THEY BREED HORSES, DON'T THEY?

New York Post ^ | May 22, 2006 | Ray Kerrison

[Help!]

Horses used to be raced far more frequently than today because the purses just weren't as good and you couldn't make any money unless you raced every week. Today, you can win fewer races and do fine, so you can afford to lay them off more.

When horses were raced every week in the past, the ones that were going to break down did so long before the BIG races.

[livius]

Look at those hindquarters! Beautiful!

Breeding is such a mixed blessing. I have a little Morgan - Morgans actually are indistinguishable from Welsh cobs, genetically speaking, but trace their lineage back to Justin Morgan's horse - and my little guy, barely over pony size, was the original Morgan size. They are now breeding them to be enormous, usually crossing them with warmbloods, stretching them out for dressage purposes because of their intelligence and stride. Still, it always makes me uneasy when I meet a Morgan who is nearly 17 hands!

[Help!]

Off-the-track thoroughbreds (OTTB) are highly sought after as Eventing horses for their intelligence and stamina. We have raised OTTBs that went on to be polo ponies, police horses, out-rider horses, hunters, etc.

My daughter was winning Show Jumping Championships on one of our homebred off-the-track mares. Her previous Champion show jumper was an OTTB as well.

These horses were not "flaky" to the person who knows how to ride them. They are highly intelligent. That doesn't necessarily mean that an unskilled rider looking for a backyard horse should go looking to claim one off the track. A racehorse does require expert retraining to unlearn the racing behaviors they have been taught.



And as to preferring the QH Racing. Their big races are for 2 year olds! And yes, they have their share of casualties. (I still like them)

[Salamander]

Morgans are darn near the uber-horse.
Few breeds match their almost unearthly versatility.

[and they're gorgeous, too]

Man O' War was a work of idyllic beauty.
He had both form and function.
I don't know why people get so obsessed with the former and forget about the latter.

Look at what they've done to the historically short-backed, smallish and solidly built Arabians.
Some of the poor things look like short-legged giraffes now.

Thank God they haven't screwed up the Andalusians.....yet.