Rumor Has It
Horse people all talk about horses . . . their own horses, other people's horses, champion horses, pleasure horses, cutting horses, endurance horses . . . all kinds of horses. Horse people are their own breed of people and in the Arabian breed, you will find all kinds of horse people, i.e. performance horse people, halter horse people, hands-on people, hands-off people, responsible horse people, irresponsible horse people, horse people that have never ridden or driven a horse (often claiming to know what it takes for a horse to be a great performance horse), know-it-all horse people (who believe there is just one correct way to own or evaluate a horse - their way - all other ways are wrong), plagiaristic horse people (who use words they've heard serious horsemen use, but don't have any idea what those words mean), romantic horse people (who spend most of their time in a romantic cloud sometimes lined with money that are unwilling or unable to join reality), honest to goodness horse people (serious horsemen), etc. The point is, all of these believe themselves to be serious horsemen and it is incumbent upon everyone involved in this community to determine the level of skill or ability any of these actually possess. It is possible the only way to do so, is to educate yourself to the point of being able to spot those horse people pretending to be genuine horsemen. With that in mind, it is important to be aware of the fact that these horse people tend to perpetuate rumors that are not only false, but often hurt the breed, a breeder, a horse, an owner or an organization intended to be the breed's guardian. It's this type that need to be exposed for exactly what they are. Not in an effort to hurt them, but in an effort to protect the horse, good owners, serious horsemen and the horses' future.
When horse people talk horses, they may often be found making broad sweeping, generalized statements that are often mistaken for absolute truths, which is an incorrect assumption. But, they can also be found making quite distinct statements about a particular horse. The problem with rumors are some of them are a restatement of facts with perhaps a little bit of exaggeration while others are absolute falsehoods - the key is being able to determine which is which. In making that determination, it is necessary to thoroughly analyze the horse people spreading the rumor and the rumor itself. This is a HUGE problem for most people to contend with particularly if they are looking for honest discussion about any one horse's attributes and faults. All horses have faults; however, openly discussing a single horse's faults is seriously frowned upon by horse people who too often use the state of being offended to shut down any useful conversation. Or they will insist they are too "positive" to engage in such "negative" discussion. Normally, these overly sensitive horse people have bred possibly a handful of horses, have not ridden a horse in their lifetimes, have only just acquired their first horse in middle age (possibly as an investment), have read a romantic book or two, joined a preservation group or two and take their education as serious as a hobby. Their desire to control what is stated as fact publicly reveals their lack of confidence in their own education and desire to learn or share what is known. It is a clear demonstration of their willingness to be honest, not only with themselves, but with everyone else. Yet, it would seem these are the horse people trying to control the direction of the breed, impacting genuine horsemen with their dimwitted, self-serving approach. Thus, genuine horsemen have a very difficult time gathering facts about any single horse and setting the record straight about horses that have been maligned in the past (often about horses that are built to perform).
Lately, the rumors "Prince Fa Moniet get are CA carriers" or "Ansata Shah Zaman get are LFS carriers" was repeated by more than one long time internationally recognized breeder and a handful of horse people who specialize in spreading rumors of which horses to avoid. This is translated by a majority of horse people into "ALL Prince Fa Moniet get are CA carriers and ALL Ansata Shah Zaman get are LFS carriers". If you own a horse with any of this blood that is LFS and CA clear, it is a difficult task to dissuade rumor mongers from continuing to spread this irresponsible, damaging rumor. First, it is important to recognize that both LFS and CA are recessive disorders. Please read Inheritance of Recessive Genetic Disorders to gain an understanding of what is fact and what is fiction. Second, both have a test. That means if a horse tests clear, it's clear regardless if a horse in it's ancestry was a carrier or affected. One might think that would end the repeated slinging of mud onto these bloodlines, but to this date it has not. Recognizing that anyone spreading this type of rumor is, simply put, stupid (meaning a person that is unable to learn) as opposed to ignorant (meaning they simply didn't know) and therefore not to be taken seriously is critical to educating oneself about the breed and how to be a good guardian of the breed. It is also important to note that being ignorant is, in and of itself, no excuse to spread rumors. Why would anyone spread a rumor without first ascertaining its basis in fact anyway?
