Is it possible to be involved with something you love and not learn from the past? It seems it is. I found these words written by Richard Pritzlaff of Rancho San Ignacio 28 years ago… They still resonate as if they were written yesterday…

Bint Moniet El Nefous (Nazeer x Moniet El Nefous) Imported as a yearling, she produced 13 foals at Rancho San Ignacio from 1962 to 1976

High in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of north-eastern New Mexico, Richard Pritzlaff lived on his centuries-old ranch. For fifty years he bred his beloved Arabian horse’s amidst a backdrop of extraordinary beauty and serenity.

“…I have my own ideas about horses. Some of them are controversial, I’m sure, but here they are. The Bedouin’s Arabian was a calm, quiet horse that conserved its energy for long migrations and for its search for grazing and water. It was not a nervous fidgety animal. The Bedouin would be horrified to see long whips snapping in front of Arabian’s faces and in front of their legs in order to keep them alert. These actions disturb the horses and cause a look of fear in their eyes. The Bedouin showing his horse to his guests would display it’s alertness through its presence and action The horse would prance and dance, the object being to please his master and the circle of guests. The Bedouin would also ride his horse in order to show his horse’s response to his master, his elegance, his swiftness and his personality.
…Unfortunately, present day Arabian breeders have become more interested in promotion, show winning, and in the Arabian horse as a business investment and tax depreciation item than in the Arabian horse itself. Among all the stallions in the breed, why should twenty or so be considered so superior that they should saturate the breed? Isn’t it better to judge Arabians by their ancestry, especially grandparents and great grandparents, than to judge them by show winning. What about the weaknesses that are inheritable? What about the current changes in type? Are we getting away from the true Bedouin horse through fads and artificiality? Is the Arabian horse through artificiality losing his true character?”

Short excerpt from an article written by Richard Priztlaff for Arabian Horse World 1983