Wednesday, October 04, 2017

Shagya-Arabians Serving Their Country for Over 200 Years

September 29 2017

The Shagya-Arabian was started in 1789 when the Hungarian military set out to develop a new breed of horse that combined the very best of Bedouin Arabians -- elegance, endurance, hardiness, athleticism, temperament, and devotion to their rider -- with larger size, jumping ability, and riding ease to master the rigors and versatility of a cavalry horse. Over the centuries a conscious breeding program and inspections have ensured that the Shagya-Arabians stayed true to their original intent. Two of our PShR Shagya-Arabians demonstrate this commitment and continuity by serving as a mounted police horse and a Calvary mount in a Revolutionary War reenactment.

Performance Shagya-Arabian Registry member Steve Boles started his mare LRC Seredy in Revolutionary War Reenactments as part of the 3td Continental Light Dragoon. When asked how LRC Seredy took to the job Boles commented “I felt she would be a good candidate because of her calm and willing attitude, steadiness, and courage to tackle new challenges. These are traits very true to the Shagya-Arabian breed.” Boles also mentioned that “Seredy has only just begun her new career as a cavalry mount but has shown that she can handle the stress and actually seems to enjoy it. I am excited about how she has taken to the loud gun and cannon fire, the crowds of people watching and moving about the battlefield, and drilling in close contact with other strange horses.”

Performance Shagya-Arabian Registry member Becky McCarthy currently utilizes her horse WineGlass Dominus or “Dommy” as a part of the mounted police auxiliary. Dommy has served for 5 years as part of the auxiliary and has proved his value with crowd control and public relations. McCarthy remembers when the auxiliary was asked to break up a fight at a fairgrounds. “The officers on the ground could not break up the fight due to the number of people and the gathering crowd. My partner and I were able to move the crowd to allow the officers on the ground to do their job. Dommy was a true rock star and was very steady handling the crowd.” McCarthy shares that “the public respects the size of the horse and most want to pet them which is great public relations. Dommy always stands like a rock even with children climbing all over and under him.”

When asked what he thought made the Shagya-Arabian still the perfect horse for the job Boles stated that “the Shagya-Arabian has stamina, heart, and movement for this type of work. Their bodies are very durable with size and bone. They handle new things with intelligence. They are gentle in stressful situations and learn quickly. The Shagya-Arabian has proven to me they are a talented and delightful horse to work with in whatever you choose to do.” McCarthy has similar sentiments and states that “Dommy has an amazing temperament and truly does his best no matter what I ask of him. Shagya-Arabians have good size for this type of work. They have super minds and always try to do what the rider is asking.”

About Performance Shagya-Arabian Registry

The Performance Shagya-Arabian Registry was established to ensure the integrity and legacy of the Shagya-Arabian bred horses in North America. To accomplish these goals the organization holds regular breed inspections and utilizes performance testing in compliance with internationally established criteria for all horses in the registry. For more information on the Performance Shagya-Arabian Registry and our horses please visit our website http://performanceshagyaregistry.org.

For More Information and Photos
Contact: Nicole Mauser-Storer
n.mauserstorer@huskers.unl.edu

1 comment:

Unknown said...

It is great to see "other uses" our horses can easily fulfill.