Re: RC: Breeds

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/14/00 10:47:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time, RhndLev@cs.com 
writes:

<<  I've ridden both Arabs and gaited horses 
 and Special has none of the quirks or "sensitivities" that I always had to 
be 
 aware of when riding any of the Arabs that I've met to this point. >>

Rhonda, first of all, let me say that I dearly love to see the gaited horses 
at the rides (although they are not my personal choice for mounts) and I've 
seen a fair number of them excel.  That said--I've NEVER had an Arab of mine 
"upset" because a gaited horse moved or sounded different, and although I've 
observed Arabs with "quirks", on the whole they are about the steadiest and 
easiest breed I've ever worked with.  (Keep in mind here that I grew up with 
QH and TB type horses in a ranching setting and have made most of my living 
for many years working with horses OTHER than Arabs.)  I've never had an Arab 
explode with an "out-to-get-you" attitude (have encountered that more times 
than I care to count with QH's), and although some can have a "sense of 
humor" when there isn't anything serious going on, the tougher the situation, 
the more serious and dependable they tend to get.  In addition to endurance 
and CTR, my Arabs have packed wild game, been shot from, worked cows 
(sometimes with bullwhips, occasionally caught under their tails, since I am 
not the most coordinated person in the world), pulled skiers, stretched 
fence, roped (with people other than me--I could never catch anything in the 
loop), jumped, gamed, ponied Thoroughbreds at the track, and just plain been 
pleasant to ride on a quiet evening bareback out the back gate.  They have 
been totally honest--and that includes letting me know when something is 
upsetting to them.  They don't take it out on me--they just make their 
displeasure known if something is not right.  And since they ARE honest, I 
don't write this behavior off as a "quirk"--I look to find what is wrong, and 
most generally, something is!

Yes, there are Arabs and there are Arabs--but I think you find the "idiots" 
among your gaited horses, too, if you selected bloodlines that had been 
corrupted for the showring, just as you do with the Arabs.  I've seen "idiot" 
TWH's, Morgans, and Saddlebreds much in the same vein as the "idiot" 
Arabs--and generally because of the same selective pressure.  With any breed, 
when you stick to the families and types that have maintained traits selected 
for WORKING ability, you tend to find sanity and honesty.  And I'll be the 
first one to qualify my statements about the honesty of Arabs by saying that 
I've always made it a policy to stick to the old style Arabs that maintained 
the "live-in-the-tent" attitude--but then those were also the ones that 
excelled in long desert marches, often at high speed--which is what I want 
for endurance, too...

Heidi