 Sable
Brochure - Final
Revision
Designed by Gwen Johnson, ISBA Sec/Tres. |
Sable Saanens The Black and White of It (& the Gray and Brown in Between. . .) Sables are the color variety of the Saanen breed of goat originating inthe Swiss Alps. White is dominant in Saanen breeding, so when a white goat is bred to a colored goat, the resulting offspring will be white unless both white parents are color carriers. At the turn of the 20th century, owners commonly bred white Saanens to colored Saanens to keep the size up, fearing that the whites bred to each other would become small. M. Crepin, who imported goats to the U.S. at that time, also made sure the whites and colors were interbred to avoid albinism, which has since been proven NOT to be a problem. Sables were registered as registered Saanens from the inception of the American Milch Goat Registry, which later became the American Dairy Goat Association. In the first volume of the registry, so little concern was given to color that the color of the Saanens was not re-corded, but by careful tracing a number of Saanen color carriers can be identified in that volume. Andreas Hofer 134, has multiple colored progeny in the succeeding volumes of the AMGRA. Also a well-known Saanen sire, Great Caesar, was a chamoise Saanen. His son, Victor 224, is a registered Saanen [white], but his mother, Belle, is a registered Tog-genburg. Victor 224 is one of the better known foundation sires of the Saanen breed. Damfino, a black Saanen born of whites, caused so much interest that when asked where she came from, her owner replied, "Damn if I know"; hence her name. Panama Louise was imported in 1921 with a chamoisee Saanen named Panama Augustine Musi; Louise was an excellent producer, but she turned gray seasonally. During the 1930's some of the Saanen breeders decided to separate the colored Saanens from the whites, and focused on the white as being the animal that was considered a true Saanen. In 1954 at the ADGA annual convention, Sables were pulled from the Saanen registry completely, relegated to the Experimental/Recorded Grade registry, and their percentages |
were dropped to 50% AS (American Saanen) even if they were purebred Saanen all the way back to the original. This in effect castrated the Sable Saanen as a viable breed because a buck at 50% bred to a doe at 50% produces a 50% kid. Fifty percent bucklings of any breed CANNOT BE REGISTERED. In addition, over the years many Saanen breeders (erroneously) decided that any colored kid issuing from white parents were a blot on the white Saanens' purity and should be destroyed immediately. This was not true but actually proved the primal purity of their purebred and American Saanens. Many people interested in Sables gave up because they could not find a buck: many Saanen breeders de-stroyed them or refused to sell them for breeding ("I don't want a colored kid to have my Saanen herd name on it") AND because the buck could not be registered with ADGA, so the resulting kid, if colored, would have to be recorded at best as Grade Experimental, and even worse, as NOA Alpine since it could not meet the existing Saanen breed standard because of being colored. [Some question the color in the Sables, saying it comes from Alpines. If the truth were known, however, probably the Alpines have more Saanen blood in them because of ADGA forcing the Sable kids to be recorded as NOA Alpine. Historically, Alpines were not included in the original AMGRA for many years, only Nubians, Toggs, and Saanens.] Another setback occurred in 1999 when ADGA adopted the current procedure for recognizing a new breed. This was done in a hurried manner,slipping the procedure in before the discussion of the acceptance of the Sable as a breed, REQUIRING any breed applying for recognition to meet these requirements immediately. The problem for Sables is that Sables often have one white parent, or both white parents; the new breed procedure requires four generations of color on both sides. Although ADGA policy changed in 1991 to allow the correct percentage of Saanen blood to be given on Sable papers as Experimentals or Grade Experimentals, today very few Sable bucks are registered with ADGA. Also, the policy for Experi-mentals and Recorded Grades prevents breeding up within the Sable ranks to be-come an American Sable because it is commonly believed |
that "Sables have no recognized breed standard!" Thus a Sable with 98% or 99% Saanen blood cannot be registered under current ADGA rules because "Sables have no recognized breed standard!" However, Sable Saanens do have a breed standard. It was accepted in at the ADGA Convention in 1981, but ADGA has refused to recognize Sables. The Sable Saanen breed standard accepts colored kids born of white parents. This breed standard has been published in the ADGA Guide every year except one since 1981. Therefore the "new breed" policy should not be applied to the Sable because the Sable is not a "new" breed but simply a color variant of the Saanen. The Sable Saanen actually comes in all colors and patterns. It has the same mellow temperament, size, structure, and production as the white Saanen. The most common is called sundgau, which is black with white facial stripes, ears, belly and legs, but many other colors and pattern combinations occur. Currently the International Sable Breeders Association (ISBA) replaces the original Sable Breeders Association (SBA), which gradually disintegrated with the lack of support from ADGA - or with outright opposition. Dues for ISBA are $10 a year, with members giving input on vital issues furthering the Sable cause; family dues are $15 a year. ISBA also has its own registry, registering all Sables with documentation. For more Sable Saanen information or for registration, contact 86501 West O.I.E. Hwy. Prosser, WA 99350 509.973.3178 gjgoodey@televar.com or visit our web site at http://sabledairygoats.com/index.html September 2002 Copyright ISBA 2002 |
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New Sable Brochure Final Revision |
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