I started the sport in 1977 and have always
ridden appys...I have a mare right now that is bay with a blanket and has all
the heart in the world...she is reg 1/2 Arab but not appy so couldn't compete
her for any app awards.She has lots of attitude to go with it.Would I have her
spayed just to be eligible to ride her as a reg.
appaloosa?Nope...
We sometimes forget that closed stud books are largely a late
19th century invention, and largely a preoccupation of the rich
and well-to-do people who founded the registries.
*Accurate* stud books are very old. Some of them are 500+
years old. But the whole concept of "pure" and all the weird
forms with which it resonates in some people's souls is very
recent.
I sometimes think that the worst thing that has ever happened
to the Morgan breed was the introduction of DNA testing.
All those under-the-covers Saddlebreds (and maybe Hackneys,
and maybe Arabians) were the last source of genetic variety
this all-too-narrowly bred breed will ever have. I suspect
in 50 years we'll have little but a bunch of 13-hand cretins.
