No Sale to Endurance Rider

[connie B Berto <cberto@juno.com>]

Dovie, about five years ago it happened to me too.  I'd heard about a 3
yr old Morgan gelding for sale in Marin; I knew his breeder and
bloodlines and he sounded interesting.  The guy who owned him practically
cried all over the phone about his pain at selling "his baby" and gushed
about wanting to keep 'visitation rights.'     Anyway, I went to this
high-priced boarding facility to see this "baby".   The seller was about
six foot six, he'd been sold this pretty little gelding for a dressage
horse...clearly a bad match.   The first thing I did when the horse was
led out  (in a covered arena) was to run my hands over his back to check
things out.....and was immediately "corrected" by the seller.   "This is
how you do it" he says...then he gave the horse a vigorous tummy lift so
the gelding's back popped up a few inches and then said, "now feel his
back!"    Well, we got beyond that, and I asked to see the horse move out
in the sunshine so I could take a video.   As we were walking outside, he
asked me what I was planning to do with the horse.   I replied, some
cross-country competition  and endurance.  "What's endurance?" says this
guy.   I explained it was monitored races of 50 miles in a day.   "That's
it!" exclaimed this know-it-all.   "No horse of mine is going to go fifty
miles in one day!" and with that he made a U-turn and led the horse back
to his stall, leaving me standing there...I gladly left.
    I heard later on that when the Morgan gelding's breeder found out
about this episode,  she gave this guy hell.   She even called me to
apologize for his rudeness.   She knew the care and conditioning I give
my horses, and she also knew that her stable prefix and breeding program 
would have gotten lots of free advertising wherever I took this horse
(had I bought him).   The seller-jerk was eventually kicked out of that
boarding facility.   I don't know what happened to the horse; I can only
hope he went to a good home.    But it showed very clearly the lack of
knowledge out there about endurance riding.    Regards,   Connie B  
(Calif.)

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