Re: RC: Re: Re: KILLER HORSES

[DESERTRYDR1@aol.com]

Gee I've tried to stay out of this, but the talk about "endurance prospects' 
and breeding for certain traits is more than I can keep my mouth shut about.  
Here in the NW and probably lots of other places, almost every Arabian is 
advertised as an endurance prospect (mostly by people who don't have a clue 
whats involved). They just think that because the horse has too much energy 
for them to handle, it would be a "great" endurance horse.  Most of these 
horses are also advertised as "for experienced rider" which means the horse 
is so messed up by the previous idiot that only the most expert rider will be 
able to deal with it.  These are the horses that end up at the killers.  

The other comment I have is I know a person with 21 horses, including three 
stallions (one is 2, and still running with his three 2-yr old 1/2 sisters) a 
three year old, a yearling, a new baby, and the rest are "broodmares".  Most 
of the mares he bought real cheap, and mainly based on their bloodlines.  One 
of the mares has straight hocks, and that tendon problem where they have 
rolled off the point of the hock, dropping her fetlocks almost to the ground. 
 She has 2 babies.  I have tried to ask this guy what he is breeding for, 
specifically.  The best answer he can give is easy-going pleasure horses.  
But he wants some of us to take his horses, condition them and do endurance 
with them.  He doesn't take good care of their feet, has clubfeet all over 
the place (most of his babies) has not halterbroken the 2-yr olds, etc.  It 
drives me crazy to go out there, but my bestfriend is  staying at his place 
rent free while he's in AK.  (She finally convinced him to geld the 2-yr 
old).  When there are people like this around, it's no wonder you breeders 
can't get a decent price for your horses!  If he finally realizes he can't 
keep breeding some one elses culls, or if he can't afford to feed them any 
more, he will be forced to sell them for whatever he can get.  I'm gonna be 
standing in line, because there is one horse on the place that is actually 
pretty decent.  So how do you convince people like this to quit breeding just 
for the sake of breeding?  jeri