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Fwd: RC: KILLER HORSES

In a message dated 4/22/00 8:31:13 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
SoulsSerenade@aol.com writes:

<<  I don't know about you....but for me, a $2500 horse is out of the 
 question.  I understand it isn't an outrageous price....or necessarily even 
a 
 high price, but, I am just a kid.....and with a mom who would be plenty 
happy 
 if I rode other people's horses, I was on my own when it came time to buy a 
 horse.  This doesn't mean that my mom isn't willing to help out with some 
 expenses, but I am the one who is responsible for making sure my mare has 
 hay, and that her rent is paid on time. >>

Please don't misunderstand what I am going to say but here goes.
As a youngster, all I remember wanting was a horse. we couldn't afford  one 
either. I was in college when I bought my own first horse(many followed!). 
Sometimes we forget that owning a horse is a luzury and no matter how much we 
as kids (or adults) want one, sometimes we just can't have one. As has been 
said before, buying a horse is the least of one's concerns - consider that if 
the purchase price is out of range, then the UPKEEP will break you. 

Unfortunately, what I have found too many times is that people who can't or 
won't invest in a decent family horse - just ol' Blue, sound, plain and 
congenial - are sometimes the same people who want to trade 'labor fo riding 
or lessons". Indeed, I did that once and I ended up teaching more than 
riding. In addition, even leasing a horse to ride - the best option if you 
can't afford to buy or support one -  is a choice that still involves 
expense. No one should be expected either to sell horses dirt cheap - at a 
loss, most times - nor to lease a horse, any horse, for less than it costs to 
keep it. Outside of the occasional 'horse sharing' arrangements, leasing for 
use still costs.

Keeping horses is never an inexpensive situation. We worked hard to have the 
ones we do and it didn't happen over night or early in life. But I surely got 
a chance to ride LOTS of other horses, muck a lot of stall, clean a LOT of 
bridles and work with some terrific trainers. In the end, if one cannot 
afford to buy a horse, they would be hard pressed IMHO to care for the horse 
appropriately - not always, but generally.
san

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<< Here I go stirring up trouble again.  I'm assuming that "a bit high" is 
 this horse price I quoted.  I'm curious how old Ansata was when you got 
 her, how much training she had, and what you think her true value was at 
 the time.  Lif >>

    I don't know about you....but for me, a $2500 horse is out of the 
question.  I understand it isn't an outrageous price....or necessarily even a 
high price, but, I am just a kid.....and with a mom who would be plenty happy 
if I rode other people's horses, I was on my own when it came time to buy a 
horse.  This doesn't mean that my mom isn't willing to help out with some 
expenses, but I am the one who is responsible for making sure my mare has 
hay, and that her rent is paid on time. 
I bought my mare for $1500.  She's a 15 hand, 6 year old morab mare. She is 
built very well and moves like an ol' pro.  I owe, what I like to call, "my 
luck", to a very special individual who had to look beyond her value and 
consider what would be best for his horse.  He has been riding her older (8 
yr old) half brother, who is coming along quite nicely....he's getting to be 
a "been here, done that" sort of guy.... and he has another young 
gelding....his back up horse.  My mare was getting ridden some (mostly by 
me....and her owner when he had more time), but she really needed to get off 
her butt and become something other than a pasture potato. She's well broke 
and....is just a nice mare.  He had me lease her for 3 months before he 
decided I was worthy of owning her.  But when he did, he cut me the greatest 
deal!!!  
So, while I believe there is no such thing as a "free" horse....since they 
all end up costing a bazillion dollars over the years......I don't think a 
horse necessarily needs to be young and untrained in order to be "cheap".  
Perhaps it just takes a nice person, who is more interested in the future of 
his/her horse, than how much money he/she can make.  
:-)
Renee


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