Wolter 513 is son number five for Preferent Fabe 348 (Melle 311). With low-kinship Fabe 348 (16,2%) as his sire and an even lower-kinship dam (15,8%), his free bloodline is a factor that makes Wolter 513 very interesting for breeding Friesian horses. His trainability, fine posture and wonderful use of the foreleg add just another dimension to that. With his half-brother Omer 493 (Gjalt 426 x Karst 362) being approved as KFPS stud stallion in 2015, four years later the same honour was bestowed on Wolter 513 (Fabe 348 x Karst 362). What connects these two stallions and makes them so unique is their dam and their low kinship.
Their by now 21-year-old dam is Zandra fân Bartlehiem Star Preferent (Karst 362 x Naen 264) from the small pedigree 47. A strong mare full of personality who proves to have lots of durability. Together with Alke 468 (Fabe 468 x Jakob 302), stallions Omer 493 (16,4%) and Wolter 513 (15,8%) rank among the lowest-kinship stallions of the Studbook. Their unusual blood lines make these half-brothers extra interesting for the breeding of Friesian horses. Indeed, for a studbook with a narrow genetic base, variation in bloodlines is of great importance for a healthy and durable breed.
For Wolter’s breeder Peter Visser, kinship and health are by far the most important ingredients in the breeding of Friesian horses. ‘I want to breed a healthy Friesian horse which can take breeding further. Breeding nothing but low-kinship horses became my goal and that’s why I chose to pair Zandra to the ditto low-kinship Fabe 348 (Melle 311).’
What makes Wolter 513 an asset for breeding are his breeding type, conformation and use of the foreleg. And evidently, his low-kinship bloodline. According to Harrie Draaijer this young stallion suits ‘mares with strong hindquarters and good use of the body, who may even have a high kinship themselves. In good-quality mares with much-used stallions in their pedigree, Wolter 513 can add variation to the bloodlines, which gives breeders more leeway for future breeding activities.’ Wolter 513 is free from the chestnut factor and the hydrocephaly- and dwarfism genes. Whereas Peter Visser didn’t wish to be a stallion keeper, his son Olaf Visser did. Together with his partner Merle Veurink he runs Stoeterij Friese Visser, which is located close to the KFPS Studbook office in Drachten. This is where Wolter 513 fulfils his stud duties, together with Waander 512 (Loadewyk 431) from the same year collection. The near future will tell if he can emulate the success of his half-brother Omer 493 in breeding.
