Re: I'm Buying My First Endurance Horse

["Linda B. Merims" <lbm@ici.net>]

Carolyn Burgess said:

>HELP!  I'm going to look at my first, bought for the purpose, endurance 
>horse.  Now, I don't want a hard time about this, but it's not an Arabian, 
>she's a Standardbred, which is my all time favorite breed.  I need to know 
>what to look for, other than the obvious (straight legs, good standing heart 
>rate, good confirmation, etc.)...

Find out if she's ever been raced, or even seriously broken to harness and
started.  From what I've seen in the Standardbred training barn in which I
board my horse, the cold truth is I'd never buy an off-the-track Standardbred
if I was looking for a serious endurance prospect that I would be putting
*years* of effort into before "asking the question."
 
A racing shed row is like an orthopedic ward:  everybody's got something and
there isn't much these guys won't do to a horse to get it to its next
race.

If you fall in love with her, then I hope she's from a rich man's barn and
not a poor man's.  Ask to talk to her existing vet(s) to get a history on
her.  Pray he's honest.  Get x-rays.  And get a blood test that checks for
doping to obscure unsoundness.

Linda B. Merims
lbm@ici.net
Massachusetts, USA