Re: Arab crosses

["Susan Evans Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

Hi Sue,

I don't count as a high-mileage rider, so this is just from the physiology
camp, but if I were choosing a breed to cross to an Arab, my choice would be
for one of the breed with a preponderance of the slow-twitch muscle fibers
that you will primarily rely upon in distance riding.  The Arab has the
highest percentage of these fibers---after that comes TB, Standardbred, etc.
There are tons of Arabian-Thoroughbred crosses out there that are doing
very, very well.  Bev Gray and her Anglo Omner just got into the Hall of
Fame in the past year or two.  Alot of people have had excellent results by
crossing Arabs with Appaloosas, especially if the Appy side has some TB
blood, or at least is not one of the bulldog types.  Same would go for some
of the lighter warmblood crosses, like the Trakehner---those are the product
of breeding an ideal type, with much less emphasis on just pedigree
categories and (some) of those guys are fantastic candidates.  If you're
looking for a pony cross, you might look at POAs, Halflingers or
Icelandics---none of them really look like they should be able to do
endurance, but damned if they won't go all day and all night and then all
day again.  At the bottom of my list would be breeds that are built like
weightlifters---the heavily built quarter horse lines, heavy drafty breeds,
some of the heavier warmbloods.  Anything that was bred for generations to
pull heavy things at slow speeds, or do something really fast for ten
seconds.  There ARE examples of these crosses out there doing endurance, but
based on physiology, they are usually the exception, not the rule, IMO.

Of course, you always have to judge individuals as well.  Best of luck to
you.

Susan G

-----Original Message-----
From: Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>
To: ridecamp@endurance.net <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Date: Sunday, April 25, 1999 1:44 PM
Subject: RC: Arab crosses


>During my hunt for the "perfect" horse (for me <g>), I've run across a lot
>of different Arab crosses.  Would I would like to know, from all of you
>wonderful, knowledgeable people, is...
>
>What would you consider, if you were to take the best features and dominant
>characteristics of each breed, the better crosses with Arabians for a *long
>distance* endurance horse?  (Which crosses have shown to be successful in
>the past...or have the most potential for producing a horse that could be
>competitive?)  Which crosses would be towards the bottom of your list?
>
>Before I get flamed ;-), I know that there can be good crosses resulting in
>any breed...but if you were a gambler and had to pick your order of
>preference without seeing the horse, which crosses would you start with?
>What about categories...draft, warmblood, pony, etc.?
>
>Sue (who never thought she'd know this much about Arabians, bloodlines, and
>performance histories!! ;-))
>
>
>sbrown@wamedes.com
>Tyee Farm
>Marysville, Wa.
>
>
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Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
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