>>> is there any breed everyone would agree is high strung? How about >>> saddlebreds? To me they are firebreathing hyped.
Well, first of all, the show saddlebreds are usually kept in tiny dark stalls, so they will appear exactly like you say when they see the light of day in the show ring... Have you ever stopped to consider the self-fulfilling-prophecy angle behind what you're seeing...? As in maybe some of the "high strung" breeds really aren't so much "high strung"...but when they are shown to appear that way, they attract a certain kind of person, who in turns buys them and expects them to behave that way...and the cycle is in place. Even to the point that less hyped people tend to pass on them...? I mean, what kind of person wants a prancey, hyped horse badly enough that they will light-deprive them to get that effect? (Not to mention depriving them of companionship and exercise...) I had the crazy-Arab conversation recently with my vet, when he was checking Thunder. I said something about him being just as "crazy" as always...and obviously he wasn't being crazy at all. He was just as cool as a cucumber - alert and interested but mellow. My vet said that he really has never seen too much of the "crazy" side of any of the Arabs in his practice - he said that most of the ones that he deals with seem to be nice, mannerly trail horses. But, I don't think he has any Arab show barns in his practice. Coincidence? I don't know. I sure wouldn't have bought an Arab if I'd seen the show stuff before we met Thunder. That crazy stuff would have turned me off. This angle REALLY worries me because I've had people come here to visit my Icelandics tell me that, after seeing some demo at an Equine Affaire or such, they went away with the idea that Icelandics were "firebreathing." Literally, at least one woman used that very word, the same one you used for Saddlebreds. If there's ever been a breed that I would NOT consider "high strung", it would be Icelandic's, but even Icelandic's can appear that way with some effort. Of all my Icelandic's, the most mellow, low-key, even lazy one would be my sweet Loftur. When I was considering taking him as a rehab, the traditionalists on the list at the time made dire predictions that he was just "goey", too "willing" for his then-owner, blah, blah. "Too much horse..." Loftur wasn't goey, or willing, and he only bolted because he was in pain. Karen Thomas, NC
