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Re: [RC] Horsekeeping - Maryanne GabbaniGood statement, Bruce. The general state of horses who are sold here makes slaughter look pretty good no matter how you disagree with it. Egypt is on a par with Black Beauty's England a couple of hundred years ago. Someone might buy a very expensive jumper, but after a few years it is pretty expensive to feed and board it (especially if it isn't winning), so it is sold. If it is lucky, the horse will go to another rider for the time being, no matter how neglectful that person might be. If it is unlucky, it is sold to one of the pyramids hack stables where it will be rented out by the hour, fed haphazardly, and never see a vet. Plenty of young ones never even get the chance to be semi-pampered. I've gotten to be really good at judging the age of a passing horse and plenty of them, either bony and under a tourist near the Giza pyramids or better fed and pulling a cart in the countryside or even in downtown Cairo, are barely two or three. They'll see ten years if they are lucky. They won't see eleven or more if they are lucky.However you do it, horses deserve a decent end but they sure don't get it in the many, many parts of the world where they are part of the bottom rungs of the working pyramid. The poor who are those who depend on these decent animals simply cannot afford the replacement costs much of the time, nor can they afford the wait for maturity. Those who own horses as companions or sporting partners have no such excuse. Maryanne (where it seems that half the horses in Sakkara go to retire. Half my horses are gifts from people wanting to avoid the deadly sales spiral.) On Apr 13, 2006, at 9:38 PM, Bruce Weary DC wrote: When I was in school, I had a classmate, Stephanie, who was also a single mother, and she waited tables to help work her way through school. Some 25 years later, I still remember her complaining about a customer she had waited on and who didn't leave a tip. Stephanie lamented, "If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to dine out." I heartily agree with this statement, and am reinforced in it whenever I see someone who is attempting to do something "on a shoestring," but in reality many times are in over their heads, and avoiding legitimate expenses and responsibilities of being involved in the first place. In our sport, I might see it in someone pulling an unsafe trailer with an underqualified tow vehicle. Or not really going to the adequate time and expense to strengthen and condition a horse to prepare him for an endurance ride, but asking him to complete the distance anyway. Or not shoeing the horse frequently enough. All to save a few bucks and have what we want anyway. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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