Arabian Breeding & Bloodlines, Round #1

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

Welcome!

Well, it's been a long time coming, but I decided to finally take the plunge. :) I figured why not, it's the middle of Summer and we're in for a scorcher, so I'll relent and begin blogging.

Right now I really don't have a game plan, and I would like to rely on my readers to begin supplying topics in addition to what I come up with on my own to post. So, go ahead and email me at SunlitLady@aol.com and we can get started exploring the things you want to talk about.

First up I thought we could just introduce ourselves and get to know each other better.

There will just be a couple of rules. One, no arguing or flaming. That will cause major changes to the blog, up to and including time consuming comment moderation (which I really don't want to do ~ I am an advocate of free speech) and certain posters not being allowed to comment here. Two, any comments that wander too far off topic will be asked to be taken to another blog for the purpose of that sort of discussion.

This is a blog about training horses, horse care and all horse related content. Being passionate in what we're discussing is good. Everyone has a different point of view, and that's wonderful. However, we can all address each other with respect, and put forth our different views without being mean and insulting.

So, here we go! Thank you for reading and for your participation!

~SFTS