Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

My distance horse Star, who has been my trail
companion for 8 years now, was more or less a rescue.
I paid $800 for him and I was his last stop before the
auction at Bristow OK.

We've got a lot of miles together, CTR and AERC and
he's extremely athletic and talented. I'm not at all
opposed to rescuing horses. In fact, I have a field
full of horses who needed rehabbing and rescuing,
including my mares and stallion. I've often thought of
naming our place "Second Chance Farm" instead of
BayRAb Acres.

But it has not all been rosy, as Heidi knows and has
heard my stories about Star. While he has the athletic
ability, his mind was not always with me. Sure, I paid
next to nothing for a good, solidly built and very
handsome horse. But I've spend FAR FAR more than that
on training, coaching and work and time to undo some
of the emotional and mental baggage he came with.

I'll never deride anyone for rescuing a horse and
giving it a new lease on life.

However, after breeding my own from good bloodlines
and getting her ready for trail work, there's a huge
difference. 

You just don't ever know for sure what you are getting
from an auction.  People stop me at rides to tell me
how beautiful my horses is. Vets have admired him. I'm
sure he must have some good bloodlines to have the
conformation and abilities he's got. However, my
concern always with rescue horses is that you don't
know all their history and you don't know what issues
you may never be able to resolve.

For all of his talents and looks, I never know when
I'm going to be launched airborne when I ride Star.
AFter 8 years, he's much better than he used to be,
but my 4YO probably is a safer mount and less prone to
leaping out from under me. Why? because I know what's
gone into her as far as breeding, her handling from
birth through saddle training, etc.

It's taken me 8 years to get my "auction" horse to
where I want him to be mentally. I've waited 4 years
for my filly to grow up and she's already light years
ahead of him in many things. By the time she's 8 years
old, she should be way ahead of Star in her training
and miles records and still have a long lifetime ahead
of her!

If you look at it just for the investment return, she
has been a much better deal. 

You can't always look to rhyme or reason why we pick
one horse over another. I am a firm believer that
whether it is a well-bred, well raised animal, or a
rescue, horses come into our lives at a certain time
for a reason. Each one has its gifts to share with us
and lessons to teach us.

chris
--- heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> > You save a dog from the pound from being put down
> before it's time.  You
> >  buy a horse from the killers to save it from
> being put down before it's
> >  time.  There's a lot of difference between that
> and buying a horse for
> > a  specific job.
> Bingo.  I have no problem with rescuing horses and
> giving them happy
> lives.  But I expect my endurance horses to be
> premier athletes--not just
> happy pets.  Big difference there.
>
> Heidi
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>  Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net,
> http://www.endurance.net.
>  Information, Policy, Disclaimer:
> http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
>  Subscribe/Unsubscribe
> http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp
>
>  Ride Long and Ride Safe!!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>

=====
"A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot

Chris and Star

BayRab Acres
http://pages.prodigy.net/paus

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=