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["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

guest guest@endurance.net
Please don't assume that all Middle Eastern countries
have 'cultures' like the UAE!!!  Also, don't paint all Emiratis
with the same brush--not all of them are like the most well-
known one.  HE does treat his horses worse than bicycles, has no 
respect for them as animals, no love--but some people here do
(Sheikh Ahmed Al Nuami is one of the few).
I live in the UAE and work on the side as a workrider for a 
royal endurance stable (not you-know-who's)--when we have horses
that don't work out (i.e. don't win) they are used as riding
horses for other family members.  In fact, we have some
old horses (18-23) with various problems (blindness, tendon
problems, etc) that would probably be put down in the US but
are kept here living great lives (good food, grooming, stables).
This may not be representative of all UAE stables (in fact I'm
sure it's not), but please don't think all Emiratis are
heartless money and fame worshippers!!!
By the way, if you want a laugh, take a look at today's Gulf 
News, where it is claimed that 'the UAE were the real winners
but without medals'!!