HORSES & ECONOMICS

[DVeritas@aol.com]

Lif,
    When someone loads a horse into a trailer and heads to an XP or an OT or
almost any hundred, or a fast fifty, well, that person is about to ask that
horse to do what I consider to be one of the most taxing and difficult tasks
people ask of horses.  The horses who try this particular endeavor should be
the better of the two (show horses & endurance horses).  The price probably
should reflect that.  But, often, it doesn't.
    IMO, the best Arabians out there, or the best "horses" for that matter,
should be the ones competing in endurance.  We ask them to risk their
serviceability, and in some cases, their actual lives, in order to compete in
endurance.  (Operative word here is "compete").  Most can't pay "top dollar"
for their horses, but that's not to say that only "top dollar" horses can
compete and be successful...quite the contrary.  Horses with correct
conformation, good dispositions and resiliency have proven to be able to
compete and be successful in endurance.
    No indoor arena, nor dressage ring can truly simulate the conditions so
aptly described by the Duck as, "You could die out there..."  (And, yes, I
know that there are many horses "drilled" and "strong-armed" in indoor arenas
across this nation who truly pay high prices for their being pinned.)
     I guess what I'm saying is, maybe HORSES and ECONOMICS shouldn't be used
in the same sentence...seems like a mutually exclusive condition.
    I still raise 'em, still muck after 'em, still watch the pickup drive off
my place 'cause I've priced them too high when "I can find a good endurance
horse for 800 bucks" jumps into their truck and heads for the sale barn...but,
what 'cha gonna do?
    "Just be true to yourself and your beliefs", is how I was raised...
     So, I ride 'em and love 'em and when someone comes along that recognizes
my horses' intrinsic value, I then "place" them.
     Luck to you, Lif.

     Frank.