Thank you all for your input. In turn, I have something to say here. Most of us admire beauty and I indeed agree that the Arabian horse, this magnificent creation of God, is and should remain beautiful. We also recognize (most of us do) that the Arabian is a HORSE, one capable of utility and that the Arabian should be conformed like an Arabian, not like any other horse (certainly not like a Saddlebred), no matter how pretty the head. Some will go further and specify: a desert WAR horse, capable of feats of courage and endurance like few others. Without going quite that far (in our day and age), a huge majority of us can surely agree that form still follows function, that beauty is not a narrow phenotypical criterion and that inner beauty (read: courage, disposition, willingness to please) are EQUAL criteria as regards the proper judgement of an Arabian horse, be that horse an Egyptian Arabian or any other (every respect is due to every Arabian). Skeletal conformation is no afterthought, it is the truss on which both beauty and utility have been woven over the centuries. For many decades, there were two camps in the world of the Arabian: one that saw everything through the prism of "beauty", another that privileged "utility". The partisans of "beauty" would refer to halter wins at various championships (sometimes amounting to mere beauty contests) to tout their horses - while the partisans of utility would refer to an exceptional performance under the saddle to tout theirs. A de facto stalemate took hold; a tug of war ensued. Upon its publication, many partisans of "utility first" hailed The Egyptian Alternative as a book of their own, one that they could use to support their position while many partisans of "beauty first" felt threatened enough to attack it without moderation. Both were a bit hasty in their judgement, i am here to tell you, as every reader who has carefully read my books will also tell you. The Egyptian Alternative is a book that advocates in favor of the combination of BOTH admirable aspects of the Arabian horse. Beauty is not exclusive of utility, it is just difficult to achieve. Utility does not exclude beauty, it is just difficult to achieve. I calls on breeders from both sides of this disastrous divide to transcend their differences and to come together for the common good, for a better future of the Arabian horse. Yes it is difficult, yes it is onerous, yes it is not for everyone, but the REAL Arabian horse is not impossible to breed and nurture. All it takes is LOVE of the horse and good old fashioned honesty.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:12:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015