I was thinking more along the lines of being used as light draft. They do
light buggies just fine but they don't have the build to do heavy pulling.
Now, if you want a horse (they really aren't ponies for folks who don't know
them but rather small horses) that can jump twice its height or can travel
all day long, then get a Connemara. If you want an animal that will babysit
your kids, they're the horse for you.
Breed of horse will give a general jumping off point. Buying a grade horse
gives you a mystery package.
When we ran gymkhana horses I went looking for a Quarter horse with a
background in reining and/or cutting. I could take that horse, if it was
not cowboy'd and clean house in barrels and poles. They had been bred for
and already knew how to roll off your leg and turn on and off the speed at a
flick of the wrist. I also picked up a horse that was burned out from
playing polo. A grade horse could be trained to do the job but to have that
extra something that meant state and national championships took that little
extra something that I got from a horse with the right breeding.
Same with racing. Sure, you can find a grade horse with a lot of speed but
not enough. Plus I can go look at mom, dad, the grands and great- grands
plus siblings and see how sound/unsound the line is.
My only exceptions were mustangs. For those, again, though I only shopped
for animals out of certain herds. Of course, I was looking for animals to
do certain things (gymkhana, Tevis Cup, Ride and Tie, jumpers, etc.).
Unless someone is an expert, take one with you before you buy any horse.
Buying horses is one of the riskiest businesses out there.
Lynda
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