From: mlr21@cas.org (Mary Lee Raines)
Subject: Re: comment on low head carriage and bad equitation now popular
Organization: Chemical Abstracts Service
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 21:19:56 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.204610.6721@desire.wright.edu>, sbishop@desire.wright.edu writes:
|> In article <1993Jan21.214034.26706@cas.org>, mlr21@cas.org (Mary Lee Raines) writes:
|> > In article <1jkjd9INN7gk@morrow.stanford.edu>, GC.SUL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullys Maze) writes:
|> > |> Since we have rainy weather I have loaded up on all the free horse
|> > |> magazines and newspapers.  Maybe someone can explain something.  All
|> > |> the big full page ads for Stallions and trained Quarter horses
|> > |> typically have a photo of the horse in the show ring.  Horse has his
|> > |> head down to the bottom of his chest, rider is sitting very
|> > |> slouched, with his legs and feet well forward of his seat.  This
|> > |> loks like very poor equitation to me (this is western), and I
|> > |> thought AQHA was getting away from low head carriages.  There is
|> > |> often another photo of the same horse being ridden hunt seat, again
|> > |> with the same really low head carriage (now this looks REALLY
|> > |> stupid-the horse doesn't look like he is on the bit at all), and
|> > |> again, the rider has very rounded shoulders.
|> > |> What gives?
|> > |> 
|> > |> Karen
|> > 
|> > I hope that maybe all the free horse magazines and newspapers you've
|> > stocked up on are at least a couple years old.  :^)
|> > 
|> > Otherwise, it's still a case of the breed registries having made the
|> > rule changes, but the folks that are out there getting their pictures
|> > taken haven't bothered to read about the changes (or haven't bothered
|> > to learn how to do it correctly).
|> > 
|> > Or, maybe, well, we can hope this might be the case--the class is over
|> > and the horse and rider are just relaxing ???  (No such luck?)
|> > 
|> > Mary Lee
|> > Ravenswood Apps
|> 
|> One other thing, people can put anything they want in an ad.  So, often
|> they use some old photo from when head carriage was lower.  If the stallion
|> is retired to stud, maybe they don't have any recent shots of him with
|> out the hay belly and shaggy head.
|> 
|> This reminds me of the photo of an Appy stallion I saw advertised some
|> years ago.  He was a Secretariat son or grandson, I forget which.  Absolutely
|> the *UGLIEST* horse I've ever seen in my entire life, piggie eyes, knock-
|> kneed, cow-hocked, ewe-necked, roman-nosed, totally aweful.  But his
|> owners obviously thought he was the most gorgeous horse in the world,
|> they had him all polished up and posed in an arch of flowers..... It
|> was so pathetic..... and funny.......
|> 
|> Sue

Now, come on, Sue, you aren't describing First Secretary, are you?

I have seen one picture of First Secretary that looked pretty bad.
Evidently he'd been sold to someone who wasn't doing too good a job
of feeding him, etc. (his coat looked bad, he was skinny). 
If I remember right, the picture was published with some mention 
about now he's got a new home and we're going to treat him right 
(something like that).   I believe his get are doing fairly well
in the hunter and jumper circles.

Besides, it took an App mare to get Secretariat to get it up.  :^)

Mary Lee Raines
Ravenswood Appaloosas