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[RC] Saddle Horses - katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxHeidi said: Since capability under saddle is no longer a hallmark in ANY breed, even the Arabian, Heidi is mistaken. Capability under saddle is the ONLY selection trait in the Thoroughbred. The Thoroughbred has a centuries long tradition of breeding millions of horses and selecting only for the single trait of being able to run fast under saddle, and a pretty ruthless culling program as well. It has kept scrupulous data for centuries not only of the pedigree of every horse bred but also of its capability for this single trait. And this is why the Thoroughbred has earned from me the title of "the most athletic horse on the face of the planet." Unfortunately, in the single-minded pursuit of this particular trait, manageability and trainability have been sort of selected against, so while they are excellent for racing under saddle, their disposition is such that doing other things under saddle is quite difficult to get their mind to :). However, the TB is not the only breed that has capability under saddle as its hallmark. Most of the assortment of European Warmbloods are also selected specifically for their capability under saddle, and much more functionally so than the Thoroughbred, I might add, since trainability is also one of the major selection criteria. They too have been keeping track of pedigree and performance for a very long time (and do not issue breeding licenses to horses that do not meet the necessary "saddle horse" criteria). Unfortunately, these horses have also been selected for size (big), and consequently have all of the soundness problems associated with large horses. If I had to guess, now that these Europeans with the same rideability/ trainability/ performance criteria are getting into breeding "sport ponies" (horses between 14.2 and 15.3 hh :) so they give a whole new meaning to the work pony), these horses may take over that title from the Thoroughbred, especially since the TB and the Arabian are some of the breeding stock that they are using to produce it. The French have been doing this for quite a while. In fact, they have a breed called the Selle Francais (which translates to "French saddle horse" and certainly the French Saddle horse is known specifically for its capability under saddle :)). The Russians also have a horse that they call the Russian saddle horse, which is also bred and used specifically for ?well... mostly dressage, and it is pretty heavy with both Arabian blood and with Akhal-Teke, but not the modern faddish kind of either. There are lots of breeds for which this is a hallmark. It is just that none of them happens to be particularly prevalent in the US, except, of course, for the American TB, which even some Warmblood breeders mention as being the best in the world, and that sport horse (i.e. saddle horse) breeders in the US have a huge advantage if they would just avail themselves of this huge pool of breeding stock available to them. :) However, many American breeders have been selecting for an assortment of exaggerated "breed type" traits that are, in actuality, serious faults for a riding horse (and they have been exporting this idea as well :)). But these horses can pretty easily be avoided if one just avoids horses that have done well in breed shows, since breed shows are about the only place you find people obsessed about "typiness." kat Orange County, Calif. -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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