HashRouge
Well-Known Member
No, I just looked at other photos of the horse next to photos of El Rey Magnum. Yes, he has a very dished face, but he doesn't look like he came from another planet.
Arab horses and their appearance in the news
- Thread starter Cecile
- Start date
No, I just looked at other photos of the horse next to photos of El Rey Magnum. Yes, he has a very dished face, but he doesn't look like he came from another planet.
Rollin
Well-Known Member
Because Diva has form in slagging off the breed as a whole.
I don't think that anyone bar certain people in that 'show scene' will think that that is a desirable head.
Don't forget everyone, thankfully there are plenty of Arabs out there that don't look like that.
If I was going to change the in-hand/halter show scene, it would have to be by altering the scoring system. I did read once that people get cross if they score low in any area bar the limb score. That is backwards in my mind, the limbs should score double or even triple marks. Get rid of a head score and incorporate it into 'type' with instructions that an overly dished head is undesirable. I would also get rid of all clipping, shaving and makeup (I know that the UK is stricter on this than the US is, but these are worldwide changes) plus no extended bridlepaths. As soon as you stop all that extreme 'primping' even the very same horse looks less artificial. I would also get rid of the 'frozen pose' and demand a more relaxed showing style with less banging and noise from the crowd.
I can dream.
I no longer use photo bucket so cannot post photos. Shagya Arabians are 90% Arab and look nothing like a sea horse. They have height bone and substance. Mine do endurance and jump. My mare's sire was a well known dressage horse in Germany. What is noticeable though is the domed head, I see this particularly in one of my ShagyaxCleveland bays. She has a wide and prominent forehead but is very pretty.
JJS
Well-Known Member
The Arabs in your book are lovely. I managed to find one showing their profile.
These horses aren't gone. The Arab breed is really diverse with lots of different strains. The Egyptian ones tend to have dishy heads, whereas the Iranian bred ones tend to have straight profiles. An American bred halter horse is not going to be the same as a race bred horse.
This one looks closer to a Barb than most of the modern-day Arabs you see. It's fascinating how selective breeding can move a breed so far away from its original appearance (not in every instance, I know, but in cases such as El Rey Magnum's).