Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Please Reply to: Kim Johnson belesemo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
==========================================

Okay, I have enjoyed this thread immensely and sat on my little typing fingers 
as long as possible.  I rarely get the opportunity these days to read ridecamp 
due to being a soccer mom but just had to respond to this one.

Truman, I think it is wonderful that you and others have had such good luck at 
auctions.  There is nothing I like better than a good Cinderella story and I 
think it is wonderful when any horses are rescued that are deserving of same.  
I totally respect your right to do so.   However, we all know that finding your 
Cinderella is an exception not a rule.  One sometimes has to go through a lot 
of frogs first.  I, too, have tried my hand at auctions in the past, but 
usually find that I get the short end of the stick due to behavioral problems 
that I just don't want to deal with.  Be that as it may, I trust that you are 
also purchasing your pulling rigs, long distance saddles, etc. also at auction. 
The same rules should apply in your life throughout.  If background 
information on your horses are not that important an issue to you, then I 
assume that whether or not your pulling rigs have had routine oil changes, 
filters replaced, transmissions replaced, etc. etc. are not high priorities on 
your list either.  I also assume that when bidding on saddles at auctions that 
it is unimportant to you that the saddles might have a cracked tree, leathers 
that are too long or too short on one side, etc.  In that same manner, when one 
is purchasing horses at auction, it is probably unimportant to you the worming, 
vaccination, farrier and bloodline history of the horse.  It's method of being 
handled from birth is also probably something you are willing to gamble on.  
And I totally respect your right to take that gamble.  However, I must admit 
that having dealt with endurance folks down through the years, I find that many 
times, the most important part of the equation for trail enjoyment and success, 
the horse, is sometimes the most expendable.  It is much easier to just go get 
another horse than to research and purchase another vehicle or try out many 
different saddles.  And I would be the first person to admit that just because 
you have done your homework on research for the horse does not always mean you 
have a winner either.  There are just too many variables that sometimes enter 
in.  Breeding horses is indeed a lengthy and oftentimes heartbreaking process.  
However, I also know that when dealing with a breeder, hopefully you are 
dealing with one that is ethical enough to have kept up to date records on the 
horse from birth that assures you of a good product.  Hopefully there is also 
service before, during and after the sale and attention to all the details that 
make your trail partner something that will perform in the best manner possible 
for you as the most important part of your endurance equation.

Breeding horses for this sport is not for the faint of heart.  A majority of 
riders want breeders to keep their prospects fully maintained (worming, 
farrier, vaccinations, etc.) until they are ready to purchase them at 5 years 
of age - (logisitcally impossible for continued breeding.) They must be running 
out where they can get lots of exercise with other horses, but they cannot have 
any dings, splints, lumps, etc., inflicted on them by other horses from their 
years of running out.  They must be easily caught, routinely handled, load in a 
trailer and have a trot with the extension of 30 feet going in both directions. 
 Having accomplished the afore-mentioned,  the horse must then pass an 
excruciating vet check that rules out any and/or all possibilities of potential 
lameness, deformities, etc. The rider then wants all of the above for the price 
of $2500 or below.  I wish it would work, but I'm afraid the math just doesn't 
compute from a business standpoint.   From a breeder's standpoint, endurance is 
one of the most exacting and demanding sports that anyone ever attempted to 
raise a horse for.  But it is also a true calling if that is where your passion 
lies.  However, I think the sport of endurance is going to find that those 
prospects are going to get harder and harder to find.  I would be very 
interested to see statistics on horse age for the sport of endurance.  At a 
recent registry presentation in Denver, the registry shared that with declining 
registrations (70%) since 1985 in the arabian breed, at this year's national 
show the average age of the performance horse was 15.  The average age at youth 
nationals was 20.   We have an aging arabian population.  We have 3 times as 
many Arabians over ten years old than under.   In fact, 37% of our living 
arabian horses are over 20 years old.  These are statistics that I believe will 
drastically affect this sport in the next few years.  Perhaps one sees many 
arabian horses at auction in California, but I know up here in Idaho, it is a 
rare one that comes through the ring.  I also realize that not only arabians do 
this sport, but one has to admit that they are the primary focus.  Breeding 
horses is a tough game, but it is a necessary one if this sport is to survive.

I applaud this kind of dialogue as it shows what a wonderfully diverse group of 
individuals enjoy and participate in this sport both from a rider and a supply 
side.  May we continue to participate constructively and with great foresight.
Respectfully submitted,
Kim Johnson/Belesemo Arabians


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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!!

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