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[RC] big buts on endurance horses - apachepetra

I agree that there is definatly something wrong with the way Quarter
Horses/Paints are being bred for halter.  I have a perfect example of this
and what happens when these horses are asked to work.  I am sure that my
story is not unique by any means.  I bought a 4 yr old paint gelding
basically as my first horse and didn't have any idea on comformation at
the time.  This had been worked with as a baby and then was started as a 2
yr old and had about 12 rides on him and then had no more work done with
him until I bought his as a 4 yr old.  I used him as part of my schooling,
but he was never ridden hard or for a long duration of time.  About a year
after I bought him he suddenly became very lame and after a month of
experimentation and rest, ect I took him to Iowa State University and they
did all the diagnostic work and he was diagnosed with Navicular in both
front feet and the vet said that he had a moderate case at that time. 
This horse had had done almost no work and as a 5 yr old already had a
moderate case of Navicular.  I don't think that in my boys case you could
point a finger at anything accept conformation for the problem.  When I
got out of school I trail rode him some mostly at a walk and at most three
days at a time and never all day rides.  By the time he was 8 yrs old I
had to stop riding him at all because his behavior became dangerous
(bucking and rearing) under saddle because of the pain.  I put him down at
the end of January having just turned 11 and I should have done it a
couple years before that.
In my opinion those horses are just there to look pretty.
Also in my opinion I definatly think that the halter classes give arabians
a bad immage.  I was one of those people who thought that arabians were
crazy and ditzy because that was what I had seen of arabs.  I now know
better because I own a wonderful purebred arabian and have seen tons of
arabians at the endurance rides and have only seen a few of those kind of
moments.  Now I would not own a horse that wasn't at least half-arabian.

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