Re: RC: Type A horses/good or bad?

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/14/00 8:01:35 AM Pacific Daylight Time, DebiG54@aol.com 
writes:

<< Forgive me for jumping in here, but I beg to differ with your thoughts 
above. 
 I don't think a wired horse should be so easily dismissed.  You just never 
 know... >>

Debi, I try hard not to have preconceived notions.  But that does not make 
the observation any less valid that MOST of these horses wash out and don't 
make it.  Yes, I've seen some that (like Redman) have done great.  But it IS 
a handicap, even if that particular individual overcomes it (and of course, 
the RIDER has to work within that framework, too).  

By the same token, I've seen horses with hideous legs, for instance, that 
have done great--run up front, and run for many miles.  Does that mean I 
would intentionally select a horse with hideous legs??  No way!  It doesn't 
take away from the crooked horse's achievements, but one has to understand 
that he has done what he has IN SPITE OF the handicap, not BECAUSE of it.

I wear a lot of different hats--one as a ride vet, and one as a breeder.  I 
see a lot of things as a ride vet that defy explanation.  But that does NOT 
mean that as a breeder, I'm gonna run right out and breed to a horse that 
wins that is a very flawed individual--what are the odds of reproducing that 
whatever-it-is that allows that horse to win in spite of himself, while 
dodging the handicaps?  The result is generally flawed horses that don't 
amount to a hill of beans.  One can greatly admire an individual and still be 
honest about his faults--it doesn't get one anywhere to pretend that the 
faults are virtues.

Heidi