From The Telegraph:
Extreme breeding practices have already left animals like French bulldogs and pugs struggling to breathe as their faces have become squashed over time to suit human demands.
But vets believe that the worrying practice is now happening in horses after a US stud farm offered an Arabian Colt for sale with an strange concave, or ‘dished’ profile.
Check out the shit show at Orrion Farms in Washington state.
Is it time to end Torture Breeding? Would this qualify?
5 comments:
Oh, for God's sake. Those horses are freekish caricatures of what they attempt to portray. I am proud to have never ridden a horse but for ranch/farm work. I did not know that some horses are kept as pets while growing-up with my grandparents in eastern Oregon. I respect horses, their beauty and historical purpose. Orrion horses, IMO, are unsound, and should not be bred to. Unlike dogs, horses sweat, but even so, a horse's muzzle must contribute to a good deal of heat loss, and Orrion's muzzles appear defective. Yes, I believe it's torture. -- TEC
This is the decadence of conformation (appearance) breeding, instead of selecting solely or mostly for functional performance. Seizing on variation is how animal breeds are created and improved—or ruined.
A person who actually worked Arabians in some fashion would never do this. He would accept that some have a prettier or more dished face, but the rigor of performance selection would keep in line any tendency to overly favor such superficial appearance traits.
Exhibition always leads downward for the animals involved if not the people. It is an activity for children and the weak minded.
Sadly, this is the "New Look" for Arabians. These are the horses that win at shows. Even shows outside of America. The Brits, Europeans and Middle Eastern people used to have more balanced, useful horses. The king of Jordan was quoted as saying that the more extreme Arabians becoming popular in the 1980's were "only fit to draw water carts in Damascus." The good news is that the original Bedouin horse is alive and well. Look up "Al Khamsa Arabians" and you will see beautiful and useful horses with sense, heart and stamina.
Will this bloodline of horses become the English Bulldog of the horse world?
They look unreal to me. Photoshopped? Guess I haven't seen an Arabian horse in a long time. Sad...
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