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 86501 West O.I.E. Hwy., Prosser, WA 99350 Phone 509-973-3178 |
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Welcome!
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The International Sable Breeder's Association has been organized to promote the Sable Saanen dairy goat. The ultimate goal is to have Sable Saanen Dairy Goat recognized as a breed by the American Dairy Goat Association. It is interesting to note that Sable Saanens are already recognized and registered by the American Goat Society. Until such time as Sable Saanen dairy goats are permitted their own herdbooks instead of being relegated to the Experimental herdbooks as has been done since the change of the Saanen breed standard almost 50 years ago, ISBA will be registering Sable Saanens within our association so that we do not lose the genetic information that is so important to preserving this historic portion of the original imported Saanen breed. |
Just what is a Sable goat?
Sables are Saanens that are not white. They come in many colors and combinations and have been a part of the Saanen heritage for as long as there have been Saanens. The first Sables in the U.S. arrived on the same ship with the first Saanens and have been here ever since. They are the result of the pairing of two recessive genes, one from the sire and one from the dam. If an animal has only one of these genes, the animal is white, but if the animal has two, one from each parent, then a colored coat is the result. Since the colored genetics were brought in with the orignal Saanen imports, this will continue to happen as long as people are breeding Saanens.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sable goats
Q: Sable breeders want recognition of their animals as a unique breed. How can the Sable, coming totally from Saanens, be considered a unique breed?
A: Every new breed is based on animals that don't meet existing breed standards of recognized breeds. For example, look at the Nubian breed, which was established in England during the late 1800s and imported to the U.S. soon after the turn of the century. At that time, every recognized breed in this country required upright ears. Pendulous ears and Roman noses were disqualifications of all the currently recognized breeds of the time---- yet these are the very traits on which the Nubian breed is based. The next new breed to appear here was the LaMancha. Every recognized breed at the time required upright ears or in the case of Nubians, pendulous ears. No ears at all was definitely a disqualification of any of the recognized breeds! Yet this is the basis for the LaMancha breed. In the case of Sables, any color other than white or light cream disqualifies them from the Saanen herdbook even though they are of Saanen genetics.
Q: Why bother with Sables----why not just cull them?
A. These animals often embody superior genetics from the top Saanen bloodlines and it is a foolish waste to discard these animals for something so superficial as the color of their hair. This is especially important now, when the number of Purebred Saanens in this country is dropping steadily, a fact which worries many Saanen breeders. Many breeders prefer Sables to Saanens because they enjoy the variety of colors and are bored with the monotonous white of the Saanens. With Sables, they have the best of both worlds; production, strength, and temperament together with a gorgeous variety of coat colors and patterns. Still another reason for keeping Sables is purely due to their color. The white Saanens, with their light skin, do not do well in southern climates. Their light skin color makes them unusually prone to skin cancers. Foreign buyers from tropical countries are aware of this and although they like the Saanen size, productivity, and temperament, they are reluctant to buy because of the tendency toward cancer. Sables, however, do not have this problem. With their darker skin, they are no more prone to skin cancer than are other breeds while retaining all the other superior characteristics that make the Saanen so desirable. Yet, because of their registration status, foreign buyers are reluctant to buy Sables, too. Foreign buyers are particularly sensitive about registration papers and since Sables can only be registered as Experimentals, buyers reject them.
Q. Well then, why not include Sables in the Saanen herdbook?
A. There have been those who would like to see them lumped into the Saanen herdbook, since they are a variety of Saanen. However, this would be disastrous for both breeds. Sables need to be isolated from the Saanen population, because their coat color is due to recessive genes. Wherever the Saanen white gene appears, that gene is dominant and the offspring will be white, so to perpetuate the Sables, they need to be kept separate from the white animals and bred only to each other. This would be impossible to do if they were lumped into the Saanen book. In addition, when a white Saanen is bred to a Sable, which would happen if both were in the same herdbook, most if not all of the offspring will be white. But (and this is an important point) all of those offspring which have one Sable parent will be carriers of that recessive gene. Thus, if breeding between Saanens and Sables is carried out to any extent then the recessive color gene is going to be spread far and wide into the white Saanen population, something that Saanen breeders definitely do not want. So, while everybody recognizes that Sables are indeed a variety of Saanens, it is still important that they be registered in a herdbook of their own so that their breeding populations will be kept separate.
Q. I thought all Sables were sundgaus.
A. No, Sables come in all colors and combinations of colors except solid white. There are sundgaus, of course, and there are those who have tried to breed sundgaus exclusively, but this is because they liked that color pattern, not because it is what Sables are supposed to be. Actually, the first Sables to arrive in this country came on the ship with the very first Saanens. The most famous of these, the celebrated Panama Louise, was grey. Her sister Panama Zahre, arriving on the same ship, was tan.
Q. I hear that the number of Sables being born to purebred Saanens is decreasing because of Saanen breeders' efforts to cull out Sables.
A. Saanen breeders have never done anything to reduce the number of Sables being born. They have never tried to identify which individuals or bloodlines contain the color gene nor have they ever done anything to weed out the color gene. All they have ever done is try to "hide the evidence" by disposing of the colored kids, either by destroying them or by sending them to auction without papers. The number of Sables being born to purebred Saanens is decreasing, though-----but the reason has nothing whatever to do with Sables. The number of Sables born to purebred Saanens is falling simply because the number of purebred Saanens is falling markedly, a fact which has many Saanen breeders very worried and is all the more reason that the genetics embodied in the Sables should not be lost.
Q: I believe Sables should have their own herdbook. What can I do to help?
A. Contact your ADGA directors and director-candidates. See how they stand on this issue. Tell them how you feel about it. Then use the information to determine how you will vote in the up-coming ADGA elections. Last but not least, VOTE. Your directors cannot read your mind and unless you speak up, no one will ever know how you feel.
SABLES NOT EXPERIMENTAL
There is a great deal of difference between the goals of Sable breeders and the goals of other breeders owning animals registered in the Experimental and Grade books. For other breeders, the goal is generally one of "upbreeding" Grade or Experimental animals to the point where their offspring are registered in the American book of one breed or another. Sable breeders do not want to "upbreed" or otherwise change their animals into anything but what they already are. Sables are generally bred to Sables or at least to a Saanen which is known to carry the recessive colored gene that produces the Sable colors, not with the view in mind of producing American Saanens, but with the goal of producing the colored animals they love.
WHY A SABLE BREED?
Sables when bred together, do not produce white animals except in rare cases where one of the Sable parents was a solid color, just barely too dark to be registered as a Saanen. Is this enough to disqualify Sables from breed status?
NO! say the members of the ISBA. After all, Saanens themselves do not always breed "true" and are the primary source of the Sables. Occasional mis-colors occur in any breed which has a color standard. Sables breed as "true" as any breed does, and it is time to give them the status of a breed in their own right.
Declaring sables a separate breed will help Sable breeders perpetuate these beautiful and valuable animals and at the same time, it will be beneficial for Saanen breeders, too. It will give Saanen breeders the opportunity to identify those animals which carry the recessive color gene, should they wish to make use of this, and it will also provide a market for those colored animals, especially bucks, which are inadvertently produced by white Saanens.
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P.O. Box 180
Gladstone, IL 61437
309-627-2355
Prosser, WA
86501 West O.I.E. Hwy.,
Prosser, WA 99350
509-973-3178
P.O. Box 180
Gladstone, Illinois 61437
309-627-2355
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