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Re: [RC] [RC]Horse Buying/Selling - heidiAt 10:33 AM 7/20/2004, Ed & Wendy Hauser wrote:There will still be an oversupply of horses holding the price down.With all due respect, that's the problem - we shouldn't care how many horses there are in the world, when we're talking endurance, we should only be considering how many endurance horses there are in the world. We should not be looking at the admitted oversupply of horses of all kinds as the pool from which we choose our equine athletes, we should be looking at a smaller pool of horses bred to have the properties of top notch endurance horses. I believe there is an *undersupply* of endurance horses. If people were able to choose from a large group of horses well suited for the sport wouldn't we be seeing fewer veterinary problems? Wouldn't we be seeing a significant overall *bettering* of times, and vet check conditions, and more competition for that top ten position? I don't think we are seeing those things, and to me that indicates that the horses chosen for the sport are not 100% suited for it. Lif, you are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT about this! What we are seeing instead is an INCREASE in veterinary problems, saddle fit problems, all sorts of problems, due directly to the breeding AWAY from endurance traits! This seems to be a concept that is difficult for many to grasp--there really AREN'T all that many Arabs being bred today that truly ARE well-equipped to do this sport! Yes, most can go out and do a few rides. But to go miles upon miles for years in a row, or to run competitively without problems--THAT takes a horse with some inherent talent. And those are NOT just available in the culls from other programs. Ed does have a point, though--that as long as people have the option of BUYING those culls for cheap, many will. And that DOES keep the price down, since there are fewer buyers out actively looking for horses that actually possess the necessary traits. But I DO think that education is making a difference in that trend. There will always be bargain hunters and tire kickers--and sometimes they get lucky. But over the long haul, the good ones stand out. I think we really don't have much of a choice in true endurance horses to choose from yet. I think that as long as so many believe any old horse will do for endurance, then the quality of endurance competition will reflect that any old horses are participating. We don't. We did back in the early days. And the choices have been declining ever since. But a few more folks are beginning to get into breeding for the right reasons--producing GOOD horses that people can ride. Bazy Tankersley has really been a big help in getting a bit of a turnaround going, with her willingness to lecture about producing good riding geldings. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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