[AT] Spam> Re: Threshers and Horses

[Stephen Offiler]

Chuck, I'm married to a horse enthusiast (for better or for worse, as they
say!) although she doesn't happen to fit your model of monied city girl.
She grew up on a dairy farm where there was no city and no money. I
chuckled when you said a fair percentage are big expensive pets.  I know
there are a few work horses left, e.g. out west on BLM grazing lands where
"cowboy" is still an actual profession... but I'd say it's more like 99% of
horses are just big expensive pets!

SO


On Tue, Dec 13, 2016 at 4:16 AM, bealke at airmail.net <bealke at airmail.net>
wrote:

> Y’all,
>
> Must be thousands of old threshers in fields and barns, and I have yet to
> see an ad for one. Have seen maybe thirty of them sitting outside in recent
> years while driving around N. Texas and not looking for one. These included
> a few in front of suburban restaurants or malls for old timey decoration,
> which seems strange as few there seem to know what one is.
>
> On the matter of horses, during the last real economic downturn with high
> feed prices, thousands abandoned their horses, especially in or near
> national parks and other wild, large areas where they could leave them with
> out being noticed. Complete outlawing of horse meat for use in dog food in
> the US did not help.
> When I was younger and we had both, noticed that horses are like calves -
> their worth varies greatly over time, though in longer cycles.
> Used to help deliver hay and straw west of St. Louis as a teen and saw a
> decent share of the horsey set. A fair number of city girls with monied
> parents kept one in a suburban stable, rode it on weekends near the stable,
> and sometimes even competed with it in shows. The cost of keeping a horse
> was far cheaper if the
> girl cleaned the stall. Usually, most of these gals get caught up in boys
> and other distractions and lose interest by the time they are seniors in
> high school.
> In the country, where they can roam nearby in a pasture (no stall to
> clean), horses may be kept by a family for years even when seldom ridden,
> especially when there is an abundance of grass, not too much snow and easy
> access to water.  My take is that a fair percentage of the nation's horses
> are primarily big, expensive pets. Have met few women that don’t love or at
> least like horses. .
>
>
> Chuck Bealke
> Dallas
>
>
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