Doing the face conformation got me thinking on this, but the one breed I hear so many people tearing apart is the Arabian. If you read my last talkative tidbit on facial conformation, you might have noticed how I distinguished between the American Arabian and the Arabian Arabian. The American Arabian is what most people think about when they think of the breed, and the words I most often hear associated with those thoughts include: ugly, hot tempered, stupid, froo-froo, etc. This is, of course, not to offend any American Arabian owners. I personally have no problem with them. However, let's look at the common American inbred Arabian where the breeder's goal was probably to further emphasize the high set neck, the dish face, and the high, "flippy" tail. So here are two examples:
This is just bad... Whomever let this horse's sire and dam breed to create this should not be breeding horses. But, it's commonly a result of inbreeding to get that highly coveted dish face among many Arabian owners. When the face gets this bad, you actually risk the bone collapsing and suffocating the horse. It isn't natural.
Another example of an American Arabian.
Again, that's what people commonly think of when they take Arabian horses down. I'm not saying that there aren't lovely Arabian horses in the States, there are, but I want all the Arabian haters to look at the pure lines in Arabia. These horses are stunning, intelligent, and not hot. Honestly, the breed is no "hotter" than the average thoroughbred. It's the rider that makes them hot and nervous.
From the Asil Arabian Horse Book. Notice how his head is hardly even dished. He is rather downhill, but that might work for what some people do with their horses. His tail also doesn't flip over itself like some American Arabian horse tails do.
Here's another from King Abdul-Aziz in Saudi Arabia. Just lovely, in my opinion. No high tail. Slightly dished face. Filled out neck. Leggy.
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