Re: [RC] "pound dog" mentality for horses? - SandyDSA
I don't believe that "source" is in itself indicative of potential on its
own; however, generally, a horse is dumped for a reason, in my mind never a GOOD
one, but there you have it. A horse of unknown parentage and/or history is a
gamble no matter how you want to slice it. It is through no fault of the horse
that he or she is summarily left to whatever elements available. Non-registered
horses are not of lesser quality simply because of a lack of paperwork; however,
many times they are sold or given away without papers because they are poor
representatives of the blood. At the same time, some "beautiifully papered"
horses would NEVER find thei way into MY barn because their star status as
"show' or "halter" horses does me no good at all in terms of either RIDING or
BREEDING competent athletes of the Arabian breed. Therefore, it is true that
buying from a breeder many times is as much a crap shoot as the auction. I would
much prefer to pay a bigger price to a known endurance breeder; but since we
also do compete in other disciplines, some correct type is desirable, and a
level of smoothness to the conformation, proper length of back for clearing
fences, and an elasticity of movement that frankly every distance horse may not
have. We look for a lot in a horse, so wouldn't assume to find it at an
auction
