purebred shagyas

[Todd & Toni Jones <tjones@coinet.com>]

Hi Lif,

I didn't think I was saying that Shagyas are "purebred Arabians"... they
are obviously an Arabian breed which was performance tested, progeny tested
and carefully cultivated and selected for a particular purpose for 200
years. I wouldn't want IAHA nor AHRA to have anything to do with the breed
and I'm glad it didn't work out that way. Shagya people DON'T want the
breed going the way of many of the show animals, or other breeds or species
that simply become "pretty" and "brainless" and not useful for their
original intent. I've shown dogs for many years and have seen some
wonderful breeds that are absolutely useless for their original intended
purpose because of breeding for just "pretty" and what will win in the show
ring. The same works for horses. While it's true that inspections and
licensing for breeding stock only goes so far to controlling the quality of
a breed, at least it educates anyone coming into the breed what attributes
we are striving to maintain and continue to breed for. The inspections and
approval system (similar to the Warmbloods) is one of the things that
attracted me to the Shagya in the first place.

I can't comment for the breeders that say they think Shagyas are the same
as "purebred Arabians". Shagyas are not purebred Arabians, even though they
probably carry the 99.99999% Arabian blood you mentioned. They are a
separate breed with traits and attributes that show up generation after
generation. As Americans we recognize Morgans, Quarter Horses, Appaloosas,
Standardbreds as "purebreds"... they all share similar backgrounds of being
developed with a purpose and can call several key individual(s) or
bloodlines their beginnings. I think that these examples are more what the
Shagya is mostly like in terms of developing a breed for a specific
purpose(s).

One of the standards set forth by the International Shagya Society, (ISG)
for a Shagya to be considered a purebred (purebred Shagya) is that they
cannot have MORE than 9 purebred Arabians in the 4th generation back. The
rest must be Shagyas. As a breed we still cross over to superior, selected
purebred Arabians (mares or stallions) to enhance the breed and they must
also pass the inspection and approval process, as must any resulting
progeny. The European breeding programs for many breeds do outcrossing to
maintain the quality of their animals also. Currently there are no "Shagya"
shows in the United States. Once in awhile a regional Arab sporthorse club
will host a class for Shagyas, but they are always separate as Shagyas are
judged on a triangle (like the warmbloods) and not like the purebred Arabs.
At these shows Shagyas are usually welcome in the performance classes like
dressage or jumping at which they excel anyway. Otherwise Shagyas compete
in open types of competition usually sporthorse breeding shows, dressage,
jumping and of course, endurance or CTR.

With less than 150 purebred Shagyas in the United States (1800 or so
worldwide) there are even less out there competing in any given discipline
to be able to make a big impression at this time. We all pretty much just
do "our thing" whatever that may be and enjoy the breed and what we have
the best we can. Speaking for myself, and echoing the sentiments of a few
fellow Shagya breeders, I am glad that the Shagya is a separate breed and
has its own registry and own breeding rules and system. It'll be harder and
take longer to ruin it as a breed. (Hopefully this will never happen). The
minute a breed becomes "popular" it often goes downhill fast.

My 2 cents worth...

Toni Jones
Shagya O'Biwon
Prineville, Oregon


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=