(Annoying, the way they put "world" and "all nations" in these European shows, kind of like the world series for baseball, how many nations is that then?)
Remember Poganinka?
Well today I'm more excited than ever about a horse - his name is Kabsztad and he's Mag's brother, and he makes me swoon.
He will not win, sadly, because the show is funded by the UAE farms, and the latest Al Shaqab superstar is slated to win. He is a good one, but presented like a freak, never really trotting. Kabsztad trotted exactly like a Monogramm heir would. I watched all the videos of all the senior stallions classes and made my little list of which horses I want to win, and which horses are so awful they don't belong in public. (And Poganinka presented beautifully.)
As I watched the classes, I surprised myself when I recognized the particular look of that disease carrier, and when I looked him up, I was right. Hey, I'm getting better at this!
The favorite for Poland though, is Equator. I like him very much too, he's almost as good as his brother Pogrom, who you remember from Aachen:
Equator looks just like this, but with a shorter face.
I'm a member of a FB group called "Fans of Michalow Arabian Stud - Poland" and it's fun to see the people waving the red and white flag, and cheering on the family of Mag.
And they admit, these horses have no chance when the judges are corrupt.
Now please enjoy the video from yesterday of my favorite, Kabsztad, brother of Mag:
Although big brother (2006) is wearing a lot less mud today, I think Mag's got the better ears: )
Oh, what's gonna happen? I'll be up late tonight watching.
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3 comments:
So gorgeous!!!! You can definitely see the family resemblance!
Wow, that video is exciting. Here's what I really liked about it: even though the horse was clearly fed bumblebees and rubber bands for breakfast, and the crowd and the handler are jazzing him up even further, he does not completely lose his sh*t. He is there to perform his task, and he does exactly that: he PERFORMS. I can almost imagine him with a matador's cape, twirling and preening so that people will throw flowers and faint with admiration. This performing is a game to this horse, one he clearly enjoys. He's having fun out there, and it's lovely to see.
Also, the handler: did you see the size of the strides on that guy? A normal person would have flopped over exhausted after a few of those jaunts around the arena (sand footing, too!) but he just kept leaping along. Impressive!
I'm not up on the "disease" thing. Can you please tell more?
If I'm honest, I would not want to ride that trot! So much boingity. Of course, under saddle you can *capture* that energy and direct it forward. But seriously bone-jarring to those of us who lack a few essential bone structures.
And here's this: watching the trot outs at an endurance ride, Dr Nance pointed out to me that the top teams trot out in sync--the handler's feet and the front feet of the horse are absolutely in step. I don't see that here. More like two prima donna ballerinas dancing to different music. Dr. N said that it was an indication of a horse and rider that had spent so much time listening to each other that they do it without intention by the mid-point of a long ride. Clearly not the case here--and clearly not important. But interesting.
Aarene, Gene Nance, the straight B vetting in vet. Remember? When I brought him Baasha that last ride, he said, "My, but he has soft eyes!": ) : ) : ) How are you supposed to get an A on your card if you're too exhausted/sore to jog properly, and your horse matches your lame pace? *lol* Oh, "top teams" don't get so sore they can't run!
I'm glad you enjoyed it - and I'm sorry to say the spazzing out horse won, who wouldn't trot properly. I am sad K did not win, but thrilled to have seen Mag's brother. (And I'm always astonished at how cheap Mag was (for Germany) despite his father's stud fee being the highest at Michalow! (Poganin was champion at Aachen last year, when I was not there, *snap*) You commented on that video's boinginess too: )
I am very passionate that people should not breed to carriers, because in a few generations we could completely eliminate the disease CA. Before, we had no way of knowing, but there is a test now dammit!! In fact, in Germany, all breeding stallions must be tested and have their results posted publicly! I've seen carriers on that list that I've met in real life: ( People say the breed will lose its diversity if we cut these horses out of the gene pool, but I just can't believe that. People say carrier to carrier matches only result in affected foals 25% of the time, so it's worth it. Not to me, because of the heartbreaking stories I've read, and the awful videos I've seen.
http://www.cerebellar-abiotrophy.org/
You tube has other examples as well of horses never given a chance because their cerebellums disintegrate. What I recently learned is that the condition exists in HUMANS! But of course we don't put them down, we give them therapy until they can stand on their own, and maybe even walk someday.
WH Justice is a popular breeding stallion, called "The champion maker" and indeed he's freakishly beautiful, and they are not hiding that he is a carrier - the info is right there. When I saw a freakishly pretty face yesterday I knew it was a Justice horse, and I was right. In Aachen, a Justice son won: ( And now more foals will be born with no chance at life.
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