[hunter-jumper-rider]

My 2 year old gelding is going to his AWR inspection in October........the question is should I have him branded as his badge of scoring well in the inspection? From what I recall, the horse has to score First Premium in order to be branded.

So, is it just dumb to have him branded? Please don't flame me, just give honest opinions. I will eventually be doing the Hunters with him if that matters.

[MagicRoseFarm]

We brand all of our foals. We do not generally brand anything older, except for assistance in future Identification.

[LockeMeadows]

No, I would not brand. Many people are not "fans" of the AWR, so you may not want to advertise to the world that is how your horse is registered with them.

[Daventry]

I say no, for some of the same reasons as LockeMeadows. If it was a more widely accredited registry like the Hanoverian, Holsteiner, Oldenburg, Trakehner, etc., I would definitely brand. I personally don't know that I would brand with the AWR, AWS, RPSI, etc. as the general public doesn't seem to consider them equal to some of the other registries, for good reasons in my opinion as they don't seem to be as stringent with inspections and they are more of a "jack of all trades" registry rather than a breed registry.

[dressurpferd01]

Don't bother. Both the AWR and the AWS are jokes to 95% of horse people in the US. IF your horse is a "real" WB, get it inspected with a German registry (Hano, GOV, etc). The AWR is just another catchall registry for mutts as far as I'm concerned.

[tri]

If you are running across people who think it is a joke, it is only because they ignorant and those who are pro-euro registry who spread a lot of ignorant information.

The germans, nor the dutch, nor any other euro registry want the americans to have their own registry for very very obvious reasons so the smear campaign continues. There are actually very few warmblood breeders in this country. Not enough to adequetly support all the little euro registry offshoots. So they compete very heavily with each other for members and, again, the smear campaign continues. Some of these euro registries have gone out of business such as the Selle Francias pulling out of the American market, leaving breeders here high and dry with stallion candidates pending approvals, bred mares & mares with foals searching for somewhere to go. Look at the fiasco the oldenburgs have created and the Holsteiner Horse registry is once again mired in internal conflict.

So, yeah, listen to all the pro-euro registry proponents who want all americans to hand the U.S. sporthorse breeding industry over to the europeans and never build our own industry here. Sounds good, doesn't it?

[turningpointequine]

If you take your boy to an inspection and he does well I would definitely brand. Some people may not care, some will. My opinion is that it is quite an accomplishment and you should be proud. I love the Oldenburgs, Holsteiners etc . . . but am also of the opinion that we need to be proud of our American bred horses and try to make our American registries more respected. Best of luck at your inspection!

[not again]

We brand all of our stock. It aids in identification if a horse is ever separated from its registration papers. Value? You bet. Our horses sell in the $20-150 thousand price range for young stock. Older horses bring more. We aren't laughing at the end of the day. Nor do we ridicule people who use other registries.

[MagicRoseFarm]

I have many AWR registered horses, the reasons I would not brand your boy has nothing to do with popularity of one registry over another.

Many in the hunter industry consider anything on the skin of a horse to be a blemish, so they do not brand if their offspring are destined for the hunter arena. I have not branded some of mine that were headed that way, and they were AHS, GOV. I could always go back and brand later if I chose to.

We DO brand ALL our foals for AWR, no matter the discipline for reasons stated above as we too are very proud of our American Breds.

Some will brand hoping that association with a certain brand WILL make the animal a better individual.

Be careful to research positive and negative opinions on ANY registry, as the foundation of the opinion could be a result of someone not receiving the stardom they expected from the association in question, through no fault of the association.

[YankeeLawyer]

"There are actually very few warmblood breeders in this country."

Just FYI, there are more Hanoverian breeders in the mid-atlantic region alone than anywhere else in the world outside Germany. That statistic is straight from the Verband. And that, obviously, is just one type of WB. I don't think the Hano. Verband worries about whether I choose to have my horses branded with them or another registry.

Also, I think branding generally is a good idea in case the horse ever gets separatd from its papers, is stolen, lost, or any number of other scenarios in which a brand might help identify him, or at the very least indicate that someone cared about him at one time.

[hunter-jumper-rider]

The AWR is just another catchall registry for mutts as far as I'm concerned.

Well this is just not accurate.....my boy had to have a 5 generation pedigree of proven Sporthorse lineage to be papered and registered and pedigreed through AWR so how could it possibly be for "mutts"???

