Type A horses/good or bad?

[DebiG54@aol.com]

In a message dated 06/14/2000 10:05:27 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com writes:

<< I think it has to do 
 more with an equine equivalent of a "Type A" personality--where the horse is 
 giving himself adrenaline and hyping himself up--and I don't think that is a 
 good thing in this sport.  That constant "revving of the engine" (pardon the 
 vehicular analogy) depletes all manner of things--lytes, energy, etc.--and 
 "washes the horse out" before he ever hits the trail. >>

Heidi:

Forgive me for jumping in here, but I beg to differ with your thoughts above. 
I don't think a wired horse should be so easily dismissed.  You just never 
know...

I've always described my wonderful horse, CBS Redman, as being an ULTRA "Type 
A" personality.  His whole career, he wasted enormous amounts of energy being 
nervous in the trailer, being nervous at the campsite, being nervous 
EVERYWHERE.  He would exhibit nearly every counterproductive behavior to 
completing a successful endurance ride in one piece.  He would often pass 
mucous covered manure upon reaching the campsite--not a good sign--or he'd 
have the runs.  He never ate or drank well before a ride.  Very frequently, 
he would be at a race for two days and never drink a drop of water inside his 
pen.  He almost never drank during any race before going 25-30 miles.  And he 
would rarely eat until he'd gone about 50.  He was just too wired, too "Type 
A." He was always gazing down the trail, ready to go again.  I learned to 
quit worrying.  Even as he aged (he's 18 now) he mellowed very little.

And yet, his record has been remarkable.  He not only has been first or 
second in nearly all his completions, but he had more best condition wins 
than race wins.  My point here is that all horses are individuals.  Some 
horses do, indeed, lose too much of themselves when they're too wired.  But, 
like almost everything else in this sport, there are no absolutes, no rules 
that apply in all cases.

Another note...my mare, Saizahra, that I've been campaigning the last few 
years, has another issue that, at first, worried me sick.  She will not 
urinate during a race.  She has completed and won 100 mile races without ever 
urinating.  And that includes the Old Dominion a few years ago, where her 
ride time was over 15 hours!  We were on the trail over 18 hours and she 
never urinated.  I used to wring my hands over it and try all the tricks to 
make her go.  She just wouldn't.  I finally quit worrying.  Not urinating 
never affected her pulse or anything else.  Go figure!

My point is, these horses can defy many of our preconceived notions about 
what's "ideal."  I would hate to see someone eliminate a prospect just 
because he wasn't stoic or had some other aberration.  You just never know!

Debi Gordon