Re: The Leasing Game

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-08-31 10:19:51 EDT, truman.prevatt@netsrq.com writes:

<< I really can't believe that a horse that has a major metabolic crash -
serious
 enough to have to spend time in a hoptial is "going to be fine".   Such
 injuries have to leave their mark and decrease both their career as an
 endurance horse - both length and performance wise. >>

I agree.  But this is not the fault of the leasing system.  Please refer to my
previous post in which I refer to the fact that the vast majority of metabolic
crashes that I have witnessed and/or treated have been horses ridden by their
own owners.  And as I also mentioned, I have seen leasing riders back off or
quit when the horse wasn't right, and have heard the owners swear and holler
and denigrate the riders behind their backs because they thought the horse was
"just fine" and they wanted the horse (in their greed) to have this or that or
the other ride credentials.  Many of the leasing riders are fine and talented
horsemen who are more in tune with the unfamiliar horse than its own owner
will ever be.  That's the part where knowing something about the leasing rider
comes into play.  I coached one rider on the Danish team who had NEVER ridden
100 (previously they could qualify by only having ridden 75)--the horse he was
on had only been on one 100.  We put them together because they were well
suited to each other, and we thought that was more important than the mutual
lack of experience.  He got a bit caught up on the first leg, but backed off
after the first check--the horse's owner and I ended up meeting him at every
legal crew point through the night in the dark to encourage and advise, and he
crossed the finish line with about half an hour to spare, horse cantering
nicely across the line with ears up, pulse down promptly, passed the vet check
with flying colors and off to his stall where he tore into his feed all night.
I had ridden with this guy at a previous ride he had done in the States (on a
borrowed horse), and knew him to be a good and conscientous rider; I had no
qualms at all about getting him through the ride on that horse other than
meeting the shortened cut-off time.  The other side of this coin is that if
you ever want to lease a horse from someone else to ride, it pays to keep your
nose clean and develop a reputation as a careful and caring rider.  I know a
lot of riders that I would never lease or sell a horse to, just because I have
watched how they treat their own horses, and that sort of word has a way of
getting around.

By the way, our Danish riders came about two weeks before the horses left for
Kansas, and spent that time riding their assigned horses under the tutelage of
the owners--I think that is an important aspect in leasing, too.  They
traveled with the horses to Kansas, and by the time we got there, they were
quite familiar with them. I have seen other folks do this, too, and I really
think that sort of plan helps the lease be a success to both parties.  

Heidi