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> From: kevin baird <kbaird@roanoke.infi.net>
> To: ridecamp@endurance.net
> Subject: Re:A MOYLE RIDER TELLS REAL STORY
> Date: Sunday, January 26, 1997 10:46 PM
>
> FIRST, KNOW THAT MOYLES ARE ENDURANCE HORSES. I JUST TOP 10'D A
100-MILER
> ON ONE TWO WEEKS AGO. MY UNCLE RODE TEVIS TWICE, OLD DOMINION FOUR
TIMES,
> ROC TWICE, AND NUMEROUS OTHER HUNDREDS ON ONE. THEY ARE NOT
DIFFICULT--THEY
> MERELY DON'T TRUST HUMANS. WONDER WHY. IF THE END OF THE WORLD WERE
> TOMORROW AND I TOOK TO THE HILLS TO SURVIVE, I WOULD LEAVE ALL MY BELOVED
> LITTLE ARABS BEHIND AND TAKE MOYLE DUDLE DO-RITE--THE SMARTEST HORSE I'VE
> EVER KNOWN.
>
> That said, here's the real scoop on Moyles. My uncle has owned two of
> these marvelous horses. They were among the very first truckload of five
> brought East by the McKay-Smiths. Teddy Bear and Dudley went to Frank
> Farmer; Chester went to Donna Green also here in Roanoke, Brigham is with
> Becky Siler in Florida, and Cider is with John Crandell. When Teddy died
> unexpectedly, I did quite a bit of research on the breed. Much of this
> information is from Marge Moyle and much from Rex himself by way of his
old
> papers.
>
>
> The bony prominence referred to as "horns" is NOT a result of inbreeding.
> These anomalies in skull structure were part of the distinctive
conformation
> of the ancient Chinese "dragon horse" (hence it's name). The present day
> Moyle shares DNA and blood characteristics with the present day more
direct
> descendents of the "dragon horse". Through the course of history,
Asiatic
> invasions into eastern Europe (Mongolia, Ghengis Khan, those guys)
> introduced the influence of Asiatic horses into European breeds. Then
the
> old European warmbloods, those big clunky guys of two centuries ago, were
> shipped to America to work. When Brigham Young and the Mormons left the
> east coast headed west out of persecution and English law, they (shrewd
> horsemen that they were) bought up the strongest, stoutest, hardiest
stock
> they could find for the trip. If one broke down or was unfit along the
way,
> they would strike a trade with frontiersmen for THEIR hardiest,
strongest,
> etc., thus introducing the Spanish influence that is present in Moyle
> blood-typing today. All this attention to stout and hardy produced the
> "tanks" that are today's Moyles. However, today's Moyles were carefully
> restored by Rex Moyle, who was a genius at animal husbandry beyond just
> horses, starting in about 1949. He carefully selected a couple
foundation
> mares that were the epitome of the best characteristics of the
distinctive
> group of horses he and others out west had used for years. Rex continued
> his careful maintenance of the breed up until his recent death in 1992.
The
> "horns" are not a result of inbreeding--free range wild horses that are
not
> geographically isolated have an extensive, varied gene pool through
natural
> selection. The "horns" are merely legitimate genetic throw-backs--like
if
> you had the same red hair that your great-great-great-grandmother had and
no
> one else had it until you.
>
>
> I am not going to write a total essay here, but if anyone is interested,
I
> can provide you with several articles about the history and development
of
> the breed. Also, you can contact International Horse Breeds: World
> Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds. I am hesitant to give out the author's
name
> here, but I will forward yours on to her if you wish.
>
>
> Dr. Brenda Baird
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