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( Continued from page 81 ) sex ). To be judged on three gaits as to pleasurable handling and riding characteristics with light rein and true road and trail qualities . Disposition , manners , responsiveness to rider , soundness and confirmation to be considered . To stand quietly and back readily . Set tails , artifical appliances and boots are prohibited ; entries shall be plain shod as for trail and pleasure riding . Pads are prohibited . The horses competing in
Plantation Classes are ineligible to compete in any other classes in this division at the same show in which the performance of the horse is the deciding factor .
We strongly recommend that this rule be followed in all shows having
Walking Pleasure Classes .
IN DEFENSE OF THE
PLEASURE HORSE
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the trail than from watching them from a grandstand .
The pleasure horse is not a cull for the following reasons . Sires and dams of show horses are sometimes pleasure horses , and many times the full brothers and sisters of show horses are used for pleasure and not because they are in any way inferior .
Sometimes pleasure horses are very outstanding and widely admired even by show horse fans . Any horse that can do three good gaits and has ideal conformation is worthy of praise . Show horses don ’ t always have everything . This can even be witnessed at the . . . Celebration .
If you challenge me , I can find you pleasure horses with better conformation than some show horses .
Likewise , I can show you looser , more honest horses among some pleasure horses than some so-called
" show horses ” that I see at horse shows .
Most horses are purchased by their
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The distinguished editor and owner |
owners for predetermined purposes . |
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of this magazine has told us of his opinion that pleasure horses are culls from the show ring ( April 1968 issue , page 38 , column 2 ). This kind of snobbery is unjustified and hurts the image of the breed , especially our many excellent pleasure horses .
No — Bruce Spencer is not the first person to malign the world ’ s greatest pleasure horse in this way .
Almost every ' professional trainer I know expresses the same bias . That is why it is important to answer this charge . Whenever you hear a professional trainer saying good things about p jasure horses it is because it is economically expedient for him to do so , and he has his fingers crossed behind his back . No professional
I know ever shows a pleasure horse in competition . In fact , if you take a pleasure horse to a trainer for training , he will usually turn the job over to one of his assistants because these horses are below his dignity to work .
It is a bad thing that trainers downgrade the pleasure horse to one another but it is worse yet when pleasure horses are slandered before the public in a magazine devoted to the good of the very same breed . It is my sincerest hope that this issue will be forgotten and never spoken of again .
There is no reason why all good
Tennessee Walking Horses should be trained for show . If you want show horses , then have show horses but otherwise let each person be free to decide how he can best use his own horse . It may be hard to understand for strictly show-minded people that others may feel they get a better personal return on their investment by using their horses on
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In this way , many excellent animals are used for pleasure and never get a chance to display their fullest abilities . To be sure , some pleasure horses are show ring rejects , but if a horse was once considered a potential show horse , then in all probability , he is still too good a horse to be called a cull .
The fact is that many pleasure horses are more naturally gaited than some show horses which are often times so pacey that they can only perform their gaits if they have extensive artificial inducements . I readily agree that all pleasure horses aren ’ t honest , square traveling horses , but they do their gaits free of unnatural aids . If they are a little racky or fox-trot some , their owners still use them well . A tight pacer , on the other hand , is either a show horse or dog food . They are bad for the breed .
It takes a real good horse to be a pleasure horse . If a pleasure horse doesn ’ t have a nice way of going and some class about him , he ’ s not worthy of the name " pleasure horse .”
Owners of pleasure horses often lack knowledge of care and training but this should not be held against the horse . Consider how good some pleasure horses could be if they had as much training as the average show horse . Most pleasure horses are lucky to get ninety days of training . In terms of cost , top pleasure horses are bringing upwards of two thousand dollars while some show horses are not worth five hundred dollars .
The show horse is truly a thrilling thing and the big lick they have can spoil a person . When we mount a
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