The Hanoverian Marbel Mare Family
The Marbel mare family from Dr Max Schulz-Stellenfleth’s breeding programe is one of the most important lines in Hanoverian breeding. It has produced the well known sires Beltain, Brentano II, Wolkenstein II and Garibaldi II.
This line has also produced the sires Labbadio (Lissabon), Hendrix (His Highness), Lord Laurie (Lord Loxley) , Davinity (Dacaprio) , White Star (Weltmeyer), Furstentanz (Fidertanz), Gran Marcio (Grande), and Bon Vivaldi.
It has also left a slew of top broodmares such as Wolke and Ganseliesel, Mascha, Geranie, Glocke and Geisha. There are approximately 30 mares by Grande from this line, 18 mares by Wendekreis, 8 mares by Bolero, and several others by Ferdinand, Marcio xx and Lauries Crusador xx.
There are many FEI horses from this web of sisters as well, including White Star, Little Big Man, Foco Loco, Lafitt and Bao Bao, Believe It and Weltino.
For the purposes of this article, we are looking at either GP horses or stallions which are linebred to different branches of this family, which is what happens when Beltain, Brentano II, Wolkenstein II and / or Garibaldi II are combined in the one pedigree. This line clearly carries superior mitochondrial DNA when it is on the tail female line, as well as valuable sex linked genes which keep on powering many top horses today.
We have already seen in Quincy B’s article that he had Wolkenstein II and Brentano II at 4 x 4.
Grand Prix horse Bellena
Bellena shows a clear example of linebreeding to the Marbel mare family which happens whenever Beltain, Wolkenstein II and Garibaldi II come together in the one pedigree. This also applies to their sons, such as Belisssimo M or Benicio .
In Bellena there is a son and daughter of famous mare Ganseliesel – Beltain and Wolke – in the inbred position of 2 x 4. Ganseliesel is out of Marbel who has established a dynasty of successful horses, and is still doing so in different combinations and through different individuals today.
Duellant daughters have proved important in creating dressage talent, and Beltain has two at 6 x 6 as well as 2 lines of Grande on the dam side which will bring in two more at 7 x 7 . Grande is out of a Duellant mare and is still a force in modern dressage horses today. He is seen here at 4 x 6 x 6 via daughter lines. Grande is one of those stallions, like Duellant, who has exerted his best influence through his daughters rather than through his sons.
The dam line of Bellena shows greater dominance than the sire line. Dam Wellfair is 5 x 6 to Wendekreis daughters and 6 x 5 to Absatz daughters.
With Grande, Duellant, Absatz and Wendekreis all coming in via daughters – two or more daughters of a sire being known as a filly factor – this is a very strong force for mares for performance and breeding, as daughters of a sire have a special significance. With four daughter lines of four different stallions this is fairly rare to see. Bellena will make a terrific broodmare with these factors and with the inbreeding to top mare family of Marbel.
Labbadio – Celle Stud stallion
Labbadio is a Grand prix horse and a current stallion on the Celle Stud roster. He is very much an under utililsed stallion, probably because he has no advertising campaign behind him and is not as spectacular as some of his counterparts.
His pedigree however tells a story of great potency.
He is linebred 4 x 4, both sides of the pedigree, to full brother and sister Garibaldi II and Geisha on the falling tail line. When a horse is inbred to its own tail female line, this brings into play the likelihood of superior mitachondrial DNA being inherited as well as sex linked genes.
Garibaldi II and Geisha are both by Grande and out of full sisters, Marbel and Mascha – they are full brother and sister in blood. In fact having the full sisters at 5 x 5 even adds an extra dimension of potency, and it doesn’ t get to look much better than this.
These bloodlines of Grande, Marcio xx and Duellant are still powering top dressage horses today and should be reinforced wherever possible.
The dams pedigree is also fairly dominant, she is 5 x 4 to Akzent II sex balanced, and 6 x 6 to Wendekreis sex balanced.
