Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Paula I don't know where you are getting your information, but I can tell 
you as a TWH breeder of TRAIL and ENDURANCE horses they do NOT lose their 
value as they age.

Perhaps you are looking at the Big Lick horses from the South? That is an 
entirely different ball game and those poor horses are used up quickly if 
not tossed to the dogs right off the get go if they can't lift those front 
knees up to the moon by 18 months old!

Walkers like any breed reach their peak between 9 and 12 and go on to 
perform excellent well into their twenties. Not for hard working endurance 
at the later age but certainly as a good pleasure horse. It all depends on 
the care they get like any other horse.

Walkers were bred for endurance! Dang show barns have taken that great 
heritage away from them. Read the history on the Tennessee Walking Horse.

I am out on a mission to show people that these great smooth riding horses 
can do this sport and do it with honor. We certainly have gained the respect 
of our fine Arab counterparts in the NW region.

I keep telling people it is not the horse that isn't capable...it is the 
riders. The majority of people getting into gaited horses are "Sunday Poke- 
a -longs"

If you want to successfully compete in AERC, you must get your lazy butt out 
there and train and condition just like the Arab riders do. Don't blame the 
horse for not placing well or not having the recognition in this sport...put 
the blame where it belongs...the riders not wanting to put the time and hard 
work into researching what it takes to have a fit horse to finish.

Just like the Arab riders you have to select the correct type of gaited 
horse to begin with. Long lean muscles, shorter back, competitive attitude. 
If you have had Arabians in the past use that same criteria plus what you 
need in a gaited horse, ie, correct gait, conformation, etc and then go find 
it. I looked at over 1000 horses before I bought my first gaited endurance 
horse. I knew what I needed for this sport coming from an Arabian 
background.

The older gaited horses are the ones that have the most value just as any 
other horse for the same reasons....been there done that. Although I don't 
always agree with that line of thinking. I prefer to purchase youngsters and 
start them out my way. Remember Tennessee Walkers have pleasing dispositions 
and my youngsters are sane and steady right from the get go and I know they 
have been handled in a loving and responsible manner.

If you want to see how my boys have fared right from the beginning of their 
short lived endurance careers go look at my website under endurance photos. 
I am pretty darn proud of them. Now we are up to fifty miler and still 
holding strong in our first full season, I have not posted my season yet, 
but trust me we have done a fine job this year so far with one top ten on a 
very technical course.

If you want more information email me privately. I can direct you perhaps to 
some good breeders of good trail horses and steer you clear of some areas to 
run from too.
amber
rackinfool
www.applegaitnendurancehorses.com 


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=