The Circus "NO SPIN ZONE": 07/24/08

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Let's all be International Judges and judge 4 Arabian horses with no standard.

Let's see if a valid competition should have a standard, and if the judges should tell us how they voted. Two of these horses are "famous/well know" and two aren't, but don't let that affect the outcome.

Vote for the BEST HORSE

Contestant #1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrHjhpukHs

Contestant #2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NrUqeCiykY

Contestant #3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCB3AxWOIaU

Contestant #4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHFyXdE1Y7E

Rene Gassar--The name is spelled with an "ar" instead of er, but is this smooth gentleman related to the sea lion Gassers?

Madame Col. have you seen this? Check out Apollos one "small" fault. You can tell them about Champions with a fault can't you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1wAFzNrYkI

What color of tiger is this?

On this blog we have discussed tiger color in depth. Just for review what is the accepted color of this tiger which is around the world in Zoo's and Circus's? Everybody answer with just the color.

The STANDARD--Be familiar with it. I didn't know, will not be accepted as an excuse.

Because we have become comfortable with a festival "anything goes standard", I think we should review the new, first time in the circus standard. These are black horse's or ponies, which ever you think is appropriate. You can no longer call then Cass Ole or Tornado. If it will sell ticket's you can say they are from the private stable of Don Diego. Unless somebody says, "wasn't Don Diego Zorro?" In which case you will have to stop and maybe tell them it the black horse from the movies not television. If somebody says, "wasn't he bigger then that?" Again you will have to stop. If this standard is not adhered to, you may face suspension/fine. So it might be easier to just cut the crap, as John Herriott advised in the setting of the standard and call them black horse's or ponies, which ever you think is appropriate.

Appaloosa color patterns--Intriguing and elusive

This foal is exhibiting sclera the white around the eyes which is exclusive to Appaloosa. Most horses have a certain white around the eye's and in most breeds you try to breed it away. I has been described, by Appaloosa enthusiasts as an "almost a human like quality". I describe it as "an ugly quality". If you walked in an Arabian barn in the morning and found a purebred foal looking back at you like this, you would scream like a women, and run out. This beautiful baby is a half Arabian so I could live with it in this case.
Research conducted by scientists in the Horse Genome Project theorizes that the Appaloosa or LP gene is responsible for Appaloosa patterning and other color characteristics, while other factors, possibly genes, determine the exact spotting pattern. While there is currently no DNA test for the gene, it is believed that it is located on a single autosomal dominant locus, and may possibly be a gene-complex rather than a single gene. It should be noted that not every horse with the Lp gene exhibits hair coat spotting, which caused the controversy discussed in the post below. Some Appaloosa will also lose their spots or they will fade with age. Sometimes, Appaloosas may also exhibit pinto type markings, but these are not desirable and are discouraged by the ApHC registration rules. The Appaloosa Project, a genetic study group, has also done extensive research on the interactions of Appaloosa and pinto genes and how they affect each other. The genes that create these different patterns can all be present in the same horse. However, because pinto genes, particularly the overo pattern, may "cover-up" or obscure Appaloosa patterns, pinto breeding is discouraged by the ApHC, which will deny registration to some horses if they have excessive white markings.

ApHC--Appaloosa Horse Club--Appaloosa X Quarter, Arabian, Thoroughbred

Notice the Thoroughbred "look" characteristics/conformation of the horse above.

The horse above Mary Ann, in the world of White Tigers would be called a hetero, or heterozygous, or CPO(certified pedigree option) in the world of Appaloosas. She had a colored mother and a quarter horse father. Most "solid" Appaloosas are recognized by their colorful spotted coat, striped hooves, mottled skin (most visible around their eyes and on their muzzle) and white sclera around the eye. And are valuable for producing some of the colors shown, as well as conformation. Originally the ApHC allowed "crop outs", (which is different from a CPO horse of today once blood typing became available. Occasionally 2 Quarter horses would produce a foal that had too much white usually on it's legs, and they could not be registered as Quarter horses. And occasionally 2 colored Appaloosas will produce a solid foal. In the late 70's they caused a shit storm, and this is when I stopped my membership in the organization, by allowing solid-colored or "non-characteristic" Appaloosas to be registered(Quarter horse x Quarter horse) but a foal of Appaloosa parents who did not have sufficient color was often denied registration. The registry split into 2 registries, but now with bloodtyping the parentage of a solid foal can verified and they are called CPO's. So you see Mary Ann, they are not striped white, snow white, kinda white, spots on the ears white, more stripes on the tail then his mother white, etc etc. They are WHITE Tigers or they are CPO/hetero tigers. The rest is unregulated, non standardized individuals making up what ever the world wants to hear. I stopped with the snow white debate nonsense, because I was waiting for you to ask me about Appaloosas. LOL
This is a beautiful example of the "modern" Appaloosa, and I included it to illustrate the tail for comparison below to a "rat tail" His mane is long, but because he is shown as a western pleasure horse his mane has been cut/trimmed as is the standard for western pleasure in the Quarter horse breed also.

