[QUOTE=D_BaldStockings;8051253]
We’ll agree to disagree, then.
http://www.animalpages.com/gaiparada/pix/gp-action.jpg
If you have not seen Arabs (or other Saddleseat breeds) stretch and drop their backs when asked to pose, you don’t realize how different they can look.
Flexible loin is very different than weak.
"Dan and Robin Gainey both spoke of Gai Parada as a riding horse. “He [was] a pleasure to ride, he [was] well-mannered, [took] an interest in everything and [kept] your attention,” said Dan. Robin added, “He [loved] to be ridden out on the ranch around the cattle, and sometimes Dan [cut] cattle with him.” "
-So not a riding horse.[/QUOTE]
i have to wonder if you didn’t know about him until my post, as so far you haven’t really mentioned that his primary success was in driving. he had a very weak loin and long back and was purposely shown in driving where his high-kneed action and conformation would not be penalized (as opposed to being shown in halter/conformation classes). he may have been ridden, but his career was in driving. he is an example of a horse with a sloping croup… but his slopes upwards. i am aware that asking a horse to park may visibly make him look different than he really is… but it doesn’t change his structure. in every picture you see a stallion with a poor hind end.
there is a very informative article about him in PH, that discusses his weaknesses (as well as several other key arabian stallions). my comment really wasn’t to insult this stallion, but was only in response to an earlier post that said arabians have the worst/flattest backs (which i disagree with).
