Miesque
At the Start
Because the software doesn't have ulterior motives, own a leg of the horse it's trying to sell you, have an interest in the bloodlines/family of the horse assesed etc. etc. ....
Born to Sea
- Thread starter On The Bridle
- Start date
Because the software doesn't have ulterior motives, own a leg of the horse it's trying to sell you, have an interest in the bloodlines/family of the horse assesed etc. etc. ....
Sheikh
At the Start
Ok , obviously getting advice from a truly independent source is important. I would see knowing the family as an advantage.
Miesque
At the Start
Knowing the family, yes. Owning the foal while selling you the yearling (without admitting the fact), no.
Bar the Bull
At the Start
Let's just say you were told that a horse had physiological properties that were good indicators of performance. Say he had a solid V02 max and a high anaerobic threshold. And another horse you were looking at had poor indications like that.
And let's just say that the horses had identical breeding; one was by Kingmambo - Intercontinental, the other by Kingmambo - Bank's Hill.
Clearly you would be silly to pay the same for the one with weaker figures.
Now I am not saying that knowing the family is not important, but I wonder if an assessment of horses' physical capabilites might be advantageous.
And let's just say that the horses had identical breeding; one was by Kingmambo - Intercontinental, the other by Kingmambo - Bank's Hill.
Clearly you would be silly to pay the same for the one with weaker figures.
Now I am not saying that knowing the family is not important, but I wonder if an assessment of horses' physical capabilites might be advantageous.
Yes of course it’s very important, but as has been said it’s what people do when buying horses. Just as important is knowing when anatomical faults can be largely discounted. Mark Johnston, for example, has excelled in buying horse cheaply that others won’t touch due to knowing (or taking an educated percentage call on) what is a significant fault and what may look odd but won’t stop it running well.
Bar the Bull
At the Start
You can't see a horse's lungs or blood cell counts.
Bar - we've been over this before, a long time ago. If you want to shell out thousands of pounds, then get a treadmill for respiration and heart functions, sigmoidoscopy, ocular, bloods and parasitology set from the vet before you buy. It'll take time to get the results back to you, by which time someone else will have taken a punt and bought the beast. If they find he's having a problem breathing, they'll then get the sigmoidoscopy (scope for short) and see if he's got polyps, an epiglottal flap, etc. But there's really no need to go this far if the horse looks well, moves well, and is reasonably proportionate physically.
If you buy something narrow and slabby, then it could still pass all the tests but never be a winner. And even if your chosen one passes them all, there is nothing to say it can't develop problems once in hard training. There's possibly a test around for checking bone density (I don't know if there is, but it'd be a damn good one), so you could determine the porosity of your horse's bones prior to setting a training programme - but I sure don't know of any trainer who bothers with one. True, some youngsters snap a brittle leg on the gallops - but that's just the, uh, breaks.
If you buy something narrow and slabby, then it could still pass all the tests but never be a winner. And even if your chosen one passes them all, there is nothing to say it can't develop problems once in hard training. There's possibly a test around for checking bone density (I don't know if there is, but it'd be a damn good one), so you could determine the porosity of your horse's bones prior to setting a training programme - but I sure don't know of any trainer who bothers with one. True, some youngsters snap a brittle leg on the gallops - but that's just the, uh, breaks.
I suppose if jockeys can’t count to eight then bloodstock agents are going to have an awful time with blood cells, but you can over-analyse these things. There are things wrong with almost any individual, the knack is to use your judgement at the price. You should of course use everything at your disposal to make the best decision but there is neither time nor resources to test every individual you are thinking of buying. They go round the ring and get knocked down for a price, as Kri says the expense of having the equine equivalent of Bupa on hand is prohibitive.
Bar the Bull
At the Start
There are obstacles to everything. The cost obstacle is the most difficult, but it would benefit from economies of scale. Tests on athletes take a few hours to run, so I don't think time would be an issue.
Are you sure? Many problems in athletes only happen when they exert themselves physically. I am not sure, but I don't see how you can say there is "no need to go this far."
That is why I am not suggesting this is the exclusive basis on which to buy a horse.
Of course it won't be fool proof...but nothing is.
It is just an idea.
If you want to buy a business, you could walk onto the premises, meet with management, observe their board meetings and see if people work productively on the factory floor / at their desks / on the assembly line.
Or you could do a detailed analysis of their financials.
I think it is better to do both.
Bar the Bull
At the Start
Your counter is of course difficult to reverse counter. Just like Krizon's. I don't know if this would work. But I think it might, and I would enjoy finding out.
Well, knock yourself out, babe! :lol: There's no reason why not to do what you're suggesting, Bar, but all the vetting in the world before a horse races still won't guarantee a win, if we're to go along with trainers getting trips wrong, jockeys being idiots, Clerks of the Course calling the ground wrong, and so on. As a matter of interest, take a look over this website, it's of equine veterinary services who also do, er, 'vettings' and you'll get some idea of what you can call on: http://www.shotterandbyers.co.uk. I've no idea if they're any good, I just found their ad in Horsemart and it fits in a bit with what you're proposing.
The only problem with the analogy of inspecting a business first-hand is that everyone will have tidied up, will be smiling and pleasant, and a cleaner will have been hired the day before, etc. Once you've bought it, everyone will go back to slacking, spending two hours outside smoking, playing games on their pc's, pissing each other off, and looking like slum kids.
The only problem with the analogy of inspecting a business first-hand is that everyone will have tidied up, will be smiling and pleasant, and a cleaner will have been hired the day before, etc. Once you've bought it, everyone will go back to slacking, spending two hours outside smoking, playing games on their pc's, pissing each other off, and looking like slum kids.
