[RC] re: public image of the Arabian horse - oddfarm
Lif, that was an excellent post with so many valid
points. Heidi's follow up also brought up some great observations. I don't have
anything against showing. I do have a major problem with the direction the shows
have gone. Who ever said, "and fewer yet have
the desire to push the limits of their horses and themselves to the extremes
that some do.", comparing shows to endurance riding
can't be completely blind to not see the extreme limits that show horses are
pushed to and the stress that is created in that atmosphere. And, if one wants
to put that much time and energy into showing, they might as well ride more than
a few minutes. That is just my opinion.
I read an article in our local Horse and Pony
newspaper about what breed to pick as your first horse. I can't find my letter
that I sent to the writer of this article but in short, she said she would
never, ever recommend an Arabian or Thoroughbred. Guess what my letter to her
said? :)
Even as qualified as she may have been as a
trainer, in the show ring, or as a horse owner, she was not qualified in my
opinion to make that statement. I told her I couldn't comment on Thoroughbreds
as I had never owned one but I knew something about Arabians. Her opinions were
based on show horses. Mine were based on trail horses, competitive horses, back
yard pets and members of the family. That's the Arabian I know. That is the kind
of Arabian that lives in our family. All 6 of them. And my Arabs are not unique,
(special to us, of course) as I am sure all of us could tell the same story. My
description is of the kind of Arabian I see at MY competitions.
I also told her that as with any breed of any
animal, it all depends on the owner. Bad dogs, stupid owners. Crazy
horses, stupid owners. Can ya see where I'm going with
this?
I have seen more people at rides, including
families, volunteers, vets and spectators than I have ever seen at any of our
bigger regions shows. Of course I haven't been to a show in a long, long time
but the rides get bigger every year. There may have been more horses at the
shows, but one rider could ride 4 or 5 horses in different classes.
I like to take people riding and LOVE to talk
horses. When they find out they are riding an Arab, the response is always the
same. "I always heard Arabs were crazy!"
Now that is not to say, we don't have a few odd
ones in the breed, but CRAZY? Nah.
The AHR does have a program where registered owners
can sign up to be "ambassadors" for the breed by having potential and new owners
call and or visit to get to know the Arabian breed. I signed up for it, but
have yet to hear from any one. I just make it a habit to promote Arabians every
chance I get. As I am sure we all do :)
