RE: Arabians as Western Horses

[JOltmann@FANCYPUBS.COM]

Heidi, I couldn't agree with you more! I had an interesting conversation
with Corey Solteau at Tevis. I first met him at the Arabian Nationals in
Kentucky about 10 years ago. He had completed the Tevis that year, I
think on Gwalif (sp?) and also won US Natl. Champion Mare with Shahteyna
that year, a mare he had bred. He has since won other National titles,
and he has judged at the Nationals. As you know, halter horses must
qualify for regional and national championships by competing in
performance classes. And guess how Corey qualifies his horses?  By
taking his national-caliber halter horses on endurance rides! I've seen
him on some incredibly beautiful horses out on the trail--which is where
these horses should be. Many breeders of "show" Arabians are aghast by
the performance qualification requirement, because they either don't
want to ride their expensive horses, can't ride them, or the horse has
been raised in such a way that it can't do anything. I know that Corey
will continue to be a proponent of the performance qualification
requirement, much to the disapproval of those who think their fancy show
horses shouldn't have to do anything but be beautiful. What every
endurance rider knows though, is that every horse stuck in a barn with
his tail in a bag would rather be out on the trail. 

> ----------
> From: 	CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com[SMTP:CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]
> Sent: 	Tuesday, August 11, 1998 6:17 PM
> To: 	Oltmann, Jennifer; ridecamp@endurance.net
> Subject: 	Re: Arabians as Western Horses
> 
> Interesting, but in earlier times ('40's and '50's) if one looks at
> Western
> publications (Western Horseman as a prime example) the Arabs are right
> there
> side by side with everybody else--Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses,
> Morgans, you
> name it.  One saw Van Vleet's horses in Colorado, and a lot of the old
> programs, the Arabs all in working western gear, doing their jobs on
> various
> cattle ranches.  Many of the early breeders also had cattle.  I was
> born on a
> cattle ranch in the '50's, and we all rode half-Arabs--the best
> working
> stallion in the valley happened to be an Arab, so we all bred our
> mares to him
> and never gave it a thought.  I still try to maintain the standards in
> my
> program that those old breeding programs had--soundness, good
> conformation,
> trainability, quiet dispositions, and all those traits that Arabs are
> SUPPOSED
> to have. 
> 
> The Arab in the show ring today wouldn't stand a chance in the
> ranching world,
> with his high head, poor back, weak loins, bad hips, incorrect action,
> and
> crazy disposition.  But then neither does the modern Quarter Horse
> that is
> winning in today's show ring, with his huge body on his tiny feet,
> navicular,
> founder, various other forms of unsoundness, and too muscle-bound to
> be agile
> chasing cows through the rocks and sagebrush.  Likewise, the narrow
> peanut-
> rollers in the "riding" classes are a travesty--they have back
> problems due to
> incorrect conformation, etc.  In both the Arab world and the QH world,
> the
> REAL horses, in my opinion, are being bred by folks with goals other
> than show
> wins in mind--Arab breeders after endurance or dressage horses, QH
> breeders
> after cutting or other working horses.  I am amazed how much the
> really good
> cutting horses in my practice resemble my good working Arabs--just a
> different
> overlay of type.
> 
> Heidi Smith, DVM--Sagehill Arabians (Oregon)
>