What Connemara time period are breed officials trying to preserve?

The most overlooked factor in the argument over what constitutes a Connemara is time. This breed descended from Scandinavian horses, the Irish Hobby, Spanish Andalusians, and the occasional farmer’s donkey. The Connemara breed was also infused with Arabian, Hackney and Thoroughbred blood. And then, in 1923, Irish Connemara officials decided they needed to “preserve” the breed because it was getting too watered down.

One has to wonder: “What time period did they want to preserve?”

Did they want the breed that was heavily influenced by the Scandinavian horses?

The breed that existed before Andalusians swam shore from the Spanish Armada in 1588?

The breed afterward?

It’s clear that they wanted the breed to look less Arabian and Thoroughbred-like, though recent studies have shown the Thoroughbred developed from Connemaras, so there are issues with that premise.

Basically, some breeders had an idea of what they wanted a Connemara to look like, most likely a look that mirrored their own herd, and they just outlined that “type” in so-called breed standards.

What I know for sure is that many Connemara owners believe the Connemara breed should look like two things: a thick, chunky white pony or a dun horse of any type. Show a Connemara owner a photo of either of those, and they come back with: “That sure looks like a Connemara.”

Show them an image of a black or brown Connemara, and they are more likely to think it is another breed.

This is akin to saying white men in suits look like presidents, but no one else really fits the part.

Having stereotypes is not bad, as long as the mind is flexible enough to say: “Yes, I associate this look with this title, but that’s my own stereotype, and any individual of any color, gender or background can wear this hat.”

When it comes to Ireland’s human population, the country doesn’t tie people’s appearance to a certain time period from the past. Having Irish genes is enough to be called Irish. There are no inspections with immigration officials looking over babies to decide if they are Irish enough.

Thus, any horse with Connemara genes should be a Connemara. No human should get to take that away by failing that horse at an inspection because it is not Connemara enough or preventing it from being bred.

One day, history will show that this was very narrow-minded thinking. Unfortunately, the narrow-minded are the least likely to be moved to evolve.