Breed Standard – yes or no?
For centuries, the Arabian horse was the warhorse of the Bedouins and, later on, a riding horse for the European cavalry, as well as an improver of cavalry horse breeds. The quintessence, therefore, has always been: the Arabian horse is a riding horse. This was still the case when most breeding associations were founded, and so they included this vital aspect in their breed standard, always keeping in mind that function (riding) determines form (conformation).
But what exactly is a breed standard? It is defined by breeding associations and describes the characteristic traits of a breed that are pursued as the breeding goal. WAHO, as the overarching umbrella organization of all breeding associations for the Arabian horse, has wisely not defined a breed standard, believing that doing so would restrict the diversity of types of the Arabian horse that prevailed in its region of origin. However, individual national breeding associations usually do have a breed standard, and this can vary from country to country. Let’s take a look at how the breed standard is defined in Germany (at the VZAP, this definition is tucked away in the ‘Breeding Program for the Purebred Arabian Breed’). There, under ‘Breeding Goal,’ we read: ‘The Purebred Arabian should express high nobility and dryness in its appearance, with a compact and harmonious conformation. The Purebred Arabian should be an uncomplicated horse with a strong character, calm nerves, and an easy-going yet enthusiastic disposition, capable, willing to perform, and versatile, suitable for all kinds of riding and sporting purposes. Due to its rapid recovery capacity and ability to sustain high endurance efforts, it should be suitable for covering long distances, but also for racing. Furthermore, robust health, good physical and mental resilience, longevity, fertility, and freedom from hereditary defects are desired.’ This is followed by the ‘Characteristics and Main Features’ with the sub-points: type, head, neck, conformation, limbs, basic gaits, jumping talent, rideability, interior traits, performance potential, and health.
Fundamentally, there is nothing to object to in this breed standard—but where and when did things deviate from it, and why?
Now, presenting a horse in hand is easier, cheaper, and less time-consuming than training it under saddle, and even foals and yearlings can be shown. As a result, showing in hand became popular for the Arabian horse, and ECAHO was indirectly able to create another, different breed standard through this new ‘purpose,’ where ‘type’ suddenly outweighed all other aspects. However, this ‘show horse standard’ has one major flaw: it puts the artificially created form (defined by the entirety of the judges according to their ideal of beauty) first, and the function last. With this reversal of the weighting of these two aspects, the show scene finds itself on the same dead-end path as breeders of dogs and cats who breed exclusively for a few dubious beauty traits, such as short noses, sloping toplines, and hydrocephalic heads.
Gudrun Waiditschka
