Inspections confirm age-old truism: You can’t judge a horse by its cover

Famed horse writer Walter Farley wrote a children’s book in 1961 called “Little Black, a Pony.” It’s about a boy with a black pony who gets distracted by a big red horse, which the boy thinks is the answer to everything he ever wanted in an animal. That is, until his little black pony comes to his rescue one day when the big red horse can’t. The book carries the not-so-subtle message that we shouldn’t prejudge something based on appearance.

How disappointed Farley would be today to see that many horses face a registration and inspection process based on looks.

Breed standards for Connemaras, which were instituted in America in 2005, are based on color, shape, length, width and height, and inspections are supposed to be conducted on 2- and 3-year-olds. The breed standards include a dizzying mix of measurements and descriptions that really have nothing to do with the value of the animal. And the animals won’t mature to be the same measurements on which they are being judged, so it’s a farce in that respect, too.

Some horse breeds include a performance component in their inspections. The Connemara breed does not.

Farley was not the first writer to try to teach children that making judgments based on appearance is wrong. Many books have preached the same message over the years, from “The Ugly Ducking” to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

And there is no shortage of real-life examples to drive home the parallel message that looks can be deceiving — John Edwards, Lance Armstrong and Mel Gibson, to name a few.

In 2005, I did a survey of all members of the Connemara society in America to get a broad picture of how members viewed the inspection process.

One person made many good points about appearance and how nonsensical it is to try to judge Connemaras against a list of criteria that reflect only one make and model of Connemara. These included:

— Young Connemaras change tremendously over time.

— Inspectors are often lacking in skill.

— Connemaras are all mutts historically.

— The gene pool is too small to be able to afford to reject any good animals.

— Don’t think you can judge young stallions until you see their get.

— What does approved or disapproved really mean? A good horseman recognizes a good horse. Does the inspection help anyone but a rank amateur buying their kids’ first pony — and does it help that person? Really, is it just an advertising gimmick?

— What does the current system tell you about temperament? A rotten-tempered pony handled by a pro could show better than a sweet pony handled by a cluck.

— There is no drug testing — an unscrupulous person could abuse that.

I would add that the Connemara standards favor bulky horses, and an unscrupulous person could use drugs to bulk up a pony to meet the standard, similar to the cheating scandals seen in many sports today. And the Connemara owner would never be caught because this organization isn’t nearly deep enough in resources to start drug testing.

As I understand it, the premise for inspections is that these so-called experts are saving us from ourselves. We don’t know a good horse when we see it. So these inspectors are putting a grade on horses, and then people will know whether to buy the horses.

But, again, let me point out that I was told many times that I should become an inspector, to which my answer was, “I should not become an inspector.” I would be the last person to say that my subjective opinion of a great horse should be everyone else’s opinion. I would not try to force my preferences for anything on someone else. And I would be equally appalled at someone trying to force their preferences on me.

And since when do we take someone else’s word when it comes to acquiring anything meaningful in life?

Would you purchase a house without looking inside?

Or a car without test driving it?

Would you marry a spouse because someone gave him or her a passing grade at a 12-minute inspection based on appearance?

No, no and no.

Many people wind up spending more time with their horse than the house, car and spouse combined. This is not a decision that should be influenced by outsiders. There is too much at stake, and the decision is very personal.

No inspector, judge, hobbyist, veterinarian or human, period, should be allowed to weigh in on the value of an animal anymore than we let our animals vote on the value of us.

I think it only fitting that the little black pony on the cover of Farley’s book is the spitting image of Texas Hope, the Connemara stallion at the center of the rift in the American Connemara society. That beautiful black pony who sired so many leading Connemara performers will one day come to symbolize all that was wrong with discrimination in the animal world, and he will take his rightful place in history beside others who took a beating by bullies but emerged victorious in the end.