I really believe that the European warmblood/sport horse model is worth looking at. ?If we could only breed horses that passed inspection for athleticism, we might be able to reverse some of the damage. ?We've done the same thing with dog showing. ?There was an excellent PBS show on recently that discussed all the horrible, debilitating deformities we've bred into dogs that used to be useful and athletic. We bred them because we liked "the look" without regard to function or what was best for the animal's health. ?I don't know how you keep it clean, though. ?We seem to have a gift for exaggerating good qualities until they aren't...and for "bigger is always better."
