Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Not that I have much to add to the breeding topic, but the post below reminded 
me of the time last year that I took my Arabian gelding to a mounted police 
sensory clinic.

He was one of the best horses there.  He handled every scary obstacle (mylar 
balloons, tarps, teeter-totters, etc) like a champ - he was calm and sensible, 
with no fear at all.  He was amongst Quarter Horses, other Arabs, some gaited 
breeds, etc.  There were several arabs and half-arabs there and all did pretty 
well except one.  And there were PLENTY of other breeds that were not handling 
the scary stuff well at all.

I kept getting the same question "Is he really a purebred Arab?"  They couldn't 
believe that he wasn't freaking out at the obstacles and acting crazy.   I was 
suprised several months later also, when I was talking to somebody I had just 
met, and the clinic got brought up in the conversation, and they said "oh, 
you're the one with that bay Arab that did so well?  I heard about that!"  
People actually thought it was worthy of conversation outside of the clinic!  
Unbelievable.

People just don't give our breed credit where credit is due, except for 
distance riding.   When they do well at anything, it's always "the exception to 
the rule."  You get the "yabbuts"...."yabbut, MOST arabs can't do that, yours 
is special!"  Grrr....

My guy is old Egyptian and Crabbet breeding, btw.

Jennifer

-----Original Message-----
From: Ridecamp Guest <guest-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Jun 23, 2004 11:40 AM
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [RC]   [RC] breed destruction

Please Reply to: Nicole z_arabs@xxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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(snip)

For some reason people don't even
think it might be rude to say "Ay-rabs are crazy dangerous" to 
you when you just mention that's what you own. Or if you're seen
riding one of those "crazy" beasts calmly down the trail... well,
your horse must be "special" and they'll still tell you point-
blank that "Ay-rabs are stupid" (or whatever their favorite
adjective might be) no matter how it's behaving and showing them
otherwise.  And heaven forbid a green Arab behaves like a green
horse in public -- I'm always grateful that my greenies do their
best to keep embarassment to a minimum (more breeding = less
training necessary). 




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Riding alone is when you teach a horse all the "tools" and "cues" he needs
to handle the trail, to hold a speed, deal with hills, etc. It's also where
you develop the "bond" that causes him to "defer" to you before losing his
cool.
~ Jim Holland

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