I really believe that the European warmblood/sport horse model
is worth looking at. If we could only breed horses that passed
inspection for athleticism, we might be able to reverse some of the damage.
We've done the same thing with dog showing. There was an excellent
PBS show on recently that discussed all the horrible, debilitating deformities
we've bred into dogs that used to be useful and athletic. We bred them because
we liked "the look" without regard to function or what was best for the
animal's health. I don't know how you keep it clean, though. We
seem to have a gift for exaggerating good qualities until they aren't...and
for "bigger is always better."
