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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Posted on 04/09/2003 9:31:48 AM PDT by kattracks
Iraqis Scramble to Take Horses From Govt.
By ALEXANDRA ZAVIS .c The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - It was enough to make a Texan president's heart swell: Hassan Atiya, an Iraqi on horseback, riding off into the chaos of wartime Baghdad with a vigorous wave and an exclamation - ``I love you, America.''
And when it came to horse-wrangling Wednesday, he wasn't the only one.
As forces from the U.S. 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing claimed Fort Rashid, a sprawling compound in southeastern Baghdad, they found among their prizes a field filled with 40 Arabian-Appaloosa horses in brown, gray and glorious chestnut.
What followed was a scramble - a weirdly good-natured permutation of the looting elsewhere in Iraq this week.
Ordinary Iraqis took to the field and the stables beyond, corralling the horses suddenly available to them. Their scramble - filled with laughter and grins - began early Wednesday and continued late in the afternoon, testimony to the elusiveness of their equine quarry.
``For my mother!'' one man shouted as he claimed a horse. Others said they planned to sell their prizes.
Artillery fire echoed nearby through the afternoon, making some of the horses skittish and more elusive. They snorted, darted and bolted as they tried to elude capture.
Nearby, Marines stood guard over parts of the fort as they scoured it for dangers and tried to secure its every corner - including areas where AK-47s and ammunition were found. They kept Iraqis at a distance, but some of those chasing horses sprinted by and jubilantly greeted American forces.
``Bush!'' they said, turning their thumbs up as they smiled.
Then the thumbs went down. ``Saddam!'' they yelled in disapproval. Marines waved and smiled back.
The fort - home to an airfield and athletic facilities, among other equipment - was chockablock with looting fodder. Iraqis emerged from buildings toting chairs, tables, even sofas. The Marines made no move to stop them.
Some Iraqis mounted the horses and were immediately unseated. Others tied animals to fences in preparation to take them away. Groups of men worked together to corner restive animals. The more skilled ones got their horses in harnesses and led them down the road, laughing.
Atiya was one of those who succeeded. As he prepared to ride off, he complained of a life with ``no food and no rice'' for his two children, his wife, and the third baby on the way.
``I love you, America!'' he shouted before drawing his finger across his throat as he said one more word: ``Saddam.''
Then, bareback and barefoot, he pointed his horse toward the road and was on his way.
04/09/03 12:17 EDT
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Seems strange, that they would be cross-breeding their purebred Arabians.
I'd like to see some photos of these horses. Anything's possible, I guess, but why would there be breeding stock of Apps in the area? They're not generally very good looking horses (other than the spots) and they're very definitely an American breed and more specifically western U.S. Perhaps the reporter just saw some young, dark dapple grays and assumed they were Apps. If they are in fact spotted horses, it's more likely they're Knabstrup or one of the other spotted European breeds. Even a Paint horse would be a more likely cross with Arabs.
I don't particularly care for Egyptian Arabs (prefer the Polish lines - smarter and sounder) but I can't imagine any serious horsebreeder wanting to outcross his Arabs to Appaloosas.
I don't think they are...imagine crossing an Arabian with an Appy? Cross-breeding is supposed to produce an improved strain...they should be crossing them both with donkeys if they want to improve both breeds. LOL (Now I'm in trouble.)
Series, seems like I recall some pretty dappled Arabians, the author is proabably confused.
I just hope, the Iraqi don't eat them.
Horse people, what a lot we are..lol
They've always been primarily a Western Pleasure horse, and probably because of the limited gene pool the general run of Apps has always had a lot of both conformation and cosmetic faults - most notably cow hocks, ewe neck, large ugly head, wall eyes, and a sparse mane and tail. And the typical low to the ground, stocky App is the antithesis of the big leggy T'bred that's my "ideal horse". In any event, I would think that keeping the quality coloration would require outcross to, say, a good Paint line (in essence Quarter Horses with white on the body) rather than something as far out of the original gene pool as Arab.
Not much meat on a racing type T'bred. It would be a shame though if a high-bred T'bred or Arab winds up pulling some farmer's cart. But that's where the Godolphin Barb was rescued from - pulling a cart in Paris - and he is one of the three foundation sires of the T'breds. I hope they know how to feed them properly. The hot-bloods can't survive on just hay and forage.
And yet (although many of the offspring look o.k.) some of them look distinctly inferior to the dams. Looking at the photos of the sire, he's still got the characteristic sickle hocks of the breed, he's slightly over at the knee and pigeon toed in front, and his hooves look small, round and weak. (Of course, he's not shod.)
Now, one of my favorite Trakehner mares is so pigeon toed that her nickname is "Pidge", and it doesn't seem to affect her surefootedness or freedom of movement in any way (she's competed at 2nd level Dressage) but it still is a bit odd to see that much conformational weakness in a sire.
Another photo of the same offspring you posted shows some of the conformational weakness a little more clearly, although ideally you would like to see him standing rather than in bascule (which camouflages a lot). His hindquarters look relatively weak and his shoulder straight.
Obviously he's a talented natural jumper (and a lot of Apps are) and he's winning in hunter. These are rarified heights for Apps! Unfortunately the following is more typical:
No horse shall be registered with the ApHC that has draft, pony, albino, Pinto, or Paint breeding.
(Rule #205 Section B. Horses not eligible for registration. Appaloosa Horse Club Rule book.)
You might find the above link, informative, and interesting.
Foaled 1933.
Double Six Domino. Foaled 1943.
Foaled 1963.
If they don't allow outcross to Paints, it's probably because the bicolor gene interferes with or masks the App gene. That isn't true with, for example, bicolor and Calico cats, but it must be with horses. That being the case, I would outcross with Quarter Horse instead (getting the body type but avoiding the color muddling).
I understand why not pony (what is a POA? any kin to the Apps?) and why not albino (I wouldn't cross albino into anything, they are a genetic accident just waiting to happen if it hasn't already) and a draft-App would be just plain ugly (there's one on the other website you linked, half Percheron, and he is, indeed, just plain ugly. Common head + common head = ick.)
I do wonder if the App. breeders are going to settle on a type or if it's going to wind up being one of those vague "color breeds". Some of the breeders seem to be going for a Warmblood look with Hanovers, Traks, and the heavier TBs, some are going for the western stock horse look. And if Arab is coming into the mix too, we're going to have an extremely wide range of body types with the only thing in common being the SPOTS.
/sarcasm
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