Cheap horses

[MBlanchrd@aol.com]

Hi, Devony,

   The point that's got everyone all riled up, as you say, about that one 
letter (looking for a horse) was that the man who wrote, looking for a cheap 
horse was  cheap jerk.
. 
The guy wanted to pay no more than 500 dollars total for two horses. He 
wanted them to be well trained, so well trained that he could entrust the 
lives and safety of two 12 year old kids on them. He wanted horses that were 
so sound they didn't need shoes, and he wanted to pay less money for two 
horses than even the killers pay. He also wanted, but didn't insist on, 
registered horses.

 Now what, do you think, is a horse like that worth? If you had a horse that 
you'd spent years training, spent thousands of dollars keeping trimmed, shod, 
healthy, vetted, vaccinated, fed and supplemented, how much would that horse 
be worth? He wanted but did not insist on a registered horse. As you probably 
know, registered horses cost more than grade horses.
Considering a stud fee, mare care, foaling out, mare board, registration 
fees, then four of five years before the  resulting purebred foal is able to 
do more than basically eat, sleep and learn how to carry a human being.. ask 
a breeder how much he has invested in a horse that moment it's foaled....I 
assure you, no matter WHAT breed, it's a hell of a lot more than $500.....

How much do you think a horse like this is worth? Especially when he was 
asking for an older horse,  one that's proven it's reliable, dependable, 
sound even in it's late teens or early twenties......things like this don't 
just happen. Bad horses get sent to the auction. Unsound ones break down and 
get put down. Unhealthy ones die. When you get a horse that is what he was 
asking for...pushbutton, sound, well conformed, registered or not, with 
enough age on him to be smarter than the rider......you have a horse that is 
literally worth it's weight in gold. 

THIS is what everyone is upset about. This guy piggybacks into ridecamp..I 
KNOW Paul and Lif Strand didn't ask invite this clown, they were doing him a 
favor.....and he walks in, wanting a $10,000 horse for less then $500. This 
guy either is so arrogant that he thinks those of us who HAVE horses like 
he's looking for will jump up and down at the deal he's giving us......or 
he's just plain stupid. Or cheap. Or maybe all. Either way, no one liked his 
attitude, his pomposity, his patronizing tone, or his astounding miserliness. 

If you want to look at it another way, if you have a house that you spent 
$250,000 to design, blueprint, site, build and decorate, how would you feel 
if some bozo walks up and says, "Hey, I'll give you $1000 for that house!"  

Devony, we all know how horses affect kids. They kept me out of trouble, too, 
though my parents still don't realize it. They think that I (at 45.....) am 
still 'going through a phase."...............
Michelle and Jordan  (who is worth his weight in silver, because he's not 
that good at loading....)


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