Re: RC: RE: Breeding for Endurance

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

At 11:54 PM 4/22/00 -0400, you wrote:
> I don't want not to be able to compete in our
> sport who cannot afford a $15,000 horse.  I probably wouldn't have
> been here if I was faced with that.


No one is saying anyone has to spend $15,000 on an endurance horse. 
But how about more than dog food prices?  How about a realistic
price based on real costs for breeders?  

I bet a lot of people - not necessarily including Don, just using his
comment as a starting point - who say they don't want to spend a few
thousand dollars on a horse still spend money on new trucks, new
trailers, new saddles & other tack.  An awful lot of people who
complain about horse prices spend thousands and thousands of dollars on
the support stuff - every year even.  I would venture to guess there
are a significant number of people who complain about horse prices who
have saddles that cost more than their horses did.  Did I say that
the horses were no good?  No I did not.  Tbis is just a comment
on what people think is worth spending money on.

Now before anyone has a hot flash over this, keep in mind I am NOT saying
everyone is this way.  But I happen to know more than a few
endurance riders who refuse to spend more than $1000 or so on a horse -
this would be a trained horse already of endurance age - but who have
bought brand new trailers with tack rooms, etc., new trucks, several
saddles - oh, and by the way - have bought several more low priced horses
along the way to replace the ones that break down.  I bet you know
one or more of these people too.  

You keep using keyboards as hammers & you'll keep buying more
keyboards.  At some point you've invested more in replacement
keyboards than you would if you bought a hammer in the first place.

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