Another politically motivated rumor spreading to this day (started by a preservationist breeder) is that Ansata Shah Zaman was a narrow horse, too long in the loin/back, lacking substance and heart girth, that he was ugly, coarse and produced likewise, so he should be avoided for breeding or for riding horses. The photos below show Ansata Shah Zaman throughout his life, from suckling, to yearling, to mature stallion. In none of them do the words ugly, coarse, narrow or lacking substance come to mind:
When horse people talk horses, they may often be found making broad sweeping, generalized statements that are often mistaken for absolute truths, which is an incorrect assumption. But, they can also be found making quite distinct statements about a particular horse. The problem with rumors are some of them are a restatement of facts with perhaps a little bit of exaggeration while others are absolute falsehoods - the key is being able to determine which is which. In making that determination, it is necessary to thoroughly analyze the horse people spreading the rumor and the rumor itself. This is a HUGE problem for most people to contend with particularly if they are looking for honest discussion about any one horse's attributes and faults. All horses have faults; however, openly discussing a single horse's faults is seriously frowned upon by horse people who too often use the state of being offended to shut down any useful conversation. Or they will insist they are too "positive" to engage in such "negative" discussion. Normally, these overly sensitive horse people have bred possibly a handful of horses, have not ridden a horse in their lifetimes, have only just acquired their first horse in middle age (possibly as an investment), have read a romantic book or two, joined a preservation group or two and take their education as serious as a hobby. Their desire to control what is stated as fact publicly reveals their lack of confidence in their own education and desire to learn or share what is known. It is a clear demonstration of their willingness to be honest, not only with themselves, but with everyone else. Yet, it would seem these are the horse people trying to control the direction of the breed, impacting genuine horsemen with their dimwitted, self-serving approach. Thus, genuine horsemen have a very difficult time gathering facts about any single horse and setting the record straight about horses that have been maligned in the past (often about horses that are built to perform).
Lately, the rumors "Prince Fa Moniet get are CA carriers" or "Ansata Shah Zaman get are LFS carriers" was repeated by more than one long time internationally recognized breeder and a handful of horse people who specialize in spreading rumors of which horses to avoid. This is translated by a majority of horse people into "ALL Prince Fa Moniet get are CA carriers and ALL Ansata Shah Zaman get are LFS carriers". If you own a horse with any of this blood that is LFS and CA clear, it is a difficult task to dissuade rumor mongers from continuing to spread this irresponsible, damaging rumor. First, it is important to recognize that both LFS and CA are recessive disorders. Please read Inheritance of Recessive Genetic Disorders to gain an understanding of what is fact and what is fiction. Second, both have a test. That means if a horse tests clear, it's clear regardless if a horse in it's ancestry was a carrier or affected. One might think that would end the repeated slinging of mud onto these bloodlines, but to this date it has not. Recognizing that anyone spreading this type of rumor is, simply put, stupid (meaning a person that is unable to learn) as opposed to ignorant (meaning they simply didn't know) and therefore not to be taken seriously is critical to educating oneself about the breed and how to be a good guardian of the breed. It is also important to note that being ignorant is, in and of itself, no excuse to spread rumors. Why would anyone spread a rumor without first ascertaining its basis in fact anyway?
