STUDS

In order to make plans for the future one has to know the past. For many years, all matters related to  State Studs, including Janów, were beyond the reach of outsiders. As Krystyna Chmiel aptly pointed out, the breeding of the Arabian horses was tightly separated from the society. Relics of the past are still in place, as the Janów Stud is more willing to host foreign breeders than the local ones, who are looked upon unfavourably. Ever since the 1960s, the State Studs were entangled in an opaque system that was dismantled in 2016. However, many problems emerged in the process. It turned out that the Janów Stud was infested with a group of people who, by and large, privatized Janów for their own benefit. These people also reserved for themselves the exclusive right to define not only the future, but also the past of the Stud. Over the years, many myths accumulated about the past history of Janów Podlaski Stud. These myths were subsequently used as a weapon in the political battle that is being waged on the public arena. That battle is meant to determine who is entlitled to rule over the Janów Stud and who is not. Many shocking situations took place in 2016, when an arrogant authority ruling at the time clashed with a strong group of interests that has been controlling Janów for years. That control was excercised not only on a purely material level, but it extended to creating around Janów Podlaski Stud a propaganda driven aura of success. Unexpectedly for both sides, in due course serious problems facing Janów became apparent, such as an increasing economic crisis as well as a steady decline in the quality of breeding. These problems were hiterto cleverly masked and concealed. 

Undoubtedly, Janów Podlaski is the most characteristic and telling example of the influence wielded upon the Polish horse breeding as well as the awareness of the Polish people. The stormy history of Janów Podlaski Stud and its significance as a symbol of Polish Arabian horse breeding are facts universally known all over the world.

The article analyzes the effects of the decline in performance testing and the shift of breeding priorities toward show-oriented aesthetics on the Arabian horse. The study discusses impacts on the musculoskeletal system, cardiorespiratory endurance, immunity, and genetic diversity. Based on international research and comparative analysis, it argues that restoring objective performance testing (including endurance trials), introducing transparent stallion licensing systems, and preserving historic bloodlines and genetic 'nests' are essential to maintain the functional and cultural integrity of the breed.

When I was approached with the idea of ​​writing about the history of the Abramowicz family stud farm in Sachny, I admit I had no idea where to look for any leads. It seemed impossible due to the lack of sources and tangible evidence of its existence and operations. The search for information was rather difficult, and finding traces of horses bred in Sachny in the pedigrees of modern Arabian horses bordered on the miraculous, especially since I hadn't encountered any such traces in Poland. Imagine my surprise, then, when during Katara's first show, I found in the catalog a mare bred by Aljassimya Farm, whose dam line descends directly from Kadranka 1903, sold from Sachny to a Spanish repair commission that had purchased a group of Arabian horses in Sachny between 1906 and 1912. And so, after more than 120 years, we can return to Sachny, weaving an incredibly beautiful, colorful story about times gone by, Arabian horses and their breeders.