Foundation Appaloosa--Appaloosa X Appaloosa

The three horse above are Foundation registered Appaloosa. Breeding color to color from old bloodlines dating back to 1877 and the Nez Perce Indians of what is now Oregon. Characteristics of a foundation horse are a "rat /broom tail" as above, a sparse mane, and a short thick neck with a "roman nosed" head. Today the "rat tail" trait is usually bred away from and most "modern" Appaloosas have full manes and tails. Originally bred for by the Nez Perce for it's color and not conformation. Appaloosas can have brown, blue or hazel eyes, and an individual horse may have eyes of two different colors.
This last horse is an Appaloosa Horse Club register horse. Note the quarter horse "look" and conformation.

FYI--Measuring a horse--POA/Appaloosa

To determine how tall a horse is, a horse should be measured from the ground in a straight line up to the highest point of the withers. The withers being the highest point of his shoulder, Mary Ann. For the most accurate measurement the horse should be on firm, level ground with its front feet even, or close to even.
After you have measured your horse you will need to convert the results from inches to "hands." Horse height is correctly referred to by a unit of measurement known as a "hand." One hand is equal to four inches.
The correct way of writing "14 and one-half hands" is to write "14.2". It is not accurate to write it as "14.5". When correctly written, the number before the period is the number of hands, and the number after the period is the remaining number of inches. It is spoken as "fourteen two" and "fourteen and a half."
Now the history of measuring a horse by "hand" before the invention of measuring sticks is very interesting Mary Ann. If this bores anybody, I don't care because I think it is interesting as horses have been in the service of man, longer then tigers, elephants, or any animal.
In days long ago people did not have the common measuring devices (like tape measures, etc.) that we do today. To measure a horse, they used what was handy, their hands. At various times in history and in different locales a "hand" was defined as the width of a person's hand using the fingers only, or the width of a person's hand using the fingers and the thumb, or the height of a clenched fist, and possibly others. Somewhere along the way, the measuring unit of a hand was standardized to mean four inches.

Below you will note that the original maximum height of a POA was 52 inches, or 52 divided by 4, or "thirteen hands." The registry increased this measurement to 54 inches or "thirteen two". In 1986 the registry increased the height restriction to 56 inches, or 56 inches divided by 4, or "fourteen hands." John Herriott said, "I always referred to them as 14 hand small Appaloosa horses." I suggest he can refer to them as Basset Hounds if he choses, and in an unstandardized world that is the norm, but in fact they are not. They cannot be registered as Appaloosas either if they are fourteen hands. Appaloosa is a color breed, utilizing originally the blood of Appaloosa, Quarter horse, Thoroughbreds, as well as other breeds such a Morgan and Standardbreds. The Appaloosa registry now allows only the out crossing, since 1983 of the Quarter horse, Thoroughbred, and Arabian(thank you very much) in an effort to breed a prettier more athletic animal, and the registry allows 14.1 to 15.2 hands. Like a Paint is different from a Pinto, an Appaloosa is different from a Pony of America, is different from an animal with a spotted coat.

POA--Pony of America--Brief history of the formation of the breed

In 1954, Les Boomhower was a Shetland pony breeder and a lawyer with his own practice in Mason City, Iowa. A neighbor offered Les an Arab/Appaloosa mare who had been bred to a Shetland stallion. She was due to foal that spring. Les waited until the foal was born before he bought the mare. The little colt born of this union was white with what looked like black paint smears all over his body.
In 1954, Les Boomhower was a Shetland pony breeder and a lawyer with his own practice in Mason City, Iowa. A neighbor offered Les an Arab/Appaloosa mare who had been bred to a Shetland stallion. She was due to foal that spring. Les waited until the foal was born before he bought the mare. The little colt born of this union was white with what looked like black paint smears all over his body.
To be registered as a POA, strict guidelines were followed. The pony had to be between the height limits of 44 inches to 52 inches. The head was to be small and dished as the Arab; the body was to be muscled as the Quarter Horse; and the coloring had to be Appaloosa, visible at 40 feet. This was to be a breed for children to ride and show. So these equines must also be gentle and easy to train.
The height limit of the breed increased to 46 inches and 54 inches in 1963. It was about this time the Shetland began to disappear from the POA breeding program. Larger ponies like the Welsh and small horses like the wild mustang and the Arab were combined with Indian ponies, Quarter Horses and Appaloosas by the breeders to achieve that "little horse" look. The membership voted in 1985 to again raise the upper height limit to 56 inches beginning in 1986.

POA--Pony of America

Cirque Raul Gilbault Medrano

Just because it is from Europe is no guarantee of greatness. Anymore then a family name is. It will always be about individuals. This is the act that John Herriott noted the sloppy oblique. Wouldn't you rather compete against this, instead of a Knie or Casselly offering? John Cooper, there is a famous equestrian family from England, and I do not recall the name now. There is a son working as an instructor/trainer at a riding stable. Maybe the name starts with an S. He is the one who trained this act, and watched it crumble shortly after delivery. I have been there, done that way too many times. There are not too many artists, that enjoy watching their painting get destroyed regardless of whether somebody else owns them.