This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Arthur Rivoire) Hi Steve,
>Carol, > That was my point in replying to your post. Namely that it isn't >clear to me (it still isn't, even after this post) how your >statements about the European breeding systems being positive, and >Von Bon's comments you repeated about declining stallion "strength" >are anything but contradictory. > Will you clarify this for us? I'll try. First of all, Steve, Van Bon never said anything about a general "declining of stallion strength." What he did say was (and I don't remember his exact words), but the gist of it was - "There are fewer really strong stallions like Gjest and Myrstein these days." This was one person's thought . . . maybe his personal opinion. Maybe he's wrong in this perception. Maybe he's right. Maybe the truth is that stallions like Gjest and Myrstein are exceptional individuals, and would be rare in any time. However, what I interpreted from his comments was that there were more of that type of stallion in the old days. Let's just say, for argument's sake, this is a fact. That today's breeding stallions, overall, (meaning in all Fjord countries) aren't as strong as 50 years ago. How would a Studbook (breed registry) know this? They'd know because the Studbook owns the stallions, and administers their keep, handling, and breeding. The Studbook tests, and keeps records on fertility, libido, performance, longevity & health. Records are also kept for offspring; for example - conformation evaluations, performance, health, longevity & reproduction. All of these things reflect back on the stallions, for better or worse. It's an efficient system able to stay on top of any changes in the breed. In my opinion, there's everything positive, and nothing negative about a breed registry being so experienced, knowledgeable, and aware that they're able to spot small problems, and take steps to fix them before they get to be big problems. So, that's the best I can do to clarify. A strong breed registry with a system designed to encourage quality breeding, and weed out inferior quality is obviously better than a registry without such a system. My intention was to provoke a discussion on the subject of safeguarding the breed, and to make people aware that for us in North America, the job is harder as we don't have as many controls over quality as they do in Europe. However, we do have some controls, thank goodness. The NFHR's rule on cross-breeding, DNA testing, inspection of stallion's teeth and testicles, and the fledgling Evaluations. All this is good, but in my opinion, more would be better. Regards, Carol Carol and Arthur Rivoire Beaver Dam Farm Fjords II R.R. 7 Pomquet Antigonish County Nova Scotia B2G 2L4 902 386 2304 http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/beaverdf