AMHA breed or registry

[JWC sr.]

I have to agree with Charlotte, Sue and Becky on this one as far as the number of quality stallions being way over the 20 number you mentioned. Here in Texas alone I know of 27 that have produced World & National caliber get that I would consider to be really top 10% quality stallions.

Then you add in the all the others spread out over the country and the number grows substantially. Here at our farm we have 13 of those stallions represented by more than one individual in the breeding pens.

Back to the question though, in my opinion we (AMHA & AMHR) are still n the stage of being a height registry. Particularly when an AMHA/AMHR bred to another AMHA/AMHR horse does not produce a respective registrable baby. You can't have it both ways in my eyes. Either they produce a baby that is maybe not eligible for the show ring, but still can be registered. Or we add in things such as height and still are a height registry.

Just my thought s on the subject anyway. By the way can I have a cup of coffee also on that front porch, it would be a lot of fun to have this discussion in person with everyone. LOL

 

[Charlotte]

By the way can I have a cup of coffee also on that front porch, it would be a lot of fun to have this discussion in person with everyone. LOL

Come on up John! The coffee is hot. I was thinking I can whip up some scones, but I bet Rabbitsfizz's would be WAY better than mine!

I think this is a good discussion too. It's good to find out what other breeders/enthusiasts are thinking and why.

Charlotte

 

[Contessa]

I just came across this yesterday and it is quite interesting about where some of the "breed" came from. www.toyhorse.co.uk/history.htm I would like to hear Rabbitsfizz thoughts on this also since she is in the UK.

 

[Contessa]

I just came across this yesterday and it is quite interesting about where some of the "breed" came from. www.toyhorse.co.uk/history.htm I would like to hear Rabbitsfizz thoughts on this also since she is in the UK. I recently purchased an appy colt who's bloodlines go back to Erminetoes.

 

[Julie/Azariah]

There are so many different aspects that go into the height registries and breed registries. This is a very interesting discussion!

Having come from breeding, AQHA, APHA and international quality warmbloods, I have some strong opinions on what SHOULD and SHOULD NOT be bred.

The Warmblood registries made it quite simple (in some ways). Mares had to be "inspected" by judges/representatives of the breed. And only a few people inspected all of the horses in the US.

The same team traveled to all inspections. Horses were judged on type, movement, conformation...and then given scores. Based on the score they were put in one of 3 or 4 stud books. Stallions had to undergo a "100 day test" ridability, conformation, temperament...based on that 100 days of "training" they were either approved or not (would be difficult to do a 100 day test for mini studs...but you get the picture)

If not approved, NONE of their foals could be registered PERIOD!!!(they could be bred of coarse, but the registry would not accept the foals) Some of the books approved the mare as type (QH, Appendix, Appy...)but did not allow foals to be registered in the breed, (it has been a long time, I am not brushed up on all of the details any more). But very simply... the horse had to be approved as the type and also not have conformation or movement flaws.

I personally saw several beautiful horses denied because of gross movement flaws. Or the unapproved mare was bred, the resulting foal was outstanding, but the mare failed at the inspection... thus...that outstanding foal was not able to be registered in that registry... Also some for just downright crummy conformation. It didn't matter WHO their parents were.... all breeding horses HAD to be inspected to produce registered foals.

This involved extra money.... time to prepare the horse for inspection (like a show) and also travel expenses to the inspection sight...

But what did it do for the breed? ONLY those who were VERY dedicated to breeding quality horses spent the time and money to have their horse inspected, and you better believe MOST people didn't take horses that would not pass inspection. Therefore...only breeding horses that would IMPROVE the breed.

That is for a BREED registry.

Having a height registry does not limit type within the breed, just limits the height. But I know of MANY AMHA horses that have outgrown their papers and folks are still breeding them.

Is that right.... NO... but there is no way, unless the horse is shown to weed those horses out. The height measurements for registration is based on the honor system... and sorry, but not all people are honest in this business.

How many people have bought horses that had one height on the papers and clearly the horse is a different height, or didn't go to see the horse and when it arrived it was WAY bigger than the seller stated....

I will get off my soapbox.... but I do think our registry and breed would be improved if we had a bit more structure in these areas... I know... time and money... people to do it....

By the way Charlotte, is that my little boy in your Avatar???? Oh isn't he so beautiful!!

I do believe that the European Miniature registries have inspections.

Not that I am saying we should definitely do this, but it sure would weed out some of the pet quality horses that are being bred.

 

[Ronnie]

Could anyone answer this question for me. Is the AMHA a breed of horse or just a registry, i have had a lot of different opinions about this from people in the UK , some say its a breed some say its a registry..What is it??

There have been a lot of good responses but the simple answer is…

No AMHA is not a breed it is a registry simply because it does not register animals above 34 inches regardless of their pedigree or genetic type.

Yes it is a height registry and it does allow animals to be registered through “hardship” regardless of pedigree or genetic type based only on height and the absence of certain defects.

A green bean is still a green bean regardless of how big it gets. It may not be shown in green bean shows if it exceeds the maximum size for the show standard, but it dose not become some other vegetable once it exceeds that size, it is still a green bean, just a big green bean.