>>> If we do not use a system it is like 'pinning the tail on the donkey'. >>> We have an excellent internationally recognised well documented system >>> of assessment and we should use it to help us make informed decisions. >>> Are the odds of pinning the tail in the correct place on the donkey >>> better or worse than winning the Euro lottery:-)"
Who says it's excellent? The only people I've heard call it that are puffed up chest-beaters within the breed. And, actually, I think it's a lot worse to have a bad standard than no standard at all. Without the "breeding evaluations" maybe more people would look to knowledgeable horsemen outside this little closed-circle. >>> What type of system bases gait scored on manipulated gaits and expects >>> future generations to inherit them? Here's another example of something ludicrous I read just this week. Someone said her mare got a lower conformation score as she aged. Why? She's had a few babies and showed some of the unfortunate signs all of us who've been pregnant have discovered - the effects of gravity. But, for heaven's sakes, these are supposed to be BREEDING evaluations. It makes NO sense that a mare should be penalized for doing the very thing the evaluations are for. With that logic, I suppose men should move on to a new, younger trophy wife after each wife has a baby, since that implies that the DNA somehow gets corrupted if the outside of the "package" isn't quite so pristine any more. Sheesh. Karen Thomas, NC