Another politically motivated rumor spreading to this day (started by a preservationist breeder) is that Ansata Shah Zaman was a narrow horse, too long in the loin/back, lacking substance and heart girth, that he was ugly, coarse and produced likewise, so he should be avoided for breeding or for riding horses. The photos below show Ansata Shah Zaman throughout his life, from suckling, to yearling, to mature stallion. In none of them do the words ugly, coarse, narrow or lacking substance come to mind:
Ansata Shah Zaman was an appropriately masculine stallion, with good bone, overall balanced structure, great legs, great feet, excellent movement with popping hock action, big dark eyes, good breadth of chest, good substance, a well-laid back shoulder with a well-set neck of good length. As a sire, grandsire and great grandsire, he was nothing short of phenomenal. Without Ansata Shah Zaman, there would be no Ansata Halim Shah, no Imperial Imdal, no WH Justice . . . none of whom can be considered ugly, narrow or lacking substance. Even in his direct get can you see his influence of good structure and balance:
Ansata Shah Zahir (Ansata Shah Zaman x Ansata Jamila by *Ansata Ibn Halima) - Dieter photo
Ansata Shah Zam (Ansata Shah Zaman x Ansata Sabiha by *Ansata Ibn Halima) - Sparagowki photo
Ansata Ibn Shah (Ansata Shah Zaman x Ansata Jezabel by *Ansata Ibn Halima) - photographer unknown
Not to be stopped at establishing himself as a sire of sires, Ansata Shah Zaman's daughters have arguably created some of the world top horses. It's no wonder all the rumor mongerers spend so much time condemning the merits of this horse as there is no way they can live up to competition this stiff. Ansata Imperial, Ansata Bint Halima and Ansata Amon Ra were all from the Ansata Shah Zaman daughter, Ansata Delilah. Ansata Halim Shah, Ansata Omar Halim and Ansata Prima Rose were all from the Ansata Shah Zaman daughter, Ansata Rosetta. Antigua Dance was from the Ansata Shah Zaman daughter Talyla. Ansata Halima Son, BKA Damilll, Ansata El Mabrouk and Ansata Dia Halima were all from the Ansata Shah Zaman daughter, Ansata Damietta. Ansata Mara+/ was from the Ansata Shah Zaman daughter, Ansata Astarra. Glorieta Sayonaara and Ibn Shahlima were both from the Ansata Shah Zaman daughter, Glorieta Shahlima - to name a few.
Interestingly, Ansata Shah Zaman was the result of breeding *Morafic (Nazeer x Mabrouka [Moniet El Nefous]) to Ansata Bint Mabrouka (Nazeer x Mabrouka [Moniet El Nefous]). Just a few years ago before there was a test for LFS and CA, there was an ongoing witch hunt online with breeders pointing fingers at everyone else's horses but their own. Of course Moniet El Nefous and her offspring were targeted by the rumor mongerors and many breeding programs utilizing this blood were destroyed or irreparably damaged. This is proof positive that greatness elicits unfounded criticism by small minds and impoverished characters. Out of hundreds of ancestors or any single horse, why did Moniet El Nefous have to bear that cross?
It is my suggestion that rumor mongers take a long, well-deserved vacation from spreading rumors and focus on their own personal growth not only intellectually, but emotionally. This would be a great benefit to our horses and to serious horsemen who are simply trying to breed a good horse.
Interestingly, Ansata Shah Zaman was the result of breeding *Morafic (Nazeer x Mabrouka [Moniet El Nefous]) to Ansata Bint Mabrouka (Nazeer x Mabrouka [Moniet El Nefous]). Just a few years ago before there was a test for LFS and CA, there was an ongoing witch hunt online with breeders pointing fingers at everyone else's horses but their own. Of course Moniet El Nefous and her offspring were targeted by the rumor mongerors and many breeding programs utilizing this blood were destroyed or irreparably damaged. This is proof positive that greatness elicits unfounded criticism by small minds and impoverished characters. Out of hundreds of ancestors or any single horse, why did Moniet El Nefous have to bear that cross?
It is my suggestion that rumor mongers take a long, well-deserved vacation from spreading rumors and focus on their own personal growth not only intellectually, but emotionally. This would be a great benefit to our horses and to serious horsemen who are simply trying to breed a good horse.
Ansata Shah Zaman was foaled on 28 Jan 1968 and passed away on 23 Jan 1985. He was owned by Ansata Arabian Stud until 1980 and then by Count Federico Zichy Thyssen until he was syndicated in 1982. He was the sire of 255 get and 1731 grandget. It was the serious breeders of the day that used his blood to bring forward into the here and now those assets that are often found lacking in our horses. How lucky modern day breeders are today that those serious breeders of yesterday didn't fall victim to the rumors created by ill-intentioned people.
SC Desert Star Arabians
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