I'm a insecure Newbie

["Linda B. Merims" <lbm@ici.net>]

I'm going to skirt the edges of copyright here...

Maine horsewoman Margaret Gardiner has the following to say
about the different types of organizations generally found
in horsedom.  The quote is from the chapter titled "What To Join"
in her classic 1969 work, _Losing Less Money Raising Horses_.

  "Each kind of riding club has its own typical organization.
   Western trail riding clubs are generally the least strain
   on the brain.  They are non-competitive amorphous democracies,
   much like some of the New World monkey tribes described by
   the anthropologist Hooton.  The most reluctant members are
   elected to office on the theory that they will push everybody
   around less...If you see a man riding his horse around with no
   bridle, he is a likely candidate for this kind of club.

  "The second type of organization is one which is dedicated to
   showing.  It should be pointed out that the typical American
   horse show is an exhibition, so the typical show enthusiast
   is liable to be an exhibitionist.  The horses favored tend
   to approach the American Saddlebred in type, training and
   fitting, their original use and type forgotten and denied.
   Clubs like this are great for intrigue, feelings always
   run high, competition is violent and the stakes are high too,
   since the horses are frequently being re-sold, and their price
   reflects their owners' status.  Turnover of membership is
   high.  The presidency generally goes to a relative newcomer
   who either just has, or is about to, make a sizable investment
   in horses...If you see a horse kept in a stall with electric
   wire around the sides so that he can't rub his tail...the
   owner is a good candidate for this kind of club.

  "The third type of organization is that influenced by the Cavalry,
   an intensively organized hierarchy with very clearly drawn
   lines of command based on actually achieving certain levels
   of competence.  Oreganizations tending toward this type
   include fox hunts (Fox Hunting, a survival of a pagal blood-
   sacrifice rite, like bull-fighting), Pony Clubs (homes for retired
   race horses); 3-Day Events (occupational therapy for retired
   cavalry officers) and competitive endurance rides (long, slow
   races for middle-aged riders).  Hopefully, the aim of
   these organizations is abstract excellence, not simply
   coaxing ribbons out of a partisan judge.  Of course they
   are composed of human beings and you know what they can be like."


Linda B. Merims
lbm@ici.net
Massachusetts, USA


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