I have never been to a horse breed
inspection, but I have been to a cat breed inspection. Unless horse breed
inspectors are somehow much less human than cat breed inspectors, then personal
taste DOES enter into these decisions. The only way that personal taste would
not enter into the decision would be to use purely objective criteria. Criteria
like, "Must be able to run a 1/4 mile in x seconds." Or, "Must be able to jump x
jumps spaced y feet apart in z seconds." If the breed inspection uses any
qualitative or subjective judgments, then it will be subject to personal
taste.
Steve
From: Shelley Kerr [mailto:skerr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 10:26 AM To: Ride
Camp
I don't know if you have ever been to an
inspection, but I have so that is why I am saying something.
Inspectors have specific guidelines to follow and it has nothing to do
with taste. It has to do with correct conformation and movement of
the horse. I have seen some absolutely gorgeous horses and some that
aren't so great. The horses are certified by different levels and in
order to become breeding stock, there are performance criterias they must
meet, even after inspection. Inspection does not place any stallion
or mare in breeding status. All the other criteria must be met
before being placed in breeding status. It's not an easy process and
the horses must also prove themselves in performance. Just because a
horse is inspected and becomes certified, doesn't mean that a horse is
eligible to be in the breeding books. Inspections are an excellent
way to get consistent and better sport and performance horses by
mixing the best with the best. The problem I have with standard
registries is once you have that piece of paper you can breed the horse
and the horse doesn't have to support it's breeding by performance.
Just because a horse has a certain bloodline doesn't mean it will be good
in the ring or the trail or whatever you want to do with the horse.
Anyways, just had to put my two cents in about
inspections. They are good, but that doesn't mean established
registries need to do them. There will always be backyard breeders
and no one is going to be able to change that.
Shelley
The problems
that I have with breed inspections are; It is a taste inspection, the
taste of the inspector. Look how diverse our own tastes are. In
some breeds, this becomes a way of keeping the control of the dollars for
breeding in the hands of a very few. More importantly, When breeding 2
horses, frequently you do not see their characteristics in the foal, but
rather the recessive genes form past ancestors come through.
Example, I bred a POA to a bay, I got the most beautiful chestnut.
So, we all know that this occurs with color, but it occurs with
other characteristics also. Sometimes you will see a carbon copy of
one of the grandparents, or great grandparents. As some have said,
"Breeding for the perfect dog has served to the detriment of many dog
breeds." People who want a hunting dog do not buy from a show home,
but rather from the hunting circle where those characteristics still
remain strong. If you want a dog to herd, you do not get it out of the
show ring. Keep the larger gene pool, it is a big advantage.
Lynge
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