Sire Lissabon is also a very genetically dominant sire. He won the Bundeschampionate twice as a young horse in dressage, and was Reserve Young Horse World Champion. His Holstein dominances and dam sire Arab Matcho blood creates an effective outcross to the dam line.
Lissabon has Calypso I and II here at 6 x 6 x 6. These brothers can be seen on the 6th generation but not with both parents highlighted in the chart above .
It is rare to see these pivotal brothers all lined up in this position where they have the ability to exert a lot of influence. Sons of a mare like this and full brothers are a very important feature for a stallion and improve his producing power. Labbadio would also go well with mares with some Holstein blood who can tap into this same blood.
Full siblings are the most powerful configuration of all in pedigrees. They concentrate the superior genetic contributions of the parents and the foal is more likely to inherit double copies of desired genes and traits. It is a pattern that is seen in top horses far too often to be a happy accident.
The Marbel mare family of horses does tend to produce old fashioned types, similarly with Quincy B. Stallions from this line are unlikely to be flash foal producers, but they do have solid grand prix genetics, excellent basic gaits which can be developed under saddle, and fantastic rideability.
It is a masterful pedigree design and a shame this stallion is not being utilised.
Bon Vivaldi FRH – Stallion and PSG Horse
Bon Vivaldi is another example of a horse that is inbred to the tail female line of the Marbel mare family.
He is 3 x 3 in the inbred position, to son and daughter of mare Ganseliesel – Beltain and his full sister Blauer Engel. This is not just a duplication of any mare, Ganseliesel is a very famous mare with many branches of successful progeny, and where she is duplicated like this breeders should pay attention.
On the 6th generation there is another daughter line of Bolero adding potency to this line.
These factors have contributed to Bon Vivaldi’s sport talent and would definately give him potency as a producer. These are the type of features to look out for in choosing stallions. Pre-potency is very rare in both stallions and mares. It is also rare to see a mare highlighted with two different progeny, as mares have so few progeny in general. Duplications of different progeny of a mare are more important than those of sires due to mitochondrial DNA and features of the X chromosome, adding to the likelihood of superior athleticism and sport talent being inherited by the foal.
Ben Benicio – Stallion and PSG Dressage Horse
Ben Benicio is also linebred to the Marbel mare family, this time through Beltain and brother Brentano II. Both are by Bolero, Beltain is out of great mare Ganseliesel and Brentano II is out of Glocke – full sister to Ganseliesel.
The pedigree chart above does not give enough room to highlight this but Beltain and Brentano II can be seen at 3 x 4
The full sisters Ganseliesel and Glocke are at 5 x 5 and Wendekreis is sex balanced at 6 x 6.
Becks FRH Stallion born 2018
Becks FRH is a young stallion rapidly moving up the dressage ranks, with excellent gaits , front knee action and alot of freedom in front.
Benicio comes together here with Desperados which of course brings in his Wolkenstein ii dam line. Benicio is also proving to be a valuble bloodline to cross with Wolkenstein ii. Before it was Brentano ii or Belissimo M and Wolkenstein ii. Now it is more common to see the pairings with Benicio.
Becks is 3 x 4 to Beltain and Wolkenstein II.
Dam of Beltain, Ganseliesel, is granddam of Wolkenstein ii with her daughter Wolke as dam. Son and daughter of Ganseliesel are at 3 x 5 – Beltain and Wolke.
Very importantly Bolero is also sex balanced on the 4th generation by a rarely seen daughter line in the dam. It is always ideal if linebreeding to an ancestor occurs in the same generation.
Grande is at 5 x 7 x 6 and this time he is sex balanced and not just seen via daughters. Grandeson on the 5th generation is a son of Grande.
Grande, Wendekreis and Pik Konig are often seen in pedigrees together and Wendekreis appears again 6 x 6 via daughters only.
Wendekreis is out of a Marcio xx mare and Marbel herself is by Marcio so it is an ideal marriage for both.
Pik Konig is also here via daughters at 6 x 6.
