02/12/2023
Is perfect always the best in the horse industry? Perfect confirmation, perfect temperament, perfect breeding, perfect up brining. But we all have our flaws, so do our horses. I see so many people’s horses judge on the internet, but to every critique, there is always a superior attribute.
The horse with the perfect breeding can be the complete opposite of what is seen as “typical”.
“Storm Cat is crazy, don’t purchase a horse with that in their blood!” Did you know that storm cat horses can be typically more of an athletic line, so if you can’t deal with intensity of athleticism they produce, they may come off as a little looney. Although my storm cat baby is the laziest boy I’ve met. He raced hard and long, paid his dues, and never wanted to put effort into something again. Extremely athletic on the track, but was burnt out. So he’s not your stereotypical storm cat baby.
Confirmation is another big flaw people look at. They want perfect in their buys. It would make life, riding, horse ownership so much easier, but we wouldn’t learn perseverance and new things without a struggle. Well what if I told you the perfect confirmation could be the craziest rocket donkey you rode, or underneath that confirmation is arthritis. Remember my gelding who raced hard and long, he has the ugliest confirmation. But under X-rays, has no arthritis at all. Ready for this curve ball, I purchased a “clean legged” gelding. He was your perfect sport horse built. Guess what!? He had arthritis throughout his body at 6 he was on so many medications to keep him pasture sound. I see confirmation as what we see as double jointed in people. But funny thing is, it gives us an advantage in many cases. We can bend our body’s in ways many can’t. We can move ways people can’t. It’s similar in horses, I had a surgeon who works on horses and specializes in the legs tell me back with my quarter horse who was cow hocked. That if you can keep them sound, and healthy, that it can be used as an advantage as they can move and twist differently.
Now all of this, we can agree on one thing, it all depends on the heart of the animal. If an animal wants to do something and enjoys it, they will. I’ve seen sport horse builds of horses with no injuries, hate to jump. I’ve also seen the ugliest confirmation love it. You just have to understand, if you do have a horse with undesirable qualities, you may need to help your horse out more.
It all comes back to people stereotyping horses. “A stereotype is a mistaken idea or belief many people have about a thing or group that is based upon how they look on the outside, which may be untrue or only partly true.” Storm cat babies are out there teaching kids to ride, cow hocked horses are out there showing in the hunters, quarter horses are out there bucking people off, thoroughbreds are out there trail riding laps around the gaited horse. Thoroughbreds are out there barefoot and fat, Arabians are out there doing endurance rides and winning. Fancy warm bloods are out there working on ranches, and the 27 year old quarter horse is showing at dressage at Devon. You can make a stereotype about everyone of those animals, but I bet it wouldn’t be what you thought they would be doing. It all comes down to the heart, your horses and yours. Are you willing to help the horse when they need it, so they can preform for you? I bet you that dressage aged show horse has some help. If you can, then don’t worry about it. It’s frowned upon stereotyping people based on color, s*x, age. Why do we do it to our horses?
Stop bullying people and their horses. Horses are therapy for most, let’s not ruin it just for ego.
