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How things have changed in the horse world.

2K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Kentucky 
#1 ·
I was just looking through some old bloodlines on all breed pedigree and looking at some of the pix. Oh how things have changed in the QH world. What we consider to be attractive now was unimaginable back in the old days and what they thought was the cream of the crop back then is completely different from what we have now I also thougt it was interesting to look at the picture bloodlines of some of todays leading sires and just see how many of their ancestors would not be considered good breeding stock at first glance these days.

Zips Chocolate Chip Quarter Horse

Peptoboonsmal Quarter Horse

Hollywood Dun It Quarter Horse

Kid Clu Quarter Horse

And of course, the always controversial Impressive
Impressive Quarter Horse

It is amazing how many champions came from such humble beginnings. Some of the horses in early bloodlines were just downright ugly, conformational nightmares. :shock:
 
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#2 ·
I read something about this on Fugly Horse of the day. I wish I could find it again!

Allie help! I know you are a dedicated reader of FHOTD!

Anyways she made some very interested points about why some of these horses look so terrible as opposed to today's horses.

-Lack of proper nutrition
-Lack or respoinsible hoof care
-Did ride horse in frame

I'm sure you get what I am trying to say.

But some of those old horses I've look at them and gone "Oh my! Are you kidding?!"
 
#3 ·
I understand or at think i do were you are coming from. personally I think while some of those early horse were different compared today's "great" studs. allot of those horse were worked out in the pastured alside the other ranch horses. Today, so many of the top sires are in the field, stable, and breeding shed, aafter a show careetr that usually ends about age 7 or so. Where the studs like Old Sorrel, was used as a ranch on the King Ranch. a lesser known ranch horse Bartender had a reputation as a solid working or as some people would call it a using horse. In the photos that you provided the photo of Royal King was 3 children who look like they are under the age of5 sitting there like it is nothing.

I also don't think that those horse all look that bad some of them like Poco Bueno, King, and several others. I also think conformationwise that the top performance horse have down down in quality compared to the ones form years ago. Right now the top cutting stud is High Brow Cat, compare him to the cutting studs of the past Peppy San Badger not to even compare hi to the orginally Peppy or Mr San Peppy. Little Peppy has a much heavier bone structure, he was a using horse too. They used him to work cattle the day of a big show. You wouldn't see a big name cuttewr doing that work today, it might wear him out.
 
#6 ·
I didn't read the fugly article but I wonder if it has something to do with the history of the breed. They were started as race horses right? Looking at some of the current horses that are bred for halter class, you have to wonder if they could still run the quarter mile :lol:
 
#7 ·
Judging by the size of the feet on these halter horses, it's a wonder they could walk a quarter mile.
 
#8 ·
When I looked at Justice's pedigree and all the pictures there were many I thought were down right ugly but those horses were the cream of the crop back in their day. Horses then had jobs they weren't the spoiled pets they have become today, they worked and worked hard. People have changed things, not the horses with each generation that passes the one before seems so obsolete in their beliefs of how a horse should be handled, trained, cared for and put together.
Add to that a spin on the whole breeding controversy there is not a one of us that owns a horse conformationally correct by our standards or not that did not have a bucket full of ill conformed horses in their background by standards today so in another 50+ years our beliefs on what a perfect horse is will be looked upon just as we view horses from the past.
 
#10 ·
Yeah, I understand about the difference in basic care between then and now but some of them really were conformational nightmares from the bone structure up. I consider myself pretty good at looking past the surface appearance of what they may be lacking (feed, muscle, hoof care, deworming, etc.) to see the basic structure underneath. One of the things that I consider really wrong with horses today is that we are more concerned with them being pretty than actually functional. Halter horses are a perfect example, many of them would be unable to remain sound under ranch work conditions, some of the cutting horses are so downhill that they couldn't pull a steer if you asked them to, etc. That is the big thing from back then, even though they were fugly, they proved their worth by how much they could do, not who their grandaddy was or how pretty they were.

Sorry, not to start a rant. ;p
 
#11 ·
smrobs that was really what I was getting at, horses then were more than a pretty face so to speak especially in our neck of the woods where ranching has always been big business. Horses then could work 12-14 hr days rounding up cattle or plowing fields and never miss a beat today spend 30 min on a horse and they are done.. pasture version of couch potatoes and foofoo pets..
ok now I'm done with my rant to lol
 
#12 ·
I completely get you. That is how I judge a good horse is by what he/she can do. Anymore, I really don't care about pedigree's. 2 of my favorite horses in the world are mutts (mustangs) who have some serious appearance issues but they are sound, strong, and able. I like to sit on a horse that has some mass (but not too much) that has bones and feet under him that are strong enough to take off running across a rough pasture without worrying if he is gonna take a bad step and break a leg. I know that can happen with any horse but it is much less likely when they have big bones. Like my Dad always says "When I climb in the saddle, I like to feel like I have a HORSE under me."
 
#13 ·
I completely get you. That is how I judge a good horse is by what he/she can do. Anymore, I really don't care about pedigree's. 2 of my favorite horses in the world are mutts (mustangs) who have some serious appearance issues but they are sound, strong, and able. I like to sit on a horse that has some mass (but not too much) that has bones and feet under him that are strong enough to take off running across a rough pasture without worrying if he is gonna take a bad step and break a leg. I know that can happen with any horse but it is much less likely when they have big bones. Like my Dad always says "When I climb in the saddle, I like to feel like I have a HORSE under me."
I still like some bloodlines and I do look at them but I would rather have a horse like what you talked abut that a horse with great bloodlines but not be anything but paperwork.
 
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