Discussion: What defines quality?
Dec 17 2007
Does QUALITY define a horse that pleases only you, or one that pleases others as well?
Does it define a horse that is perfect in every way?
Do you believe that the level of quality should be determined by the buying public or prices realized at an auction?
How about pedigree? Does a great pedigree guarantee a quality horse?
If a horse has no major conformation faults, does that mean it’s a quality horse?
Does an exceptional disposition determine quality?
Do registration papers guarantee a quality horse?
Does the lack of papers guarantee a poor quality horse?
What level of quality does a horse need to be in order to be of breeding quality?
If a horse is successful, either as a performer or producer (or both), does that mean it’s a quality horse that should breed on?
How much value do you place on eye appeal?
What faults would you forgive in a horse?
What is your definition of quality, and why?
205 comments to “Discussion: What defines quality?”
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I guess I just don’t understand why someone thinks we shouldn’t breed at all. I believe that some horses shouldn’t be bred and that certain people should not breed horses if they don’t have the money, time, etc. to ensure that these horses don’t end up somewhere they shouldn’t in a glutted market. However, to say we shouldn’t breed any of them seems rather extreme.
And I do think you have a right to your opinion.
I just don’t get why you are so angry about people wanting registered horses. I would never buy one that wasn’t. I want show animals. I show stock horses. I A. can’t show more than in backyard shows if it isn’t registered and B. I want somethign that I will see some return on. If I put $5,000.00 worth of training on a show horse regardless of how nice the horse is, if it is unregistered, the $800.00 auction buy is still probably only worth $1,200.00
The registered $800.00 auction find is now worth probably $7,000-$8,000.00 in a decent market.
I wouldn’t set myself up for failure in a deal like that. If I put the money in, I want to get some of a return. I may not get it all back, but $1,200.00 is less than half of my investment.
Perhaps it is because I was raised by an accountant and banker, but I just learned that things are investments.
I think buying an unregistered horse for a pasture pal or for a weekend trail rider is great, but it would never work out for what I am looking to do.
Temperament.
The hypocrisy comes from the “anyone who breeds but ME is an asshat” party line on here. THIS is the problem. EVERY ASSHAT BREEDER THINKS HIS BREEDING PROGRAM IS THE EXCEPTION. Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you produce uber special, perfectly conformed horses, because if the horse ends up in the middle of a broken lease or purchase deal, or someone sells the horse without its papers, its history and pedigree are lost in the wind. Any horse that is sold without properly transferred registration paperwork is considered a grade, folks. No papers, no proof of registration = decline in market value. Notice I said market value, not quality.
To cut to the chase, for those who missed my point, the QUALITY of the horse does not change with regard to its registration status, only its MARKETABILITY. I guess I just don’t look at horses as commodities to be bought, sold, traded, or bred like other people do.
And I’m not angry at anyone wanting a registered horse over an unregistered one. I just think unless you ARE going to be breeding or showing breed shows that papers, excluding a perfectly good grade horse from consideration is nothing short of horse snobbery.
Finally, please allow me to extend sincere apologies to those of you who were clearly offended by my misspelling of the word
‘temperament.’ I will indevver two bee az purfikt az U R inn thu fyoocher.
spiritofhopefarm said…
The hypocrisy comes from the “anyone who breeds but ME is an asshat” party line on here. THIS is the problem. EVERY ASSHAT BREEDER THINKS HIS BREEDING PROGRAM IS THE EXCEPTION. Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you produce uber special, perfectly conformed horses, because if the horse ends up in the middle of a broken lease or purchase deal, or someone sells the horse without its papers, its history and pedigree are lost in the wind. Any horse that is sold without properly transferred registration paperwork is considered a grade, folks. No papers, no proof of registration = decline in market value. Notice I said market value, not quality.
To cut to the chase, for those who missed my point, the QUALITY of the horse does not change with regard to its registration status, only its MARKETABILITY. I guess I just don’t look at horses as commodities to be bought, sold, traded, or bred like other people do.
And I’m not angry at anyone wanting a registered horse over an unregistered one. I just think unless you ARE going to be breeding or showing breed shows that papers, excluding a perfectly good grade horse from consideration is nothing short of horse snobbery.
Call me a horse snob . . . no, equine socialite – LOL! I could care less if the “grade” horse was previously registered but sold without papers, wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole. The marketability just dropped drastically. Like I said before, it takes just as much money to feed a registered horse as it does an unregistered one.
Anything is a commodity if there is a market for it – simple economics. Horses are a commodity, to be bought, sold, traded, or bred. I imagine you got your horse from one of those methods yourself.
Nat said…
Call me a horse snob . . . no, equine socialite – LOL! I could care less if the “grade” horse was previously registered but sold without papers, wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole. The marketability just dropped drastically. Like I said before, it takes just as much money to feed a registered horse as it does an unregistered one.
Anything is a commodity if there is a market for it – simple economics. Horses are a commodity, to be bought, sold, traded, or bred. I imagine you got your horse from one of those methods yourself.”
Well put. I guess I am a snob, too. I wouldn’t buy a car without a legitimate registration either – for real obvious reasons. I think buying a horse without registration with the intention of really showing is just plain ignorant. The real shows are breed shows if you show stock horses. If you are buying for a kid and want something that is great and dead broke, then you can buy something that is not registered, but safe and sane.
I think you are right about the ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time thing, but in reality, people with quality papered horses generally find them homes and keep track of where they end up (in my experience). For my trainer, the select few horses he has bred which go off to new families are like his children. He has been known to buy them back if someone gets in trouble and needs to sell to keep them away from the wrong set of hands.
He also doesn’t believe in selling just to sell. See, we understand that horses are commdoities, but we don’t have to think of them as just money. My horse is worth far more to me than I have been offered for her in her younger show days. I got countless hours of great rides and confidence from her. I wouldn’t trade that for a million dollars. However, if need be, she could be sold.