That said, here's the real scoop on Moyles. My uncle has owned two of
these marvelous horses. They were among the very first truckload of five
brought East by the McKay-Smiths. Teddy Bear and Dudley went to Frank
Farmer; Chester went to Donna Green also here in Roanoke, Brigham is with
Becky Siler in Florida, and Cider is with John Crandell. When Teddy died
unexpectedly, I did quite a bit of research on the breed. Much of this
information is from Marge Moyle and much from Rex himself by way of his old
papers.
The bony prominence referred to as "horns" is NOT a result of inbreeding.
These anomalies in skull structure were part of the distinctive conformation
of the ancient Chinese "dragon horse" (hence it's name). The present day
Moyle shares DNA and blood characteristics with the present day more direct
descendents of the "dragon horse". Through the course of history, Asiatic
invasions into eastern Europe (Mongolia, Ghengis Khan, those guys)
introduced the influence of Asiatic horses into European breeds. Then the
old European warmbloods, those big clunky guys of two centuries ago, were
shipped to America to work. When Brigham Young and the Mormons left the
east coast headed west out of persecution and English law, they (shrewd
horsemen that they were) bought up the strongest, stoutest, hardiest stock
they could find for the trip. If one broke down or was unfit along the way,
they would strike a trade with frontiersmen for THEIR hardiest, strongest,
etc., thus introducing the Spanish influence that is present in Moyle
blood-typing today. All this attention to stout and hardy produced the
"tanks" that are today's Moyles. However, today's Moyles were carefully
restored by Rex Moyle, who was a genius at animal husbandry beyond just
horses, starting in about 1949. He carefully selected a couple foundation
mares that were the epitome of the best characteristics of the distinctive
group of horses he and others out west had used for years. Rex continued
his careful maintenance of the breed up until his recent death in 1992. The
"horns" are not a result of inbreeding--free range wild horses that are not
geographically isolated have an extensive, varied gene pool through natural
selection. The "horns" are merely legitimate genetic throw-backs--like if
you had the same red hair that your great-great-great-grandmother had and no
one else had it until you.
I am not going to write a total essay here, but if anyone is interested, I
can provide you with several articles about the history and development of
the breed. Also, you can contact International Horse Breeds: World
Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds. I am hesitant to give out the author's name
here, but I will forward yours on to her if you wish.
Dr. Brenda Baird