Thee Seahorse
Take a preview of the 2015 Arabian Horse World Championships, and get your snorkels and wet suits ready if you don’t want to miss them. Notice the “ultra-refined” head, “exotic” arched neck, the “classic” dished profile, and the “extreme” muzzle of this young competitor. The eyes would have looked bigger if the makeup wasn’t wiped away by the water. Don’t waste time looking for legs, there aren’t any: toothpick legs are deja-vu (so pre-2010!), the new fashion is no legs at all!
Tell us how you REALLY feel, Edouard!
Ha Ha—love the reference to wet suits and snorkels. I have a friend who breeds those very horses. We don’t talk about it and I do my best to ignore it, but sometimes it’s not easy. I find them truly ugly.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=140250412681885&set=a.120495234657403.8660.120493754657551&type=3&theater
you mean like this thing?
well this is not coming even close to some of what I have seen. The head is actually ok, not even extreme by today’s standards.
Cherie… pose, make up…UGH!
Did you see the comments….’almost surreal, stunning’
Surreal!… a ‘surreal’ horse….is that something to aspire to??
Cherie: I clicked on your link and said out loud : Oh God, is that ugly. It doesn’t even look like a real horse. It’s frightening. But Edouard says he’s seen much worse and it’s not even that extreme. I can’t begin to imagine.
il y a pire et même bien pire !! des yeux qui mangent la figure,une grosse cassure sur le chanfrein et un bout de nez tout étroit avec des naseaux petits et grands ouverts car il n’ y a pas beaucoup d’air qui passe.Le tout monté sur une longue encolure toute fine et arquée.Il paraît que c’est le grand et dernier chic!!
and this horse is at Tersk stud. I like SOME of their horses, but that one i linked to i just hate. it looks ridiculous. poor creature.
The extreme heads can’t even breathe properly, so what would they need legs for? The solution is for all horses who are eligible for a championship must be ridden in some way and proven to be able to function as a horse.
We sit and watch the Arabian horse being bred out of existence by folks who think they are “improving” the breed!
It’s a fad thing, not too long ago it was the neck, freaky!! Whenever a horse wins big that has a different look then people rush to copy it, like the neck, now it’s the head, again but now even more extreme. Or on the performance side it is the copying of the Saddlebred and Walking Horse high action because it is so ‘exciting’!! So we rush to copy and put pads heavier shoes and bands to keep it all on. Therefore, the horse has to stand inside all the time and there goes the good legs and feet of iron the breed was so noted for! When I visited a show a couple of years ago and watched a western class I couldn’t believe it as half of the horses were NOT jogging but doing an almost walk in front and a ??? jog/canter behind and so very slow… it was painful to watch. Also, the reins were so loose that if the horse bolted the rider would be lost to gather all that rein up!! The horse had however was perfectly set as if in a vice! How many hours does he stay bitted up like that a day! These horses would not be good for anything else, outside they would be lost, you could not pleasure them. I liked it when I showed, the next day I was trail riding!!
Arabians were historically valued because of their stamina, intelligence, willingness and hardiness…..the halter show ring has turned our wonderful Arabians into cartoon horses who are no longer hardy, are not capable of even the most rudimentary performance, have lost any desire to be willing. Us humans should be very ashamed!
It is sad that Edouard’s satire is more truth than fiction … so how do we stop/change this?!? To start with, I recommend reading the Egyptian Alternative books, Volumes I & II by Philippe Paraskevas and join the movement to breed back to function rather than fashion.
These little sea creatures are called “sea horse”, probably because of their resemblance to a horse; a horse in general.
I agree that Arabian horses should be tested in riding competition as well and on many occasions they do, like for example in Poland and Russia they are tested at the race track. Nevertheless, this should be promoted much more and be part of any breeding program, whether racing or any other riding discipline.
Saying that Arabian horses were bred for war is true, but who would take a horse (in general) to war this day; this is absurd – times change, so I believe breeding purposes can change also. Any species, including humans, looked different years and years ago. So I don’t think it is a bad thing how Arabian horses developed through the years in breeding. Saying that an arabian horse of today is not suitable for riding is totally absurd as well. They’ve never been the very best in show jumping, nor racing; though they have been able to improve other breeds and Arabian horses are still the perfect family horse and excel in long distance riding. Arabian horses of today are more elegant and beautiful than any other race, but yes some changes should be made in and next to the show ring in order to proof this misconception that some breeders who are stuck in the past, try to feed their often jealous and narrow-minded to the public.
I am deliberately exaggerating and caricaturing to make a point, and that’s why I am using satire..
I understand you’re trying to make a point and to some extent I agree. That’s also why I think it is beneficial to the Arabian breed to make changes in the show ring; riding should be part of it. At this point in time I do not see any problems when it comes to riding ability or health concerns related to the Arabian horse of today. But it’s positive to bring this up when looking at the future of the breed in question.
Another important issue is the narrowing gene pool. Many breeders breed to the same bloodlines; I believe limiting or not allowing mares to be bred by frozen semen could help for that matter.
I do believe that many Arabian horse breeders are aware of this and I think things will change for the better but whether to say that an Arabian horse should look the same as 50 years ago, I do not agree with. When you see artists/painters from decades ago and from last century portraying an Arabian horse, it looks like the Arabian horse of today, not of 50 or 100 years ago. Things develop. These artists had a vision and what they created in their time and mind was the ideal Arabian horse. So who says it’s fashion of today?