What Can Lippitt Breeders Learn?
Inbreeding and the Lippitt’s Future
Research to consider:
Thank you to Pete White for sharing a recent study examining inbreeding and racing performance in Swedish and
Norwegian Coldblooded Trotters.
What Can Research in Other Horse Breeds Teach Us?
The researchers examined whether nearly 64,000 horses started a race between ages three and six. For almost 30,000 of those horses, they also examined earnings, racing times, and the proportion of races in which they placed. Higher coefficients of inbreeding (COIs) were associated with less favorable results across all of these measures.
One finding makes the potential effect easier to understand:
the researchers estimated that an increase of 10 percentage points in COI—for example, from 5% to 15%—was associated with a lower probability of starting a race. In their discussion, they described that reduction as 8%.
This does not mean that every horse with a higher COI will perform poorly, or that inbreeding was the reason any particular horse never raced. It means that, across the population studied, higher inbreeding was associated with poorer outcomes. Such patterns can be difficult to recognize from the horses in any one breeding program.
How might this concern Lippitt?
Lippitts have documented pedigrees, allowing breeders to trace relationships back to the foundation horses. Linebreeding is common within this small population, and breeders hold a range of views about its benefits and potential concerns.
Research in other horse populations cannot tell us exactly how inbreeding affects Lippitts, but it gives us evidence to consider alongside our pedigrees, observations, and breeding experience.
It also encourages us to ask what we should be tracking within our own population.
Although this study measured racing outcomes, it raises a broader question for Lippitt breeders: could increasing inbreeding affect qualities we want to preserve, in ways that individual observation alone might miss?
Each breeder makes choices for their own program, yet those choices also influence which bloodlines remain available and how closely related future generations become. Sharing information can help all of us make informed decisions with both our own goals and the Lippitt’s long-term future in mind.
Join the Conversation
Our next LLP Breeders’ Conversation will explore
Foal Vaccinations, Deworming, and Preparing for Transportation.
We invite breeders and owners to share what has worked for them, the challenges they have encountered, and the practices they use to support foals during this important stage.
October 13, 2026
8:00 p.m. Eastern | 7:00 p.m. Central | 6:00 p.m. Mountain | 5:00 p.m. Pacific
Meeting link will be email to those interested or can also be accessed via the LLP Website.
https://lippittlineagepres.wixsite.com/lippitt-lineage-pr-1
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