Re: Lack of good Arabs for endurance

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/23/99 9:30:15 AM Pacific Standard Time,
hought@humboldt1.com writes:

<< I really tend to roll my eyes when someone reciting their halter
background.  I would like to get some reaction from this comment.  Some of my
friends think I'm too hard on Arabs, but my complaint is what has been done to
the breed.  >>

You have hit the nail on the head, Gail.  If one looks at breed type as
defined back in the early days of the Arabian in this country, one finds that
the Arab was described as a very balanced, functional horse--in fact, exactly
what we are looking for in the sport of endurance.  There are several breeders
who have not gone with the mainstream of the Arabian show world, and who have
tried hard to preserve the original functional type of Arabian--a few still
successfully walk the line and show, too, but not many.  What we have seen in
the show world is a caricature of the original type--the elongated so-called
"elegant" look where we get the jacked-up necks, the hollow backs, and the
long, weak loins.  And legs?  Well, who gives a rip about legs if the
"picture" is there?  The riding classes are just as much of a travesty; what
goes for "Park" now--horses that look crippled behind with windmills for front
legs--is nothing like the original Arabs where Park was almost like upper
level dressage done in an animated fashion.  Western classes are just as
bad--who can overbend the neck the most without engaging the rear.  The
"classical" Arabs are seen instead in sports such as endurance, cutting,
dressage, etc., where balance, substance, and strength still matter.  I am far
more impressed by halter credentials a few generations back in the shows prior
to 1960 when the judges still judged Arabs than I am in current
placements--and I agree, I almost run the other way if folks start spouting
about current halter credentials, as odds are those horses won't hold up to
being ridden.  

Some folks have mentioned getting "culls" from the show barns--if the horse
was a "cull" for the "right" reasons, he may well be built correctly!

Heidi