Re: long backs & arabs...questions

[CMKSAGEHIL <CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com>]

Teddy--

I did not say that the long backs are the reason that the horses in question
are castoffs--on the contrary, the long backs are the PRODUCT of the show-ring
look, and our riders get them in the package when they buy these horses.  Most
are castoffs because of other reasons, like head too plain, not enough chrome,
or just plain overbreeding to "popular" sires and then discovering that there
isn't as much show market as people thought.

I could not agree more that you get what you pay for--I am pleased that
endurance riders as a group strive to learn, and although they may enter the
sport on horses with less-than-desirable conformation or metabolism, most ask
questions and do better the next time around.

Sometimes people get lucky with a "Cash" or a "Rio", but often it is because
the people selling them cheap have no idea what they have--just that they
aren't "showy."  (Yes, Valerie and Becky "made" these horses, too, but they
wouldn't have been able to do it without some basic material to work with--it
takes both ends of the equation to get that sort of success--would agree that
neither horse would have realized his potential with a lesser rider, either.)
I don't have the "hands-on" experience with "Cash" that I do with "Rio" but
must say that "Rio" is an extremely well balanced and well built horse, and
also has a pedigree with several family lines that have been noted for their
metabolic capabilities.  No surprises there...

Heidi