Re: Rescue horses

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/22/99 10:28:07 PM Pacific Standard Time,
linda_cowles@mentorg.com writes:

<< Middle of the pack and "finish is to win" folks will settle for the
 horse that steals our heart while not emptying our pockets. The very
 savvy top notch folks can often pick a good horse out without spending
 much money or hesitating because of bloodlines. >>

Interestingly enough, most of the top riders select horses with good endurance
bloodlines, whether they know it or not.  I don't see very many surprises up
there in the bright lights.  And as to horses that steal our hearts while not
emptying our pocketbooks--that is another trait of the well bred endurance
horse--the good ones tend to be good-minded, too, and even if you are not a
front-runner, you generally appreciate a horse that is built properly (hence
does not have to see the chiropractor twice a week just to be functional, does
not have to have corrective shoes, does not go through 20 saddles before
finding one that fits, etc.), has proper metabolic functions (less trips to
the vet, no need for a bunch of fancy stuff to coax the horse to eat, does not
"wash out" running its race tied to the trailer on Friday night, etc.)--lots
of reasons to have a good one!  And once again, there are multiple lines that
are successful--this is not a matter of trying to push one specific line, but
more a matter of education as to which of several lines do well, and which to
avoid.

(And by the way, Bob, I have known your program since its inception, and you
have yet to have an Arab in your program with a poor endurance pedigree, even
though you have had a variety of bloodlines--the breeding gave you those
physical traits you select, and you have a good eye for them.  You have
managed to select horses that I would also would predict would do well by
pedigree.  It is all part of the same fabric...)

Heidi