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Re: [RC] Cloning - sandydsaYears ago, traditional breeders were in the main not ALSO trainers/judges.investors...etc. Now that is almost the norm! Years ago, Arabians were bred true to TYPE and they WERE indeed versatile, winning in halter (which was then Model-Breeding) and also winning in performance - and at the end of the day, they were inexplicably Arabians. Now, breeders have too much financial investment in pushing their own agenda, including but not limited to half Arabians of every sort and type who are considered to be as good as oretter than a PB. Then they go CALL these horses purebred something or other, and decide to breed a BUNCH of them! Invariably then, Arabian PB breederstrainers/judges/owners then try to rbeed Arabians to match! So now we have Arabian western horses who look like friggin' Quarter horses - which I have had and like but do not want - or Saddlebreds wth their knees up their noses, or possibly Thoroughbreds, as the French like to breed - and the TYPE is lost. An Arabian is 14.1 to 15.1 with an OCCASIONAL individual over or under. There is also a sketch of the classic, desired type. These things are more and more lost - taking back seat to big trots, snaky necks, flat toplines, lazy tails, coked up eyes, crooked legs, long backs and the like. If this is what is POPULAR at some time, ou can be sure those with the $$ AND the investment will be breeding this schlock. The bottom line is that traditionally, with fewer people betting their multi million dollar ranches on the sales of whatever horses they are breeding, back THEN, people COULD and DID choose to breed better horses - truer to type, athletes of versatility, and not in need of creating thousands of each to be good or desirable.If this sounds like I think breeders are just better back then I do. There are many very good consciencous breeders now, but they are not the ones with the big bucks by and large. I can hear the ones everyone will be thinking of now - these great breeders who have super star stallions...yada yada. Bottom line is that what is OUT there sadly SELLS - and the smaller breeders who DO breed the old, typey, capable Arabian will NOT be the ones with any meaningful input or investment in cloning. If they DID, it would at least be a relief to many of us who love the classic Arabian horse - and don't WANT a horse who is Arab-Quarter, Arab-Saddlebred or Arab-hot house plant. Perhaps a good start is not to allow trainers or judges to have any input <VBG>. if you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space -----Original Message----- From: Smith, Dave <dsmith@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: Ridecamp <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:27 am Subject: [RC] Cloning “Unfortunately, the high cost of cloning may NOT mean that the best PERFORMANCE traits are passed on, but rather the traits of where the most money is at, which for many US breeds tends to be the show ring.” I would be the last to deny that money and show ring traits won’t be used to determine which horses to clone. But how does that differ from “traditional” breeding. Show ring traits have been and likely will remain a major selecting factor, regardless of how the offspring is produced. On the other hand, performance on the track or trail will also be a selecting factor. Consider our own sport of endurance. You have a gelded colt that begins his endurance career at age four or five. You compete and win with him for say, five seasons and decide he would be a great sire. But he’s gelded. Without cloning, he will never sire an offspring. With cloning, you can duplicate his genetics by taking DNA from his hair or blood. With this technology, top performing horses (geldings) can now contribute to the gene pool. Thus the entire breed can benefit. ________________________________________________________________________ Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.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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