Post by horseguy on Nov 29, 2016 14:18:40 GMT
Naturally unbalanced horses are not uncommon but what do we do with them? Yesterday I watched a big mature horse run in a 5 acre pasture for about 10 minutes. I was there to bring him in at feeding time. He apparently is one of those "you can't catch me" jerks, so I stood there an watched him move around me by running up the hill, galloping back down, stopping, turning and otherwise display his aloof nature. He almost fell twice. Would I feel responsible if he fell and injured himself? Hell no, I was just standing there, 50 plus yards away.
He was on the wrong lead most of the time regardless of the direction of the turn. He ran up a steep bank a couple times and was so on his forehand that he nearly plowed into the bank close to bonking his chin on the earth. For some reason he enjoyed galloping down a long not so steep hill to a fence and then doing his version of a quick stop that looked like one of those evening news videos when the roads ice up in Florida and drivers lock up their brakes and slam into things. This is an awful mover.
He is a breed that is popular, the kind that fetches over $10,000. Apparently his owner doesn't ride him much (who can blame them?). He's approaching middle age and is for sale. Based on his breeding and supposed good looks, his asking price is stratospheric. I heard there have been offers but the owner didn't sell.
I realize I regularly complain about how the horse world has changed (even George Morris is now complaining about how riders jump these days) but in this clumsy horse I think I have discovered one more element of the changes in the horse world for the worse. I grew up in the "handsome is as handsome does" era. I hunted many years ago in a traditional hunt that included a woman who rode a white faced palomino that belonged in the woods pulling logs. That horse had a chronically matted coat that looked like a test bed for hair products. The owner would saddle up, mount and slowly walk to the waiting Field of riders yelling at a distance, "HANDSONE IS AS HANDSOME DOES!". That horse actually did hunt well and had the respect of the members.
Back in the day this dangerously uncoordinated horse would have been worthless, but I fear that some buyer will write a check for him in an amount of the high four, or even five figures. Why? The answer is that today a surprisingly large number of horse owners want to be able to say they own a _____________ (breed) horse. There is no breed brand on this horse (meaning it is not an approved example of the breed) and there never will be, but that matters less and less. All that matters is the ability to say, "I own a ______________ . "Handsome is as handsome does" is dead and that's a shame.
Perhaps five or six years ago a talented rider or trainer could have improved this horse's movement to the level of acceptable, but that didn't happen, and why should it? The value in the horse is literally on paper for the common contemporary horse owner.
He was on the wrong lead most of the time regardless of the direction of the turn. He ran up a steep bank a couple times and was so on his forehand that he nearly plowed into the bank close to bonking his chin on the earth. For some reason he enjoyed galloping down a long not so steep hill to a fence and then doing his version of a quick stop that looked like one of those evening news videos when the roads ice up in Florida and drivers lock up their brakes and slam into things. This is an awful mover.
He is a breed that is popular, the kind that fetches over $10,000. Apparently his owner doesn't ride him much (who can blame them?). He's approaching middle age and is for sale. Based on his breeding and supposed good looks, his asking price is stratospheric. I heard there have been offers but the owner didn't sell.
I realize I regularly complain about how the horse world has changed (even George Morris is now complaining about how riders jump these days) but in this clumsy horse I think I have discovered one more element of the changes in the horse world for the worse. I grew up in the "handsome is as handsome does" era. I hunted many years ago in a traditional hunt that included a woman who rode a white faced palomino that belonged in the woods pulling logs. That horse had a chronically matted coat that looked like a test bed for hair products. The owner would saddle up, mount and slowly walk to the waiting Field of riders yelling at a distance, "HANDSONE IS AS HANDSOME DOES!". That horse actually did hunt well and had the respect of the members.
Back in the day this dangerously uncoordinated horse would have been worthless, but I fear that some buyer will write a check for him in an amount of the high four, or even five figures. Why? The answer is that today a surprisingly large number of horse owners want to be able to say they own a _____________ (breed) horse. There is no breed brand on this horse (meaning it is not an approved example of the breed) and there never will be, but that matters less and less. All that matters is the ability to say, "I own a ______________ . "Handsome is as handsome does" is dead and that's a shame.
Perhaps five or six years ago a talented rider or trainer could have improved this horse's movement to the level of acceptable, but that didn't happen, and why should it? The value in the horse is literally on paper for the common contemporary horse owner.
