out of Fabienne who is by Vert Galant – a full brother to Talisman.
The hypothetical mating between Futuro and Furioso II show why they are considered three quarter brothers – with the same sire, and their dam sires being full brothers. They have 75% of their genes in common, and this type of pedigree structure creates potency and complexity, increasing the chance that these close gene groupings will be inherited together.
Furioso II and Mexico are at at 9 x 7 x 7 x 8 x 8 x 8 x 10 x 11 with two daughter lines, courtesy of Sandro Hit who sex balances this line. Futuro is here at 7 x 8 x 8 x 6 and is sex balanced. He is bringing duplications through to the engine room of the pedigree at the 6th generation, and this performs like a magnet which pulls in the power from the same or similar lines in the far reaches of the pedigree to make it more readily available to the progeny. These three brothers have 12 duplications in 10 generations, and they are certainly contributing to the type and athleticism in this foal. Full and three quarter brothers carry a tremendous impact in the pedigree of colts and this line is steeped jumping and dressage talent at the highest level.
Vivaldi is present at 4 x 3 by sons only but there are so many counterbalancing female factors here that it is less of a worry.
Donnerhall is also present via sons only at 4 x 6 x 4 but again there are counterbalancing factors, and Don Schufro is for instance is present via two daughter lines in For Romance which acts as a remote sex balance.
Les Brinsfield ” A pedigree can stand something bad if it also has something good.”
This pedigree has four different sets of daughters of particular sires – Jazz, De Niro, Heidelberg and Figaro. Daughters of a sire are referred to as filly factors and they have special qualities – they give a very female leaning to a pedigree and are available to balance out what is normally a male overload in other lines. They also ensure the producing power of a mare or stallion, and they are good for both sexes.
De Niro daughters at 3 x 3 are also in an inbred position. The 3 x 3 position is often highly effective for sport ability and competition, especially when coming in through two daughter lines. We saw this in Secret Agent and Weihe’s Happiness as well as many of the other young horses at the WBFSH.
The 3 x 3 position is also a great for transmitting the sport ability of these ancestors in future generations, as it gives them a higher probability of their characteristics being inherited by any progeny.
The Dutch lines in this pedigree create a nice outcross to the blood involved directly in the main inbreeding to daughters of mare Elfensonne.
A very important point, noticeable from the pedigree chart, is that in the first six generations, each parent has the same ancestors forming the same genetic pattern both sides of the pedigree – Vivaldi, De Niro, Jazz and Elfensonne. Ancestors which form patterns like this on each side create a stronger genetic structure with many genes in common. The characteristics and traits from these ancestors are far more likely to be inherited together, and they are not as inclined to be separated or lost in the maze of inheritance.
Breeder takeaway
For those breeders who own a mare from an exceptional dam line that has produced different branches of top horses, and where their progeny have been observed over a few generations, it can be an exciting option to choose a stallion, as Lone has done here, which is from the same mother line as the mare. This sends the pre-potency of the mating into the stratosphere, and can create incredibly athletic and vital horses with that extra something that puts them head and tail above the rest. The quality mitochondrial DNA that has travelled down unchanged through the generations can make the final difference in breeding a champion.
Almost all inbreeding these days is being done inadvertently due to popular sire syndrome.
This is causing more harm to the industry and leading to more unintentional inbreeding than any other factor. Inbreeding should never be inadvertent. It should be intentionally and selectively applied in very specific circumstances, and only by those breeders who understand the issues . This does involve at least a rudimentary examination of pedigrees, otherwise how else can a breeder possibly know what they are really building into their matings.
It is wonderful to see a breeder like Lone, pursue and obtain mares from a specific line she believes in and “return to the sire the best blood of his dam,” by using the stallion Independent over the mare Elfengold who is ‘returning’ and rejoining a sister from the same dam line, resulting in the wonderful colt Iconic Gold . It will be exciting to watch out for his future both as a performer and a stallion.