Re: RC: Breeding/Cheap Horses

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

At 05:35 PM 4/22/00 -0700, Bette wrote:
>  We are attempting to tell you that
> unless the attitude changes, you will never find a breeder targeting this
> market

I think Bette speaks for many of us who have been breeding for endurance
over the years.  Endurance did start relatively recently as a sport,
and in the beginning ranch horses, or whatever was avalilable, were what
was used.  However, as completion times  have gone down, as the
level of competition has gone up, it has become clear that certain horses
do better at the sport.  The logical step from there is to breed
along those lines.  Except the buying public has not made that next
logical step along with the breeders.

What about all the research into fast twitch/slow twitch muscles? 
What about the stuff about ideal body size, bone, etc.?  What about
the success other sports have had in increasing the level of ability
through selective breeding?  How can the research point in one
direction and so many people in endurance look the other way, then not
have a clue when their horse has a problem at a ride, or during
conditioning, etc?  If you use your computer keyboard to drive a
nail, then the keyboard will break.  No surprises there, but I
believe the analogy holds for horses too.   

Research and experience - endurance racing itself -  is pointing to
a certain kind of horse for endurance.  At the widest, it appears to
be the Arabian.  Within the breed as time goes on there *should* be
a narrowing down to certain types of Arabians.  But this cannot
happen as long as people are not willing to support the breeder who is
trying to produce that specialized endurance horse.  

It is possible that the majority of endurance riders don't need a
specialized endurance horse.  But from another point of view, anyone
who falls into that category might consider this:  If the keyboard
could feel, would it still be OK to use it as a hammer?  Lif

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