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Re: [RC] [RC]Horse Buying/Selling - heidi

At 10:33 AM 7/20/2004, Ed & Wendy Hauser wrote:
There will still be an oversupply of horses holding the price down.

With all due respect, that's the problem - we shouldn't care how many
horses there are in the world, when we're talking endurance, we should
only  be considering how many endurance horses there are in the world.
We should  not be looking at the admitted oversupply of horses of all
kinds as the  pool from which we choose our equine athletes, we should
be looking at a  smaller pool of horses bred to have the properties of
top notch endurance  horses.

I believe there is an *undersupply* of endurance horses.  If people were
 able to choose from a large group of horses well suited for the sport
wouldn't we be seeing fewer veterinary problems?  Wouldn't we be seeing
a  significant overall *bettering* of times, and vet check conditions,
and  more competition for that top ten position?  I don't think we are
seeing  those things, and to me that indicates that the horses chosen
for the sport  are not 100% suited for it.


Lif, you are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT about this!  What we are seeing instead is
an INCREASE in veterinary problems, saddle fit problems, all sorts of
problems, due directly to the breeding AWAY from endurance traits!  This
seems to be a concept that is difficult for many to grasp--there really
AREN'T all that many Arabs being bred today that truly ARE well-equipped
to do this sport!

Yes, most can go out and do a few rides.  But to go miles upon miles for
years in a row, or to run competitively without problems--THAT takes a
horse with some inherent talent.  And those are NOT just available in the
culls from other programs.

Ed does have a point, though--that as long as people have the option of
BUYING those culls for cheap, many will.  And that DOES keep the price
down, since there are fewer buyers out actively looking for horses that
actually possess the necessary traits.  But I DO think that education is
making a difference in that trend.  There will always be bargain hunters
and tire kickers--and sometimes they get lucky.  But over the long haul,
the good ones stand out.

I think we really don't have much of a choice in true endurance horses
to  choose from yet.  I think that as long as so many believe any old
horse  will do for endurance, then the quality of endurance competition
will  reflect that any old horses are participating.

We don't.  We did back in the early days.  And the choices have been
declining ever since.  But a few more folks are beginning to get into
breeding for the right reasons--producing GOOD horses that people can
ride.  Bazy Tankersley has really been a big help in getting a bit of a
turnaround going, with her willingness to lecture about producing good
riding geldings.


Heidi



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Replies
Re: [RC] [RC]Horse Buying/Selling, Nancy Mitts
Re: [RC] [RC]Horse Buying/Selling, Ed & Wendy Hauser
Re: [RC] [RC]Horse Buying/Selling, Lif Strand
Re: [RC] [RC]Horse Buying/Selling, Ed & Wendy Hauser
Re: [RC] [RC]Horse Buying/Selling, Lif Strand