ridecamp@endurance.net: re: Fashion and "The Market"

re: Fashion and "The Market"

Bennett, M. David (mdbennett@tva.gov)
Thu, 6 Mar 1997 11:42:18 -0500

Nikki said
>> And although paying top dollar for a well-bred show horse might
minimise your risks of having a dud, it doesn't necessarily follow that
the
same applies to endurance horses. You really can't tell how well a horse
will perform in endurance until you get out there and put the training
in.
That wonderful-looking horse just mightn't have what it takes, in
attitude
or whatever. So I guess if you are taking the same risks with a cheap
horse
as with an expensive one, why buy the expensive one? OTOH, I would
expect to
pay big biccies for a qualified endurance horse that had already proved
itself. And if I was trying to sell horses to the endurance market I
would
be taking them out and putting them through their novice rides before I
put
them up for sale so I could be justified in asking for what I thought
they
were worth.
>>

Like many of us here I have observed some of this. As an example, a
friend had a 7/8 Arab (1/8 TWH) that she got in a trade for a small,
previously foundered, pony. Not especially pretty, he also looked awful
travelling. Each foot looked as if it were going in a different
direction than the other three. He was as unlikely a candidate to stay
sound over a long time period as one could find! However, she had
nothing else to ride at the time and little to lose in trying him out.
So, she started trail riding him and took him to an endurance ride. He
was not fast but very steady and consistent. One ride led to another
and before she knew it he had almost 1000 miles in open rides, never a
pull, always sound and great recoveries. It's hard to stop riding a
horse that does that well!

Along came her dream horse - beautiful conformation, nice head,
well-bred, and looked wonderful at a trot - breathtaking in harness! He
was QUITE a bit more expensive than what she wanted to spend but, What
the Heck! Her plan was to get a nice horse, start him slowly, and keep
riding him for the next ten years or so. The extra money would not
matter over that long a time of ownership, anyway. She immediately
bought him and sold the old, ugly horse to a junior.

Over two frustrating years later, with lots of LSD work, and very
careful, controlled, slow ride starts, the new, gorgeous horse still had
not even completed a ride. Minor lamenesses kept getting him pulled at
the second or third vet check. He did training rides just fine but
seemed to never be able to go sound in competition no matter how slow
and carefully they went. She finally gave up on him because she really
wanted to be out competing (ie, simply completing) and he did not seem
to be able to do it. She is successfully doing so now, on a different
horse (bought for $700, green, unbroken) started the same way as the one
she gave up on...

The junior took the old, ugly horse and started competing on him. Piece
of Cake! He ALWAYS completed, great recoveries, always steady and
business-like, and never a lameness despite his way of travelling that
hurt one to watch! With feet going every which way he never interfered.
She won top junior in the region on him one year. With two thousand
miles of open rides, he has had only one pull - the result of a stone
bruise. What a great little horse!

This is not saying that expensive horses will be unsound and cheap ones
will stay sound. Or, vice-versa. It does say that a big price for an
unproven prospect does not guarantee that one will do well. I
personally have found more buyer interest in a horse that has done a few
completion-only rides. Many of us don't want to buy a proven winner to
take to rides. That's almost too easy! But, we sure want to avoid the
kind of time my friend wasted when she tried to start her dream horse.
That translates into what could be called 'perceived value'. For a
performance horse, proof that he can do the job adds considerably to
what others perceive his value to be. Just looking the part ain't
enough...

Dave Bennett & Ben Amil
Chickamauga, Georgia

M. David Bennett, P.E.
423-751-3968
751-3453 - Fax
email - mdbennett@tva.gov

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