Padi's Celtic Caper by Mountain Pearl out of Magrathea by Ten Yard Star xx
Friday, January 29, 2010
Una at 3 years of age
Padi's Copper Bling by Mountain Pearl RID out of Incredustar xx (by Ten Yard Star xx)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Pedigree and inspection
Currently, the Irish Draught inspection scores includes pedigree. In a rare breed that is threatened by the lack of diversity in its bloodlines, I believe that it is essential to include the pedigree in the inspections. The inclusion of the pedigree in the scoring draws attention to the fact that pedigree is an important part of preserving the breed. I don't believe a horse should pass or fail because of its pedigree, but breeders need to have some kind encouragement for retaining entire colts from old bloodlines for inspection. If scoring the pedigree plays even a tiny part in that encouragement I would hate to see it abandoned by any short sighted people.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
God bless Dr. Deb Bennett
I just finished reading Deb Bennett's newest article in Equus for the third time. The magazine has been publishing a series of her articles on conformation analysis recently. The most recent one is very illuminating and puts some science into what I have been trying to express about what may possibly be the theme of this blog. This month's article is entitled "A sense of proportion". Here are the highlights:
"A horse's overall size and the stoutness of his legs govern his whole working life"
"Bigger horse = less substance"
"Bone density is related to weight, not breed"
"The smaller the horse, the greater the chance that bone density will be normal"
"I advise you to select a horse for riding use that weighs less than 1,300 pounds. This conforms with scientific results and the laws of biomechanics, yet still provides a very wide range of choices"
From:
"A sense of proportion" ; Deb Bennett, PhD. Equus Issue 388 January 2010 p. 42-49.
In view of this information, I would suggest that the Irish Draught preservationists abandon their lament about the loss of bone in the breed. The real culprits are the increase in height and weight, the ill-conceived notion of changing the purebred ID into a warmblood/sport horse, and the rapidly diminishing traditional type with it's equally rapidly dying traditional bloodlines.
"A horse's overall size and the stoutness of his legs govern his whole working life"
"Bigger horse = less substance"
"Bone density is related to weight, not breed"
"The smaller the horse, the greater the chance that bone density will be normal"
"I advise you to select a horse for riding use that weighs less than 1,300 pounds. This conforms with scientific results and the laws of biomechanics, yet still provides a very wide range of choices"
From:
"A sense of proportion" ; Deb Bennett, PhD. Equus Issue 388 January 2010 p. 42-49.
In view of this information, I would suggest that the Irish Draught preservationists abandon their lament about the loss of bone in the breed. The real culprits are the increase in height and weight, the ill-conceived notion of changing the purebred ID into a warmblood/sport horse, and the rapidly diminishing traditional type with it's equally rapidly dying traditional bloodlines.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
