As requested by reader endure_2_the_end, I'm going to start off the "official topics" on this blog by discussing Arabian bloodlines and what horses of those lines excel in.
No discussion of Arabian breeding could be complete without first mentioning that we can't always stereotype horses of any specific breeding, because they have been known to fool us before. ;) Such as the *Bask++ descendants who did well in the Western disciplines, including Cutting, or the Khemosabi++++// horses that won in English Pleasure. Believe it or not, they are out there on both counts. Jameel Basklawi was actually a two time US National Champion Cutting Horse back in the 70's, and sired by *Bask himself. Then we can't forget Khemanche++++, the Khemo son who was not only the winning-est Arabian Halter Gelding of all time but a multiple Champion as an English horse and both US & Canadian National Top Ten in Informal Combination (English Pleasure and Pleasure Driving). Pigeonholing Arabian horses is tough to do!!
That said, generally speaking there are some lines which show a propensity for doing well in specific disciplines, though I'd like to get more into individual bloodline groups during the week [which I think will be fun!] and am keeping this entry rather general in scope. If you're looking for a Halter horse, these past few years it has been all about Marwan Al Shaqab and his sons, who has been vying with Magnum Psyche for the Halter sire crown. When seeking an English horse, the indisputable king is Afire Bey V, but you can't go wrong with a number of the *Bask++ bred horses. For Western, you can generally count on Khemosabi bred horses to do well, along with some of the Spanish sires (like *GG Samir and *AN Malik, who also produce pretty nice Hunters as well) and the Varian lines (think Desperado V).
I know this is fairly generic and not entirely in depth, however I'd love to delve into these subjects a whole lot more when I have the time. Next week we will explore both bloodline groups and discipline group preferences a lot more. How much fun is this going to be? :)
P.S. - Please don't forget to drop by the Welcome post and introduce yourselves and your horses...thanks!
~ SFTS
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Yay, I feel all "influential" and stuff ;P he he But seriously, I'm very glad to learn about this stuff. People always say things like "Well no wonder that mare/gelding is a nut, he/she has 'Bey Shah brains'" and I am thinking "what?!?!" And also when I read ads, people say well, this is a pure Egyptian arab, or straight Russian, or whatever. And I guess that should mean something to me in terms of looks or athletic prowess. hmm. So, the more you post on this the better, at least for me! I need the education!
ReplyDeleteHi I am totally unknowing when it comes to Arabian breeding. I do have a friend who used to breed Arabs so I do hear this and that...question for you...what is the +++ stuff after the names? What does that signify?
ReplyDeleteI will try to get into that sort of thing later endure_2...promise! :)
ReplyDeleteETTGD, those "+" are for AHA achievement awards. + is Legion of Honor, ++ is Legion of Merit, +/ is Supreme Legion of Honor, +++ is Supreme Legion of Merit, ++++ is Legion of Masters and the // following any of the above is Legion of Excellence. Similar to the stock breeds' ROM (Register of Merit), points are earned in classes at rated Arabian shows and there is a formula for how you achieve the different levels. For more in depth info, click here.
I have always felt that thinking you are breeding for a specific discipline with Arabians is setting yourself up for disappointment. When I followed the Arabian forums I saw this often with the people focused on English horses. I will be interested in you perspective.
ReplyDeleteI honestly believe it really depends on what you want, and the qualities you are seeking to breed. There is definitely an art to breeding English horses and I tend to discuss breeding decisions with those breeders who have produced what I am looking for out of a specific mare. We have a great shortage of truly talented English horses ~ many of them wind up becoming Hunters because they don't possess that "special something" that a National level English horse demands. A few of them migrate into the Sport Horse disciplines. OKW Entrigue+++ is a great example, sired by a National Champion Park horse and bred technically to be an English horse, he was simply happier doing Dressage. Not to mention he's fabulous at it. But I may be prejudiced, because a client's mare is in foal to him for next year. :)
ReplyDeleteHe is a special horse. I asked for a dvd a few years ago, but I decided to stop breeding. I believe your client should be happy with the foal. I'll come clean and admit I am not a big fan of MR performance, but my long ago riding SS on ASB's does make me, still, a fan of the discipline. I can't help it! I own 2 saddlebreds, one a stallion. If you can slow that big movement down you get quite the sport horse. I trail ride the gelding, my guy who can rack. : )
ReplyDeleteI do love my English horses! :) But then again, I love pretty much all disciplines. We're really excited to see what comes of the Ricky breeding. The mare is an MHR Nobility daughter who's out of an *El Paso daughter. Lovely, lovely mare. This baby is either going to be a knockout English horse or one heck of a Dressage horse!
ReplyDeleteOnce some years back a client brought me this Gamaar/Ferzon bred gelding who could rack. I'll never forget the first time he started getting down. I was thinking, WTH? Then I realized what he was doing, sat there and enjoyed the ride. :)
If I remember correctly Raseyn racked. I think I remember that they had 5-gaited classes when the Kellogg Ranch held their weekly shows. I have an Alada Baskin daughter that paces.
ReplyDeleteI have a Khoumsalla son (Khemo) out of an Aramus g-daughter. He resembles Aramus, no Khemo to be seen. He was working Grand Prix at the time he retired. His last trainer was Hungarian, no breed prejudice. It was amazing what the horse could do. He developed arthritis in a knee and that was that.
Sandra - the mare of yours that paces. That is interesting to me. It reminded me of a horse I rode when I was working for an Arabian breeder that told me the horse "desert walked."
ReplyDeleteThat must be what you are referring to?
Where does that come from and why don't I see more Arabs around that do?
Perhaps SFTS has some thoughts on this, but Arabians used to be gaited, at least some of them. Pacing is overall considered undesirable, so it gets bred out. Arabian english horses don't need to be gaited because there aren't classes asking for it, so it gets bred out. But sometimes these traits pop up again. I am not familiar with the term 'desert walk', but Sun Spot paces, like a standardbred. She does it when she gets excited, just as some horses will rack when they get excited. We''l see what SFTS knows about this.
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember reading that Skowronek did produce horses that could gait (rack, whatever you want to call it), and that *Raseyn was one of them who passed it on for sure. But I have never heard of the term "desert walk, either. It also seems to me that there have been online discussions somewhere about gaited Arabian horses. If I come across it, I will definitely post the link!
ReplyDelete