Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> What would this mean to the endurance sector? Perhaps enough
> change to  allow those of us who are breeding athletes to continue to do
> so. :-)
I find this statement odd, having just lost a night's sleep to four mares
in various degrees of about-to-foal, foaling, or just-foaled.  While I
resent the continuing actions by the Higher-Ups at AHA that make it
difficult for us to market to the general public, I've still never
observed any lack of market for the sorts of horses that RIDERS want to
buy.  I do not have a "sugar daddy" and while I don't make a living with
my horses by any means, they still have to bring in some income in order
for me to keep going at this level.  We had a brief dip in activity when
we moved so far off the beaten path, but seem to be headed right back to
having sufficient interest in our horses.  Additionally, we realize that
we aren't selling shoes--if we don't keep breeding, we will not have the
same program available a decade from now.  You can't put genes (as opposed
to jeans) on the shelf until it suits you or the fads change.  You have to
keep the horses in production.  And if you breed solid riding stock, there
is always a market.

> (and I am including EVERY line be it CMK, Polish Crabbet,
> Russian  Egyptian-- whatever)
<sigh>  We have all been talking about good horses in general here--in
case you hadn't noticed.  That said--when one breeds based on a
nationality vs on a program-based system, one has to walk the minefield of
whatever fads and trends that nationality underwent.  There are astute
breeders who have managed a "preservation" approach to the using horses of
Russian, Egyptian, and Polish stock and who are producing top-notch
horses.  My hat is off to them, and I notice they also have no trouble
selling their horses.  But part of consumer education is realizing that a
nationality does not infer a type of horse, any more than saying that an
"American" Arab has any consistency in type or usefulness.

Heidi



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They're athletes! This is a partnership between horse and rider - we don't
have any jockeys out there, just pals and partners. We'd allow a rider with
a broken foot, a sore back and a nasty cold to compete - but we would never
let a horse in a similiar condition hit the trail. 
~  Dr. Barney Flemming DVM

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