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Re: [RC] Would you turn down $1.9Mil for your horse - Dubai winner - heidiPlease Reply to: Liz Henry liz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================Talked to someone last evening who knows Dubai gold winner Barbara Lissarrague and her mare Georgat. He said that Barbara was offered $1.9M BEFORE the WEC and she turned it down! Would you? Mind you, Barbara is not wealthy, her husband logs with draft horses, the old way and wouldn't make close to this amount in his entire lifetime. After her win, Barbara was offered $3.2Mil and while this is being negotiated, rumor has it that she will accept the offer, details not available. She owns the mare 50-50. The person I talked to has known the mare since her first ride and said that from the beginning, this mare showed good recoveries but nothing extraordinary. He felt her training had a lot to do with her reaching her potential. Back to the fascinating subject of how much genetics vs. training play a role..... It's too bad that we have such a habit of using "vs" when comparing things, when in fact they don't work against each other, but rather have a combined effect beyond their additive effect. Think of a jar which you need to fill to the top, and you have half a jar of genetics and half a jar of training with which to do it. If you put in your entire half jar of genetics but don't add any training, the jar is still only half full. If you don't have any input from genetics but you train your brains out, the jar is still only half full. You have to have both to get a full jar. I know this is a controversial subject, but I'll state it again because I've seen it happen time and time again--a horse with really superior genetics CAN go out and hold his own against well-trained/conditioned horses with far less genetic potential. It isn't the right thing to do to the horse, and I don't recommend it. But it sure underscores the contribution of innate ability or genetics. Additionally, genetics affect a great many functions besides recovery capability--genetic ability manifests itself in efficiency of converting food to useable energy, in conservation of electrolytes, in muscle fiber type, in the efficiency of kidneys conserving fluids and liver in metabolizing waste products, etc. Genetics also influence the very ability to condition. The sire line of the French mare that won has been a line that has consistently produced superior endurance horses. We likewise have families here that consistently produce horses that are far more suited to endurance than the breed average. Dr. Nik is right--this is an area that the Aussies understand fairly well, but that here in the USA, we are still behind the learning curve. We do have the horses--but their innate ability is not something that our selectors have learned to evaluate. 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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