They do not accept any draft blood either in case that was going to be another comment

[turningpointequine]

[QUOTE=YankeeLawyer;3501974Also, I think branding generally is a good idea in case the horse ever gets separatd from its papers, is stolen, lost, or any number of other scenarios in which a brand might help identify him, or at the very least indicate that someone cared about him at one time.[/QUOTE]

I definitely agree. I have an Oldenburg mare, branded but no papers, and the registry has been very helpful in working with me. If it weren't for the brand I'd have no clue where to even start looking for her identity.

[Applecore]

The largest obstacle for the American Warmblood Registry (AWR) is the American Warmblood Society (AWS). AWR tries to apply proven sporthorse breeding principals to American stock. AWS accepts everything, part draft, hotbloods, anything that can get a 60% at 1st level. Both groups end up with horses called "American Warmbloods" so the term 'American Warmblood' is given little value - people see low-quality breeding stock with the name thanks to AWS. A shame, really. I usually describe my mare as a Westfalen cross, although she's registered with AWR. She would be an actual Westfalen except that her sire was born in the US before the Westfalen registry was even coming to America, and he was mostly a performance horse so not worth shipping to Germany just for an inspection.

I chose not to have my mare branded AWR, mostly on ethical grounds (she was older, very sensitive to start with and I figured if I didn't even want to watch her be branded it probably wasn't the right choice). She's not breeding stock either.

(like h-j-r said, the AWR requires a certifiable pedigree and only accepts crossbreds if they can document that there is NO draft blood in the 5-gen pedigree. you can read it in their rulebook)

[hunter-jumper-rider]

The largest obstacle for the American Warmblood Registry (AWR) is the American Warmblood Society (AWS). AWR tries to apply proven sporthorse breeding principals to American stock. AWS accepts everything, part draft, hotbloods, anything that can get a 60% at 1st level. Both groups end up with horses called "American Warmbloods" so the term 'American Warmblood' is given little value - people see low-quality breeding stock with the name. A shame, really.

I agree with this 100%..........AWS has totally screwed up the American Warmblood perception to people.

[YankeeLawyer]

I happen to breed Hanoverians, but frankly I think people get too caught up in labels. Just like that silly thread about blue eyes. A good horse is a good horse, regardless of the brand on its butt or things like coat or eye color.

[Nikki^]

My filly is was inspected and got first premium. She also has a brand but you can't reallly see it unless the light hits it just right.

etc). The AWR is just another catchall registry for mutts as far as I'm concerned.

That's a very ignorant thing to say. I consider my horse to be a "real WB" as you put it.

In case you are wondering, here's her pedigree.

http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/heart+of+gold6

Yup, it sure does scream mutt doesn't it?

[turningpointequine]

I happen to breed Hanoverians, but frankly I think people get too caught up in labels. Just like that silly thread about blue eyes. A good horse is a good horse, regardless of the brand on its butt or things like coat or eye color.

Once again I agree. . .YankeeLawyer, I think you may be a God. LOL
I have a TB stallion, Holsteiner broodmare and my Oldenburg will maybe join my breeding group pending finding her bloodines and when her show career is over. I don't own these horses because of their "breed", "brand" or otherwise. I own them because they are amazing horses and choose to breed when a horse shows amazing talent and temperment. I don't like getting stuck in idolizing a certain breed. I instead get all googly eyed over a great HORSE.

[YankeeLawyer]

Once again I agree. . .YankeeLawyer, I think you may be a God. LOL

I prefer "Goddess," actually, like it says in the cereal bowl my husband gave me: "You're a Goddess! You are gorgeous! You are amazing!" Of course, I gave the bowl to my favorite mare, and we use it to pour her grain each morning ; ).

Life is too short to worry about non-substantive stuff. If you have so much time available that you are getting caught up in arguments about which registry is coolest, GO RIDE! I stick with one registry because I like it, like the horses and people involved, and hate paperwork and unnecessary fees so have no interest in having to deal with multiple registries each year as a breeder. That is all.

[ljshorses]

Agree whole heartedly with Yankee Lawyer!

And really RPSI not well thought of...funny since Zweibruckers are always in the top numbers in my USDF mag...maybe some people just don't realize that a Zwiebruker is a RPSI horse? Also, boy if no one likes them then why each year we host the numbers keep growing? Why are the classes getting bigger at DAD?

I brand because of the added identification for my horse. It's a personal decision, but does help with retrieval of stolen livestock.

[retrofit]

I think branding is gratuitous cruelty. I realize that nobody here will agree with me, so flame away.