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RE: [SPAM] [RC] How do you pick the horse? - heidi

Let's suppose there are a number of 3 year old horses with similar back
grounds and breeding available.
How would you select the one or two to put two years of feed, training, and
conditioning into with the idea of having a good 50 mile horse at 5 years
old.

None are yet under saddle.

What conformation qualities would you insist on?
What else would be important to you?

First, I'd clarify that the "similar backgrounds and breeding" are GOOD
backgrounds and breeding that represents fairly consistent relatedness
to successful endurance horses.  This is really your only window into
metabolic performance in the untried youngster.  

Conformation-wise, I want a balanced body--by that, I mean a horse that
is roughly 1/3 shoulder, 1/3 back, and 1/3 hip (at very least, the back
and hip need to match and have reasonable angulation), and that has a
depth of body equal to the distance from the sternum to the ground. 
(You won't get that in a 3-year-old, but you should have some idea that
he is headed that direction.)  I want good substance, and nice short
cannons with long forearms and long tibias.

The other things that I'd look for would be the one that goes to the
feed pile first and digs right into it, the one that accepts work
calmly and wants to be a part of the team, and in general the one that
takes care of himself rather than going off on a tangent because
something changed in his environment.

Heidi


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