Who We Are...by Ferman Ansel

I purchased my first Arabian mare in 1962 and after 18 years of breeding Arabian horses I realized that a very important missing link in making informed breeding decisions was not being able to see the parents, grandparents, or their offspring. So if I was going to be successful in meeting my expectations I needed  more information and in the formats that I could use and understand, such as unaltered pictures and video shot from a breeders perspective.  I started preparing a plan in 1978 and implemented it in 1980 by leasing my horses and the ranch and began a trip I expected would last about 18 months.

It is now  nineteen years later, and I have video taped the significant Arabian horses; and many of their sires, dams, and their available close ancestors. In addition, I   recorded 18 different measurements from several hundred horses, and designed the computer programs to analyze this data. This information is a knowledge asset about the Arabian horse's inherited traits, particularly those traits that affect the horse's performance.

In world class performance horses, I have identified 9 conformation traits that are often expressed in the majority of these horses. After 18 years of collecting and analyzing this data, it has reinforced my early belief  that one must see as many of the horse's close relatives as possible in order to make informed choices.

As I shared this information with other breeders they encouraged me to write books and   sell them video tapes of the horses. I soon discovered  that the best information in the world is useless until one can manage knowledge, and transfer it  to people who have an   interest in it. So I decided to make available to the public - rare and previously unseen footage of some of the significant Arabian horses in video   and  in the future Interactive DVD ROM format.  This web site is an introduction to the work in progress for this  project.

Comments from Ferman Ansel:

My interest in horses began when I watched my grandfather break and train ranch horses for working the cattle on the family ranch. Throughout my life, I was taught to select horses for particular uses and so in  1962, I needed another pack horse for my hunting trips into the high mountains of Colorado. One afternoon, I was out looking at Quarter horses and Morgans that would make good pack animals. I stopped by a ranch (Edward's Arabians) in Conifer Colorado that bred Arabian horses to ask for local directions . Now, to make a long story short, the pack horse I was looking for was replaced by a pure bred Arabian show mare with a foal at her side that was bred back to a national top ten halter stallion. It was the beginning of an adventure in which I would experience the legendary qualities of the versatile Arabian horse.

For the next 18 years I rode and  bred Arabian horses. I was not achieving the results I expected from my performance breeding stock and I realized that the missing link enabling  me to make more informed breeding decisions was the lack of information available to me. The importing of horses from Poland, Egypt, Spain, and Russia had become the marketing tool of the seventies and eighties. Being a   breeder selecting horses for sale, I knew that the product must be one which meets current market place values as well as perceived value of reproductive offspring. The pedigree of these horses had become extremely important.

I would see many horses on ranches or at horse shows, but could only recall limited details that were important to me. I would examine the pedigree and each contained the names of horses that I had never seen, and pictures were not available especially of the mares. I was spending thousands of dollars in breed fees based on limited and filtered information. So I decided as a breeder to do something about it and I began collecting data.

Modern technology  has enabled  me to study this collection of equine data and   information and become knowledgeable about significant features and heritable traits. This knowledge is  invaluable in determining heritable traits in family lines.

When I selected a horse for inclusion in the Arabian Horse Legacy Library I made a video  tape record of the horse and owner and  my observations of the horse and their close relatives. The majority of them were bathed and video taped in motion. I generally recorded a close up of the head and neck, standing profiles, and  at liberty moving shots. Other important features including nostril shape, eye structure, ears, withers, legs, and their walk or trot coming and going were video taped. My detailed observations of each horse I video taped and  others I observed on the many ranches I visited was recorded on audio tape immediately after leaving a ranch.

This unique collection of information is unparalleled in the world  today and continues to expand. The challenge now is to transfer this knowledge, enabling the Arabian horse enthusiast now and in the years to come, access in the various formats that they can use and understand.

The Arabian Horse Legacy, Inc.
3809 West Hillside Pl.
Littleton, CO 80123

Telephone: - 1-303-795-3166 or Fax: 303-795-3551

URL: http://www.ahlegacy.com

Last edit: 11/22//98
©Copyrighted The Arabian Horse Legacy, Inc. 1995 All rights reserved