Re: Endurance horse prices 1999

["Robert Morris" <bobmorris@rmci.net>]

About time to conclude this discussion but one last final fling. No matter
what market you are in the old law of supply and demand applies. No matter
what it costs to produce a product ( a foal or a competitive endurance
horse) If the demand is not there the price will not be satisfactory.

This part of Idaho an endurance horse top price is $2000 the same horse in
California would be $5000. So, we can purchase a good "prospect' for
considerable less than the top.

Bob Morris
Morris Endurance Enterprises
Boise, ID
-----Original Message-----
From: Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>
To: JANUSTUDIO@compuserve.com <JANUSTUDIO@compuserve.com>; AERC
<ridecamp@endurance.net>; wendyl@jps.net <wendyl@jps.net>; Thiessej@aol.com
<Thiessej@aol.com>; TrailTales@aol.com <TrailTales@aol.com>
Date: Monday, January 25, 1999 11:54 AM
Subject: Endurance horse prices 1999


>At the risk of "beating a dead.... um.... issue to death..."  Isn't it
>interesting/significant that people who are trying or have tried to
>breed for endurance keep talking about how much it costs and we've got a
>bunch of folks who keep talking about reasons why it shouldn't cost them
>very much to buy an endurance horse and there doesn't seem to be much of
>a middle ground?
>
>I have to say I don't hear saddle buyers saying:  Who cares what the
>cost of manufacture is, I'm not paying that much  because:  1)  A saddle
>might not fit, so why pay so much for one?  2)  Even if it fits, it
>doesn't have to be the best  anyway 'cause I'm just a completion
>rider...  3)  I can get one from one of those tack auctions for not much
>money...  4)  Or I could buy a used one from a feed store - a little bit
>of saddle soap will fix it right up   5)  Who needs a saddle just made
>just for endurance anyway?  I could use one from some other sport
>instead.  Etc etc.
>
>Of course the logical end to this would be that if more people feel this
>way than not, then nobody would manufacture endurance saddles any more.
>Right?  The question is, would it matter?  I  think so!
>
>I'd rather go cross country skiing with cross country skis than downhill
>skis, rather not play tennis with a ping pong paddle, and IN MY OPINION
>(not very humble, either, I suppose) I'd rather go endurance racing with
>an endurance horse, not some other kind of horse that's been bred with
>muscle type, conformation or temperament combination meant to excel in
>some other area of competiton, not endurance.  To quote from Jerald
>Thiessen's post "When you find a truly magnificent horse you normally
>find great papers behind it...."  (Truly awesome thought).  If no one
>breeds for magnificence, we all will have to just take the luck of the
>draw when it comes to suitability for our sport.  Not my choice, to hope
>rather than plan.
>
>I have not been reading that people are looking for the best prices for
>horses bred for endurance, but the best prices for ANY horses that seem
>suitable  for endurance.  There's a BIG difference - this is not an
>indicator of "diamonds in the rough", such as hoping to find another
>Rio, but I think instead of the belief that the things breeders think
>are important to create a truly competitive, top notch endurance horse
>(which cost money) are not what buyers think are important, or at least
>not important enough to pay the full price for.
>
>This is not about elitism in the sport, of having the most expensive
>horse on the block.  I am not talking abaout finding a great bargain
>price for a good horse, I am talking about the perception that one
>should not have to pay for the true costs for a certain kind of horse, a
>horse bred for endurance vs a horse not bred for it.  Compare  the cost
>of a dressage horse bred for the sport & sold at 4 or 5 years old with
>basic dressage training, to the cost of a horse not bred or already
>trained for that sport  - would anyone really expect to be truly
>competitive in dressage with the latter?  Why do so many of us EXPECT to
>be able to do just about as well with a horse that is not bred for our
>sport of endurance?
>
>In other words, I think the bulk of the endurance community just wants
>any horse that will complete rides well.  While this is what sets the
>market prices, I just can't see it leading to a future of progressive
>evolution of the sport of endurance racing.   So the question is - does
>this matter?  Lif
>--
>
>                                    ____________
>Lif & Paul Strand   STRAND ENTERPRISES   www.fasterhorses.com
>   Arabian Horses * Nutrition for People & Critters * WebArt
>
>
>