Endurance horse prices 1999

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

At the risk of "beating a dead.... um.... issue to death..."  Isn't it
interesting/significant that people who are trying or have tried to
breed for endurance keep talking about how much it costs and we've got a
bunch of folks who keep talking about reasons why it shouldn't cost them
very much to buy an endurance horse and there doesn't seem to be much of
a middle ground?

I have to say I don't hear saddle buyers saying:  Who cares what the
cost of manufacture is, I'm not paying that much  because:  1)  A saddle
might not fit, so why pay so much for one?  2)  Even if it fits, it
doesn't have to be the best  anyway 'cause I'm just a completion
rider...  3)  I can get one from one of those tack auctions for not much
money...  4)  Or I could buy a used one from a feed store - a little bit
of saddle soap will fix it right up   5)  Who needs a saddle just made
just for endurance anyway?  I could use one from some other sport
instead.  Etc etc.

Of course the logical end to this would be that if more people feel this
way than not, then nobody would manufacture endurance saddles any more.
Right?  The question is, would it matter?  I  think so!

I'd rather go cross country skiing with cross country skis than downhill
skis, rather not play tennis with a ping pong paddle, and IN MY OPINION
(not very humble, either, I suppose) I'd rather go endurance racing with
an endurance horse, not some other kind of horse that's been bred with
muscle type, conformation or temperament combination meant to excel in
some other area of competiton, not endurance.  To quote from Jerald
Thiessen's post "When you find a truly magnificent horse you normally
find great papers behind it...."  (Truly awesome thought).  If no one
breeds for magnificence, we all will have to just take the luck of the
draw when it comes to suitability for our sport.  Not my choice, to hope
rather than plan.

I have not been reading that people are looking for the best prices for
horses bred for endurance, but the best prices for ANY horses that seem
suitable  for endurance.  There's a BIG difference - this is not an
indicator of "diamonds in the rough", such as hoping to find another
Rio, but I think instead of the belief that the things breeders think
are important to create a truly competitive, top notch endurance horse
(which cost money) are not what buyers think are important, or at least
not important enough to pay the full price for.

This is not about elitism in the sport, of having the most expensive
horse on the block.  I am not talking abaout finding a great bargain
price for a good horse, I am talking about the perception that one
should not have to pay for the true costs for a certain kind of horse, a
horse bred for endurance vs a horse not bred for it.  Compare  the cost
of a dressage horse bred for the sport & sold at 4 or 5 years old with
basic dressage training, to the cost of a horse not bred or already
trained for that sport  - would anyone really expect to be truly
competitive in dressage with the latter?  Why do so many of us EXPECT to
be able to do just about as well with a horse that is not bred for our
sport of endurance?

In other words, I think the bulk of the endurance community just wants
any horse that will complete rides well.  While this is what sets the
market prices, I just can't see it leading to a future of progressive
evolution of the sport of endurance racing.   So the question is - does
this matter?  Lif
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