Extreme horse breeding leaves animals looking like cartoons, warn vets
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Tuesday's Horse
September 2019

The trend of breeding animals to make them more attractive even when it damages their health has spread to horse breeders.

Orion Farms Specialty Bred Arabian with Dished Face

This was brought to our attention by some horse lovers in the UK. It is from the Telegraph, written in 2017 by Sarah Knapton and Charlotte Krol, and not covered it seems in the US. It is a trend we are warned that is spreading resulting in some tragic occurrences.Left Quotation Mark

The trend of breeding animals to make them more attractive even when it damages their health has spread to horses, vets are warning, after a stable released images showing a ‘cartoon-like’ colt.

Extreme breeding practices have already left animals like French bulldogs and pugs struggling to breathe as their faces have become squashed over time to suit human demands.

But vets believe that the worrying practice is now happening in horses after a US stud farm offered an Arabian Colt for sale with an strange concave, or ‘dished’ profile.

The farm described the horse as a step towards ‘perfection’, but equine experts warned the animal may find it difficult to breathe and exercise with such a flattened nose.

UK equine expert Tim Greet of Rossdales Veterinary Service, in Newmarket, said although Arabians were known for their ‘dished’ features, the new colt ‘takes things to a ridiculous level,’ and said the deformity could be even worse for a horse than for a dog.

“Dogs like man can mouth breathe, but horses can only breathe through their nose,” he told Veterinary Record magazine.

“I suspect exercise would definitely be limited for this horse.”

The nine-month-old colt, called El Rey Magnum, was bred by Orrion Farms, a specialist Arabian breeding farm in Ellensburg, Washington, US.

Since launching a promotional video earlier this month, under the title ‘You Won’t Believe Your Eyes’ the farm has received interest from across the world, including the UK.

Doug Leadley, farm manager and primary breeding adviser for Orrion, said: “This horse is a stepping stone to getting close to perfection” and US vets who have examined the colt says it has no medical or respiratory issues.Right Quotation Mark

Well, you can pay vets to say anything. We have witnessed that time and time again.

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