Breeders use lots of tools to decide which stallion to choose for their mare, particularly 'stocksmanship' which combines the art of putting together bloodlines using experience and science to maximise the possibility of producing quality progeny which follow the breed standard. As has been recorded in a previous member’s newsletter, a complementary tool to stocksmanship is kinship analysis where a value can be put on the relationship between mares and selected stallions. The mean kinship of the Highland pony breed is 0.0403 (4%) and it would not be advisable to select a match where the kinship was higher than this. If you would like a full kinship analysis on your…