Serviceably Sound

Sometimes I wonder if we are so obsessed with perfection that we miss the good that is right in front of us. The horse market is always an interesting thing to step foot into. Whether you are buying or selling a horse, you will inevitably meet the whack jobs and whing nuts of the horse world. You'll get asked stupid questions. You'll start to wonder if people have basic reading comprehension skills. After a while you may start questioning your life choices.

There is a lot that goes into looking for the right horse, and one of the things people often worry about (understandably) is the horse's soundness. Of course no one wants to buy a lame horse. There's nothing more frustrating than getting a new horse home and finding out the seller was less than honest about the horse's physical condition. Pre-purchase exams can be helpful to identify any underlying issues. But it seems like there is a trend in recent years towards unrealistic expectations when it comes to horses' soundness.

Now don't get me wrong, there are legitamate reasons to picky about soundness when selecting your next equine partner. If you are purchasing a horse with a high price tag, maybe $30,000, $50,000, or even $100,000, you expect that horse to be very healthy and sound. If you are purchasing a broodmare or stallion, you want that horse to have good genetics that they will be passing onto their foals. Or if you are competing at a high level, you will need a horse who is physically up to the challenge. But here's the thing, that's not the majority of horse people today. Most people are buying horse's for pleasure riding these days. They enjoy trail riding. They attend a handful of local shows in the summer. They ride on the weekends through the winter. And the fact is, the average rider nowadays doesn't need a perfectly sound horse with extreme athletic ability and fancy bloodlines. They need a serviceably sound horse with a quiet disposition who is safe and easy to handle.

One of the vets I used to work with always said, "Every horse has problems. You just have to decide what you are willing to deal with." I have found this to be very true. I've had my horse Buddy since he was nine years old. (He's now 23) When I started riding him as a teenager, he struggled with his right lead due to an old hip injury. Through good training and consistent chiropractic care Buddy got to a point where he was happy, healthy, and in very good shape. We fixed his right lead loping issue, but he always had a slightly inconsistent gait at the trot. He didn't have as much reach forward with his right hind foot as his left. But you know what? Despite this fact, he was the perfect horse for me as a teenager. I often rode five, six, seven, days a week. I wanted to try all of the things with him, drill team, trail riding, obstacles, liberty, Cowboy Dressage, La Garrocha, Mounted Archery, cavaletti and ground pole work, speed work, gaming, etc. And the fact is, Buddy loved to get out and do things. You couldn't hardly wear that horse out, which was exactly what I needed as a teen. It didn't matter that he had a little bit of an inconsistent gait. He wasn't lame. He wasn't in pain. And he peformed adequately well at everything I wanted to do with him. As he's gotten older he's stiffened up more. I retired him from showing back in 2022 and now he's quite happy as a lesson horse. And the thing is I don't need a lesson horse to be perfectly in shape, I just need him to be safe and kind. I pay for his massages and chiropractic care and joint supplements to make sure he is comfortable. But he doesn't have to be perfectly sound, he is servicably sound for the job I need him to at this stage in his life. I'm willing to deal with a little extra expense to maintain him, one because he's very much loved and been with me all this time, and two because it's worth it to me to keep him going for lessons.

I think people can miss out on purchasing a horse that would be perfect for what they want to do, because they are convinced the horse can't have any issues. I see it all the time in kids/beginner friendly horses. Someone wants a dead broke and quiet horse who has tons of experience and is perfect with inexperienced riders. And then they want the horse to be four years old so it doesn't have any health issues. News flash, most four year old horses (there are exceptions) are not suitable for beginning riders. They just aren't old enough to have enough experience yet. And then people are terrified of buying an eighteen year old horse that would take excellent care of them or their kid because they don't want to pay for joint supplements or arthritis medication.

I think we have to have reasonable expectations when it comes to our horses. Half the riders that are being super picky about a horse's soundness wouldn't pass a PPE themselves... :) It's okay to have high standards. It's ok to know there's certain health issues with a horse you just don't want to deal with. But just know that you don't have to write off every horse that isn't perfectly put together or 100% sound, sometimes serviceably sound gets the job done just fine.