Some things are rare for a reason
Jun 21 2007
Recently, I was pointed to the latest trendy phenomenon in the equine world – the Sorraia Mustang. This isn’t your garden variety, $125 from the BLM and $42 at your local killer auction mustang. Oh no! This is a very rare sort of a mustang that traces back to a total of eleven horses that some dude on a huntin’ trip met up with in 1920. From reading his account, I suspect he met up with some adult beverages first! Allow me to quote:
“in 1920, on a hunting trip in the region of Coruche, on the lower Sorraia (river), on the ‘Sesmaria’ estate, I saw a herd of ca. 30 individuals, more than half of them were light duns, some were grullas, many with superabundant stripes, and generally in all aspects absolutely wild, or primitive, as if they were a species of zebra, or a hemionus (halfass) species.”
They’re a half-ass species? Well hell, that certainly explains a lot. However, as a horsewoman of some decades experience, all I see here is a fugly, badly conformed and admittedly inbred horse that someone is trying to preserve. Look at the herd below. We see uniformly bad shoulders, long backs, short croups and fuuuuugly heads.
Unlike the American Warmblood Society, which embraces diversity like a bunch of university professors at a rally for Gay Left-Handed Taiwanese Victims of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (watch for a future entry on that topic), the Sorraia mustangs do have a breed standard, and thanks to all of that inbreeding, there is no deviation from it. It’s just fuuuuugly and I don’t see how it is structured to actually be able to do anything. (The web site shows its talent at sliding down a hill and chasing cows with a stick, both things I can accomplish with a $325 breeding stock paint from the local killer auction). But that’s ok, it doesn’t have to do anything. It is a rare and special breed and, much like Paris Hilton or Leona Helmsley, both of whom believe the same to be true about themselves, should therefore only have to exist and be waited upon.
“All Sorraias descend from only 11 or 12 animals that d’Andrade secured in the 1930s, and inbreeding is therefore extremely high. “
OK, so the gene pool is the size of a plastic kiddy swimmer from Wally-Mart? Why do you think this is good? If that was what your family tree looked like, you’d be appalled. (And probably cross-eyed and knock kneed to boot.)
The one question you can tell the Sorraia “preservationists” have not asked themselves is why this critter was still running wild and basically in the process of becoming extinct in the early part of the 20th century. Could it possibly be related to the fact that it’s a low quality, inbred, badly put together, primitive looking horse who has no athletic ability which would warrant its upgrade to a life of Burberry-print fly masks, visits from the equine chiropractor, and Mrs. Fields’ Horse Cookies?
If you don’t think deliberately inbreeding wild useless creatures together with no purpose is a bad idea, I want you to imagine the results if we mated Lindsey Lohan and that moron son of Rod Stewart’s who just got in trouble for assault and then mated their children together for the next 80 years. Oh hell, at least those would have better noses…
8 comments to “Some things are rare for a reason”
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The best part of the Sorria is that the guys who “discovered” them originally thought they were the primitive ancestor of the Andalusian. BUT they are apparently the only horses on the Iberian peninsula that are NOT related to Andalusians according to DNA evidence. LOL! Of course they ARE related to the American Mustang. It makes sense that these were the horses brought to America by the Spaniards though, who would bring their good ones? If I was travelling to an unknown land and knew I would be leaving the horses behind that I brought, to possibly be eaten by natives or wolves, I certainly would NOT bring my best horses.
The breed standard on these “lovely” animals requires them to be narrow in the shoulder, have long ears, and a long thin face with and a roman nose. Have you EVER seen that on any other breed?
starlitefabulous. scathing social commentary morphed with actual knowledge of horse history and conformation.
Keep it up Cowboy
Well its good to know that opinions vary. i see this is the comment of the dish faced bug eyed arab head. As far as structurally unsound have you ever ridden one, seen one in person or just seen photos? Perhaps the foal that you criticize for its head , you have never seen one similar in a Lusitano.
All there is a huge difference in the feral american mustang and spanish or sorraia mustangs. Do the research before mouth engages. Also you might want to at least id the pics as the owner of them tends to take copyright infringement pretty seriously.
Y’all have a nice day
I have seen (and ridden) one of the (only two) Sorrias in the US, and he looks exactly like the horses in the photos.
I have to say that while I enjoy many of your posts, your lack of knowledge (or even basic research) is showing here.
Sorraia horses in Portugal are NOT the same as the Sorraia Mustangs in the US. They do show some genetic similarities, but the Sorraia Mustangs in the US are not bred from the few that were found in Portugal in this century. How could they have? The mustangs have been here for centuries.
Just because a horse has what some might think is an ugly head, doesn’t mean that the rest of him is bad. I rather like the deep hip on this colt and the nicely shaped neck and shoulder. He also looks to have pretty good bone.
MY EYES!!!!!!
If these mustangs are related to Sorraia horses then ithey must be very distant relations: I’ve chekced my book of breeds (love it) and I don’t see any tapir nosed Sorraias (to tell the turth, the Sorraia featured was darn adorable: http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/927/15005953.JPG
Apart from the colours, I can’t see how the above horse and the tapir nosed foal are rleated