Re: RC: RC: Arab or TWH

[Maureen Mathisen <blueoak@snowcrest.net>]

Hi Lif and all...
Lif, from what I know, I do believe your opinion is correct.  I raise
BOTH Arabians and Connemaras(from Ireland) and not only should YOUR
points be considered, but the SHAPE of the bone counts also.  Better
bone is an oval shape, not round, and of course "density counts " also. 
Since Arabs AND Connemaras are both known for wonderful bone, I have
crossed the  two old breeds, and I am getting wonderfully looking foals
with fantastic bone.  Can't wait to see them do some performance and
endurance!( my breeding stallion has 9+  oval shaped bone and comes from
the wonderful calcium and mineral rich soils of Ireland) and my mares
are endurance-proven.  Maureen
 wrote:
> 
> Hi Jerald - you wrote:  "have just seen people having a lot of trouble
> trying to keep them {Arabs} sound"  and further "would find more legs
> problems with the Arabs especially after a season of campaigning".
> 
> I guess if you figured out what the ratio of unsound to total number of
> endurance Arabs is, and compared that ratio to the ratio of unsound to
> total gaited endurance horses, and found that the proportion of unsound,
> bad legged Arabs is higher than that of gaited,  then I'd be impressed
> with your observation.  Personal observation of the number of
> Saddlebreds in your area is not a convincing argument, because my
> personal observation of the Arabians that I know of that do endurance
> within 100 mile radius here reveals that a total of none had suspensory
> or other injuries from doing endurance.  So what?  That doesn't prove
> anything about the ultimate suitability of either Saddlebreds or
> Arabians for anything at all.   Personal observation is just that.  It
> doesn't provide conclusive arguments about anything other than what
> you've seen.  For instance, 9 years of your observation does not address
> the issue of how Arabians actually became the predominant horse for the
> sport, especially since at the time of AERC's birth Arabians were not
> common horses, were mostly used for show.  Why would an uncommon show
> breed become the most commonly used for endurance if there were better
> suited breeds?  Why would people continue to prefer Arabians if they
> could do so much better with other breeds?
> 
> By the way, when you wrote "gaited horses do have more bone" I assume
> you refer to cannon circumference.  This of course is not a measurement
> you compare across breeds.  You compare within breeds, or you compare
> ratio of bone to body size/weight (I forget what it is) from one horse
> of a breed to the ratio in another breed.  Otherwise of course you'd
> find that Saddlebreds have shamefully little bone compared to say
> Percherons, which isn't useful or fair comparison.  Anyway, bone
> circumference is not important if the bones aren't able to withstand
> impact.  That's a whole different area, I believe it has to do with bone
> density.  There have been quite a few articles in "Equus Magazine" about
> the study of bone density, which is as important, if not more so, than
> bone circumference.  Big weak bones are useless.
> 
> My feeling is that the best argument for suitability of breeds for a
> particular use is success.  If you can achieve endurance success with
> gaited horses, then I think you should go for it all the way.  As should
> mule people, mustang people, and everyone who wants to.  After all, this
> is a sport for humans and their equine partners, no mention of breed
> requirements in the rules.  Good luck!  Lif
> 
> PS
> Paul went to a reference book and looked up Traveler.  He said he had
> always understood Traveler to be an Arab, which is not correct unless
> you count the Arab blood in thoroughbreds, which would be kind of
> cheating.  The reference is _The Horse in War_ by J.M. Brereton, Arco
> Publishing Co, Inc. NY 1976.  Brereton is/was an expert on military and
> equestrian subjects, a one-time regular in the Royal Horse Artillery and
> the Indian Cavalry.  He provides a bibliography to support this book.  I
> quote from pages 107-8.
> 
> Traveler was "a big 16-hand, well made iron-grey gelding... he was more
> than half Thoroughbred and had in him the blood of Black Hawk, one of
> the most celebrated of the early Morgan sires.  He was bred in 1857 by a
> gentleman-farmer, James Johnston...  as a colt, with the name of Jeff
> Davis, he took first premium at the Greenbriar Fair....  As soon as he
> saw Jeff Davis as a four-year-old in the spring of 1861, he bought him,
> changing his name to Traveler..."
> 
> --
>                                     ____________
> Lif & Paul Strand   STRAND ENTERPRISES   http://www.fasterhorses.com
>           Arabian Horses (looking for new homes!)
>          Nutrition for People & Critters * WebArt
>                      Quemado, NM  USA
> 
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> From: Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>
> Organization: Strand Enterprises
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