ArkansaS Jahid "Purity"

[Bonifield/Poulson <bonifarm@oro.net>]

Regarding the Otts, Janesway and their Ilk:Purity as someone else so 
eloquently mentioned, is mainly a matter of semantic interpretation.The 
problem with the Otts was that they behaved as though they had CREATED 
the concept of purebred Arabian and that the myriad other breeders 
through the years with serious, dedicated breeding programs were nothing 
other than a bunch of con artists out to "destroy" the "pure" breed. 
When these self-righteous folks dispersed they ran full page ads in 
Southwestern publications announcing that they intended to "put their 
horses down" rather than see them fall into the hands of  breeders of 
Arabian "culls", presumably the rest of the Arabian population. I saw  
many so-called "Blue Star/Blue List" horses that demonstrated unhealthy 
characteristics to be found in overly inbred animals. Very few would 
have met bedouin criterion for"purebred"! I don't see this as a major 
subject for this list, pertinent to endurance? other than the fact that 
MANY, MANY fine endurance horse have Skowronek blood in their ancestral 
veins; as many new people read this list I would hate to see them 
frightened off of a good riding horse simply because some person has 
plugged themselves into a fanatical belief system. Take it all with a 
good dose of electrolytes!!! A. Bonifield( who has ridden and bred 
Skowronek breds since the 60's)