The fortunate thing is that we are not competing in an
East Coast show ring, we are competing on a trail with a horse that can actually
travel somewhere.
"Beauty is as beauty does." This is one of
the many quotes I was raised on. It means: It doesn't matter so
much whether the brand is beautiful, it matters whether the horse can take you
where you want to go...how far and how fast.
My husband's best endurance horse was Grey, a 16-hand
freight train. If it hadn't been for the brand on his right shoulder, I
never would have been able to trace him to his breeder and to his ancestry,
which was Morgan sire, Percheron dam. His brand was ugly,
too, apparently made freehand with a running iron rather than a branding
iron. Because it was just far enough off from what it was intended to be,
I almost did not find his breeder and ancestry. But...being the persistent
person I am, I finally did track it down, and the rest is history.....Grey -
trail horse, cow horse, endurance horse (Tevis - 4th) and actor.
But, I have to agree.. those brands turn me off
... not only the ouch factor .. but they are flat ugly .. looks like a toddler
did it with a fat crayon. I can't imagine that being acceptable in
an East Coast show ring...
