Evolution of the Polo Horse
In response to the call of one of our members for more stimulating discussion, perhaps we can start a dialog about the evolution of the polo horse--- past, present, and future.
If polo began in ancient Persia, what do we know about the horses of ancient Persia and how they evolved. Who first brought horses to Persia? Where did they come from? What were they like? Were they big or small, fast or slow, agile or clumsy? What color were they? Did they have multiple gaits? Etc. Much later, we know that Alexander and the Greeks brought horses with them from Macedonia. What sort of horses were they? Were the Persians impressed with them? Were they big or small, fast or slow, agile or clumsy? Were they good for polo, or not? Did they become part of the ancient Persian polo breed? And what about, Bucephalus, the horse of Alexander himself? We know he was a great war horse. Did he play polo? Did he breed with the Persian polo horses? Have the genes of Bucephalus been passed down to the modern polo horse of today?
And what about the highly evolved polo horses we are seeing today? How are they different from the polo horses of, say, ten years ago-- twenty years ago-- forty years ago-- sixty years ago? I have read that players at Palermo now change horses two or three times a chukker! They don't need a horse that can play for six minutes. They need a horse that can play very, very fast for two minutes. How is this affecting the polo breed? Are we moving to an era where the best polo horses lose speed after two minutes?
Who are the best breeders of today? What do they think? We know the Heguy family is legendary. Who else is really, really good? I have heard that Bautista Heguy will not sell his mares because he never wants to face one on the polo field. Does anyone else feel this way?
It is probably true that I always have many more questions than answers, so naturally I look forward to the responses of the many knowledgeable and thoughtful posters we have here. But I will say this, I think the evolved polo horse of today is the most exciting animal on the planet. For sheer speed, agility, intelligence, and beauty, nothing surpasses the polo horse.
So, may we always honor the work of the great players and breeders--- past, present, and future--- who bring us these fascinating creatures!
All the best,
GB
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by GB Polo on -
I want to thank everyone for their excellent replies and thoughts on this subject. There are obviously many here who know a great deal about the evolution of the polo horse---probably a lot more about it than I do--- and I will gladly defer to your superior experience and expertise regarding the current state of the art. What I am interested in is the future. We are really just at the beginning of genetic engineering and embryonic transplantation on a mass scale, and at this point it is almost impossible to predict how many great advances in speed, agility, temperament, and intelligence lie ahead of us. It is a very exciting time to be alive and involved in polo, and the future is almost certain to be better than the past. In the meantime, I thought you might like to see the thoughts of Marcos Heguy, Horatio Heguy, and Gonzalo Pieres on the evolution of top polo horses today.
All the best,
GB
http://www.poloargentino.com/downloads/note_21-2.pdf
What is your opinion of the way the game is played now, where up to 3 horses are used per chukka?
(MH) There are horses today that you play only 2 minutes and which years back would not have entered the field, because the good horse was the one that could play the 7 minutes. But I don’t think that has to do with genetics but with the way current players play the game: they are in possession of the ball for longer, and those that don’t have the ball are running into each other. All that wears the horses out much more, and therefore they require different working out. Polo has evolved in that direction and now we get ready and respond to what is our lot today.
(HH) That’s it basically. Polo has changed, and since we’re making comparisons, there are horses that could have played before and others that it would be complicated to play today. Generally speaking, today’s horses need to stop dead more tidily and don’t need so much staying power. Before, staying power was essential, and if they didn’t stop dead, they could circulate a bit more. There have also been changes in the players; some of yesterday’s players would not be playing high goal tournaments today and vice-versa. In between, quite a lot of good horsemanship and sensitivity have been lost. Nowadays, as there is a constant change of horses, it is not necessary to have the good hand that would lead a horse to resist for a whole chukka. It is not indispensable to be sensitive, according to the modern polo-player’s menu. Now the must is strength, power and good handling of the ball; the horses suffer more, and the solution is to change them. That is why the working out of the horse has changed. However, I must point out that yesterday’s really outstanding horse would also be outstanding today.
(GP) That is a subject on which we coincide a lot. Polo is played more explosively now; the system has changed and there are people who like it and others who don’t. I don’t think that horses today are worse than those used before. The working out is different, with more dodging, starting up and stopping, and it is easy to see that the horses tire much more that way than making straight runs. At the time Juan Carlos Harriott was polo’s No 1: he played in a certain style and we all wanted to play like him. Nowadays that position is held by Adolfo Cambiaso, with another way of playing the game, where there is a lot of dodging, rushing and stopping. We will only go back to what was done before or implement another different system the day that another team appears on the scene, or another player, causing a revolution within today’s polo.
-
Permalink Reply by Rhoda Ochoa on -
Curious, is there any discussion in any circles about limiting the number of horses that can be used in a chukker (like 1 horse per, or 2 horse maximum per...), and/or "reasonable justifications" for switching out? It sounds like a lot of people think that the constant switches aren't good for the sport or the horses, or the overall quality of either, so I was wondering.
-
Permalink Reply by GB Polo on
-
Apparently not, and I think it's unfortunate. One of my hopes is to see polo reinstated as an Olympic sport, and needing up to eighteen horses per match per player does not seem particularly conducive to that. How many teams can afford to transport seventy-two horses around the world? You would almost need a national or corporate sponsor to play the game competitively. Burning up three horses per chukker seems unnecessary to me.
-
Permalink Reply by bruce cowley on -
I think you'll find that the same horse will play more than one partial chukka - and that in fact some of the players are merely saving a great horse for when they need it later, instead of burning it out in 1 chukka.
-
Permalink Reply by GB Polo on
-
That's interesting. You're saying that by changing horses three times a chukker you can play some horses in more than one chukker and therefore need fewer than eighteen horses for the entire match? How many horses would you typically need per match, do you think, with this approach? In the article I linked with Marcos and Horatio Heguy and Gonzalo Pieres, they were saying that the way the game is played today has changed dramatically. That now the horses stop faster than before and that tires them quickly. Do they recover more quickly as well? Of course we are talking only about the top echelons of polo, but there is no question that the evolution and breeding of polo horses is determined at the top. Personally, even if you are using horses in more than one chukker, I still think you would probably need at least twelve to fourteen horses. Perhaps some of our Argentine contributors have a better take on this?
-
Permalink Reply by Marcos Panelo on
-
I believe that the used of more than one horse per chucker is good for the show because horses are not tired and let the players make plays espectaculares.Ni about how beneficial it is for a horse ending up exhausted because then appears injuries (respirator, ropes, ect) The horses are athletes and we must care for them tales.Another very important aspect is the value of the horses, nobody wants to lose one of those horses.Tambien there is a lot of tactics.
-
Permalink Reply by GB Polo on
-
I agree that it tends to make it a faster game to constantly have fresh horses. But I wonder if we will soon be breeding horses for quick bursts of speed without any concern for endurance. There is something courageous and noble about the horse that gets a "second wind" and is even stronger at the end. I wouldn't want to lose that.
-
Permalink Reply by Maltese Cat on -
Could you please furnish us with the SPANISH TEXT link to the article from http://www.poloargentino.com/downloads/note_21-2.pdf? I would like to share this with some Argentine friends. Thanks.
-
Permalink Reply by GB Polo on
-
Here's a link to the Polo Argentino website, but I'm not sure how to locate the Spanish version.
http://www.poloargentino.com/
-
Permalink Reply by Rajen Sudan on -
Great write up...GB..
best
rajen
-
Permalink Reply by Rajen Sudan on
-
I say that because you make a lot of sense...all aspects..thats the only way that one day Polo will be at olympics..
Rajen
© 2013 Created by Hugh Evans (PCW Editor).
