In a message dated 1/18/2004 12:01:34 PM Eastern Standard Time, greymare56@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
beg to differ here. There are many foundation Appy breeders that are attempting to both recover the essense of the original appy (tough, small, great feet, good endurance), and breed out all the damaging QH bloodlines. Before people jump down my throat about this, I'll say there are some very good working QH bloodlines, however, the disaster in THAT breed during the 70's and 80's halter trend to encourage these huge, muscle bound animals with tiny feet, that had no performance ability at allt.....was also inflicted on the Appy as the fad developed in that breed also. In the 90's. the appy breed was also infected with Impressive bloodlines.......many appy's now are merely halter QH's with spots....
Thank you for making some insightful comments on a real issue. Poor breeding is poor breeding no matter what the lineage. There are great things about the quarterhorse bloodlines. The original horse had a moderate build, a great temperament, and a superior work ethic that was required from the environment. Both my grandfathers were involved in the breed. One was manager of a working ranch with a remuda of 250 geldings as required to do the job right. The poor movers, bad footed, lazy, and flighty need not apply. All horses were bred on the ranch and culled for the job. I can tell you a cutting horse is like a dancer, athletic, fluid, smart, intuitive, people oriented and as fine animal as ever walked the earth. Obviously the phyiscal attributes required for this job are different than an endurance horse.
Halter animals as they have "evolved" do nothing but stand on the end of a lead in some kind of charactature resembling a horse. They have no relevance to a working animal. It would be my own humble opinion, the use of the quarterhorse in crossed with other breeds has more to do with trying to put that quieter attitude into the mix. Many riders cannot quite live up to the requirements of that fire of the Arab or the high spirited run instinct of the thoroughbred. A little quarterhorse deftly brought into the mix can sometimes tone that down a notch to make a performance animal with a softer attitude. Yet ANY breeding outcrosses must be carefully planned. You sometimes get the worst of the match and not the best. There is no excuse for breeding HYPP horses. The genetic flaw from Impressive lines can be culled from the gene pool with a simple blood test and the new AQHA regs will eventually do that. Too bad people themselves did not take care of the issue twenty years ago. The match should not be repeated and the resulting animal should not be bred. For that matter, many well-loved riding animals should not be bred at all. We have an over surplus in this country of horses that ultimately and tragically end up at the slaughter house. Yes there are tragic breeding disasters. The popularity of the Arab breed in the seventies caused havoc itself. Popularity has its price.
So my input would be to breed only animals of high quality....the sane, sound, and well-conformed. Breed only what will improve the breed or provide for a valid performance need. While we all have favorites, dont' be too hasty to judge other breeds. I have learned many things from other horses and other disciplines.
Good luck with your Appy cross. Sounds like you have a fine animal.
Adelia
P.S. Attached is my little quarterhorse mare at age 17 completed the OD 25. She has accomplished many things in her life and now is retired from competition to enjoy trails with our Arab riding friends. We have all benefitted by the friendship.
