Re: RC: Now Cannons was Belesemo

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/30/00 9:32:39 AM Pacific Standard Time, woa@stormnet.com 
writes:

<< I agree (and no sour grapes, my horses have respectable cannon bones)
 and have to tell you funny story. When I first was contacted by
 endurance people someone asked me the size of my sale horse's cannons.
 Because we had briefly been into racing I knew that race people prized
 horses with short cannon bones so I naturally measured the distance
 between the knee and the fetlock and was very proud of the measurement
 as it was short when compared to forearm. Well needless to say what kind
 of reaction I got from my buyer. Talk about feeling stupid. Then I
 thought about it; if the whole sale depended on cannon bone measurement,
 what was really dumb here.>>

<snip>

<< Now did
 she ask to see the horse move or comment about her great conformation?
 No, she asked a farrier who was there what size shoe she would wear; he
 guessed a size 0 which is what 90 % of Arabs wear, particularly of her
 size he said. Well she turned and walked away; she wanted a size 1 foot.
 Now there is a perfect example of getting stuck on one issue and
 forgetting the total picture.  >>

Boy, howdy, Bette, did you hit the nail on the head with that one!  Not a one 
of these measurements means a thing if not related to the whole horse.  And 
yet folks will turn their noses up at some of the most balanced, athletic 
prospects because they don't have this or that measurement.

One of our best stallions is what I consider to be barely adequate in the 
bone department.  Do we ride him?  You bet!  Do we breed him?  Yes, he's put 
some hellacious babies on the ground.  In fact, one of his colts sold last 
fall as a stallion prospect, and has some of the best bone you could want.  
But--we DO select his mares to bring out the best in him and to try to add in 
areas where we feel he could use some help.  He has some superlative bone in 
his background, and every foal we've had here by him has had better bone than 
daddy.  But--that's what breeding is all about.

Heidi