World Cup is 6 x 6 via sons only which is never a good thing for the transmission of sport ability, but there are several other lines via daughters of a sire which acts as a remote sex balance.
If Becks is to have a breeding career, he has two sets of filly factors here in daughters of two different sires, which is a good thing for a stallion to have and ensures they will produce good fillies.
Bellario – Hanoverian stallion imported to Australia
Bellario was imported to Australia by Kate Barton of Narbethong Stud and was later sold to New Zealand, then imported back to Australia.
This is an example of Belissimo M crossed with Wolkenstein II. He is 2 x 3 to son and daughter of famous mare Ganseliesel, Beltain and Wolke.
This is an inbred position and gave him potent producing power, which he needed over the very diverse mare base we have in Australia. Again the lines of Grande appear with Wendekreis and Pik Konig.
Destano – Stallion and Olympic dressage competitor.
Destano went all the way to the top and the main power centre in his pedigree is his inbreeding to the Marbel mare family, this time with Desperados as sire and Brentano II as dam sire.
Desperados is out of a Wolkenstein II mare. Wolkenstein II and Brentano II are here at 3 x 2.
Mares Ganseliesel and Wolke are three quarter sisters, Wolke has Marbel as grand dam with the addition of a line of Ferdinand.
These sisters appear at 5 x 3 in a prime position in the engine room to exert power and pass on sport ability to the progeny.
Grande daughters are at 6 x 4.
Absatz daughters are at 6 x 5
Matador daughters are at 6 x 6.
It is quite rare for stallions to have 3 separate daughter lines of sires and is a filly factor that lends special qualities to the producing power of both sexes.
Ferdinand is sex balanced at 6 x 6 x 5.
With daughter lines of 3 different sires, Destano will most likely exert his influence via his daughters as dam sire rather than sons. Either way he is a top stallion to breed to with his very potent pedigree structure.
Breeder Takeaway
These horses from the famous family of Marbel have been used as an example to show breeders how strains of female families can be united in pedigree designs to create horses that have the sport ability to reach the top in competition, as well as increasing the likelihood of foals inheriting superior athleticism and talent from their ancestors. Breeders get fixated on stallions with their flash paces to bring all the talent to the foal, but it is the relationships and affinities from the 3- 7th generations mainly which determine the type, talent and athleticism of the progeny. Stallions and certain lines carry these important female families which are often the real power in any mating. Female strains carry the genetic code which is missing in stallions, and mares and mare lines have more impact on the progeny than stallions due to mitochondrial DNA and sex linked genes on the X chromosome.
So for breeders wishing to incorporate this family in your pedigree designs you need to find stallions who carry the bloodlines of Beltain, Wolkenstein II and Garibaldi II. If you already have a mare with these lines, you might also consider building on the powerful mare family that is already there by choosing a stallion that supplements her strengths.
It is not easy to find Garibaldi II these days, although semen can still be purchased from his grandson Grand Cru at the Celle Stud, and he appears in Lissaro and jumping sire Edward. He can always pop up in the new stallions which come out each year, it is a matter of looking out for him.
It is a lot easier to find Wolkenstein II, Brentano II and Beltain. If you have a mare by Belissimo M or Benicio you could pick a stallion that has Wolkenstein II in his pedigree.
You can still buy semen to Wolkenstein II, or you will find him as damsire in Desperados, Destacado, Descolari, Decurio and any other sons of Desperados.
Bluefields Dankeschoen here in Australia is by Desperados, as is Destano and Toto Jr.
Semen is still available to Brentano II, and he does have some sons available such as Benetton Dream and Balletmeister. He has mainly exerted his influence as a dam sire and can be found on the dam line of Celle stallions such as Worldly, Destano, Balletmeister, Samba Hit and Samarant. This is by no means an exhaustive list, it requires research by the breeder to find where these bloodlines reside.
Quaterback also has Brentano II on his dam side as will his sons, and there is a comprehensive article on Quaterback.