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[RC] [RC] [RC] Deb Bennett's Article in Jan EN - Sherman - KimFue

Kathy,
    You make an excellent point when you say "Hopefully we all take good care of our horses and not put so much early stress on them that they have problems from it."  I think articles like Deb Bennett's just give us more information and help to educate us so we do make decisions on when and how to start when we "compete" with our horses we can do so with the horse's best interest in mind.   
 
FYI, Deb Bennett does make the point in her article that just because a 14 year old teen ager can "reproduce" does not mean he is mature and finished growing..... and is an adult.
 
 
 
Well, which competitive equine sports ARE in the best interest of the horse? At any age? If breeders and owners all had to wait until a horse was 6 or 8 to compete, there probably wouldn't be a horse industry in the United States. We just need to be reasonable with what we ask our horses to do and not ask more than they are capable of, but even then, they can still get injured or lame just hanging out in the pasture waiting to grow up. Nature doesn't wait until the horses are mature before putting stress on them. Think about how young wild or feral horses start reproducing. Certainly they are not yet mature.  Hopefull, we all take good care of our horses and not put so much early stress on them that they have problems from it.
 
Hopefully,
Kathy