"These horses, at the very least deserve our respect and preservation,,
they have the blood of the beautiful, strong, graceful, noble Arabians,
the spanish -barbs, the sturdy quarter-horse, the baskur-curly, The
Gentle Giants, the Draft Breeds, and more!"
For those of us who imprint foals, worm, give shots, have farriers
regularly, handle foals daily, pay for vets, and put heart and soul into the
"business" of raising a horse, we often find potential customers taken away
by BLM auctions. Some people are looking to find dreams at a bargain price
that we can't afford to compete with. It costs me--by the time a foal is
weaned--about $2500--not counting the stud fee--to keep the foal's dam
during pregnancy and her and the foal until weaning. This doesn't count vet
expenses for foaling, if any--just grain, hay, vitamins, worming, shots,
pregnancy check(s), floating teeth (very important for pregnant mares), fly
spray, other horse care supplies, mortgage for her acre or so of pasture and
her share of the barn.
But the result is a healthy, well-balanced, happy young horse wtih manners
that will make a wonderful lifetime companion for someone. I can't possibly
compete with BLM, but I hope that people who want the kind of horse I breed
and raise will have the wisdom to come to me.
We all know that the purchase price is usually the least expensive aspect of
horse ownership. A $150 "bargain" often is no bargain at all.
Some are happy with BLM horses--there are some success stories, but then
there are the tragedies of people who wind up with unmanageable horses and
become soured on horses because of their experience.
There are many fine--even great--endurance horses--and we all know who some
of them are--who were rescue horses. But given the choice, would you want a
horse that might have a damaged gut from parasites, or weak bones or bad
teeth from malnutrition?
Susan B. Felker
Black Ridge Arabians
Route 1 Box 647
Floyd, VA 24091-9797
540-593-2117
e-mail: felker@swva.net