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Re: [RC] To breed or not to Breed - heidi

Heidi, I bought the Crabbet book (not with me, so can't quote the title
or author), and in it it gives the history of the Crabbet stud, together
with a heap of (then) professionally taken photos.  When you see the
"look" of those horses and you compare the earlier pictures to the later
ones, I know exactly what you mean.  The earlier horses - foundation
stock - were pretty "ugly" by today's standards and wouldn't even be
allowed onto the show grounds today!  However, what struck me about them
was that they must have been good riding horses - they were solid and
looked much shorter than our modern Arabs.

I'm a sucker for that old look!

You also have to remember that the ones that came out of the desert also
had suffered malnutrition, difficult travels, etc.  Some are still pretty
homely--but most WERE quite rideable--and in fact, most were ridden.

Keep in mind the Arabian breed standard--read it, and read the Albert
Harris description of what an Arabian is supposed to be, and then ask
yourself--which horses fit these descriptions best, the old foundation
horses, or the modern show ring horse??  I thought I had a link to the
breed standard that was used for years, but I find I don't--it called for
a horse with a "flat or slightly concave" face, talked about good bone, a
"rounded" horse, short cannons, good riding type, and various other
things.  The Albert Harris article can be found at the following link, and
was used as the Preamble to the Arabian stud books:

http://www.sagehillcmk.com/Preamble%20.html

Heidi




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