On the other hand, individual nicking patterns almost never meet the criteria for statistical significance. The overall concept of nicking must be placed in perspective. It can not and should not replace a careful analysis of the quality of the breeding stock being evaluated. Good breeding stallions get good foals. Bad breeding stallions do not.
Good mares produce good foals.
Bad mares do not. With that in mind, bloodlines are of secondary importance when compared to individual sires and dams. The stallion and the mare must be considered in terms of their individual attributes. Because individual nicking patterns in the vast majority of instances are statistically insignificant and because the general compatibility of bloodlines ignores individual contribution, our view is that the best way to proceed in selecting a mating is to identify the most productive sires that are economically consistent with a particular mare and, for comfort's sake if nothing else, look for an indication that either the sire has gotten at least one or two good runners from the mare's sire line or, conversely, that the mare has already produced at least one good runner from the sire's sire line. Equally important is a thorough understanding of the physical compatibility of the stallion and the mare, especially with regard to conformational attributes and the degree to which these conformational characteristics have effected the performance of the progeny produced.