Tuesday 27th, September 2005
Where is the master plan?09/27/2005 12:30 PM
Horse breeds are dynamic and changes over time. The breeds that do not
change to meet the need of the users/market will disappear. An example
of breeds that are quickly disappearing is the various cold blood breeds.
The cold bloods are replaced with machines and have not been able to find
a new niche in the market and are therefore more or less kept alive by
a few enthusiasts.
The ancient breeds that might be bred for preservational purposes, like
the Akhal-Teke (and the Arabian) breed that is a valuable thoroughbred
horse from ancient times, that must be kept for future generations to come,
are in a difficult situation. A breed can not survive unless it has
a market demand, this is a usage that it sought after by modern people.
But an ancient breed that also has a preservational goal for the
population must be managed to that the breed does not loose the traits
that once made it worth preserving.
The responsability for the organisations and their managers that claim
that they work for the breed, that takes our money to register, keep statistics
etc, that wants us to show them the results of our work in shows, grading
etc must be competent enough to work out a master plan for the breed
that can be accepted by the experts and the market, they must have the
integrity to be trusted by the breeders.
The master plan must be communicated to all breeders so that they can work
out their breeding goals from the plan in their work of selection. The
test of whether the master plan works will be judged by the market.
The present situation in the west for the Akhal-Teke breed its that most
horses are bred without a master plan and without goals, this has led to
a deteriotation of type and quality of the breed. This is due to the failure
of the present breed organisations to work out and promote a master plan
for the breed.
In my opinion the breed here is in dire need for guidance and support to
get a chance to survive with a big enough population. An efficient way
to achieve breed progress is to increase the selection pressure, which
is best done by a tough selection of stallions for breeding. The selection
of stallion and mare is always done by the breeder, but in our case in
the west I really suggest a stronger support and guidance to what stallions
that can be recommended for improvement. I am radical and think that we
need to approve breeding stallions to save what we can of the breed here
for future generations. Under the present situation though, I cannot
see who would be trusted to evaluate and approve stallions according to
the master plan as there is no master plan and no trust between the breeders
and breed associations.
