(1) use the right kind of foundation stock

(2) mate it selectively, and

(3) rear the produce scientifically

Unfortunately in the country -- despite the rosy picture occasionally painted of the horse-breeding industry -- the reality is that we have quite some way to go to match international standards.

While the quality of upkeep has improved substantially in the last decade, the first two ingredients still leave much to be desired. In view of the high capital cost, it is not feasible to change the entire complexion of the resident breeding stock at a stud farm overnight.

However, it is possible to at least extract the best from whatever one owns. And this can be done by an aspect of bloodstock breeding that has been totally neglected hitherto in the country: selective mating.

The phenomenon of "hybrid vigour" is well documented in both plant and animal breeding. Shorn of hype, what this means is that geneticmaterial developed in different environments can often combine in a synergistic manner to produce something superior to the parent stock. And this is one tool which can aid horse breeders in the country in filling the gap between present-day performance (modest) and future potential (unlimited).

Alas, here we have so far followed the Argentine system of breeding, whereby each stud farm is self sufficient by having its own stallions and broodmares. These are mated with each other by rotation and breeders then hope for the best!

Since conditions for rearing in Argentina are vastly superior to those here, this method has enabled that country to produce such multiple international champions as Bayakoa (1984), Paseana (1987) and Gentlemen (1992), who have conquered the best in the United States of America. Interestingly, most of these top Argentine-breds are offspring of "if not obscure, then at least carefully concealed" stallions, as one observer so succinctly put it.

The proponents of this system in Indiafeel that it enables them to exercise control over the whole process rather than having to rely on others. They also point out the hazards of travelling broodmares long distances on pot-holed Indian roads, and of dubious veterinary and management standards at many farms.

What they overlook is that it is a classic case of having all one's eggs in the same basket. If the home stallion does well, many of the stud's produce perform creditably on the racetrack and the stud farm becomes a roaring success. If he is a failure, what was a flourishing enterprise becomes a basket case overnight!

Frankly, one of the factors behind this obdurate refusal to make optimum use of resources is plain and simple ego. Since the racing fraternity in India associates winning performances with the sires of the top runners (a case of male chauvinism?), there is some sort of feeling that the "credit" might go elsehwere. So a breeder would rather waste a broodmare's innate potential than attempt to breed a good horse out of her bysomebody else's stallion!

The most successful stallion of the `seventies and `eighties in this country was the American-bred Everyday II. After spending the initial years of his stud career oscillating between the UP-based Doaba Stud and Punjab's leading nursery, the Dashmesh Stud, he remained at the former for 12 years until his retirement in 1990.

During this period, he was mated with 259 broodmares, of which the bulk belonged wholly or partly to his owners (and their friends and business associates) and the balance were the property of individual private breeders (i.e those who do not have their own stud farms).

Believe it or not, there wasn't a single instance of another stud farm sending him a mare with the specific aim of breeding a superior runner, based on a matching of bloodlines! And this despite his having shown, right from his first crop born in 1974, that he was a prepotent stallion of the highest order.

Yes, there were a few stray instances of other farms sending mares to Everyday IIbased on other considerations (the hopefully high price the progeny would sell for being the chief one). But not one seems to have had a mellifluous blending of bloodlines in mind. And so Everyday II ended up by being mated with many mares far below his standing, while several others who actually deserved his services languished elsewhere.

The time has now come for at least the upper echelons of Indian breeding, whose standards of production are comparable, to get together to syndicate stallion prospects and share the treasure. In an industry where frequently one is in some way dependent on one's fellow breeders, a little co-operation for mutual benefit would go a long way in optimizing the potential of this industry and making sure the gallop of the Indian-bred is heard on racetracks the world over.