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Show Wednesday, May 15, 1974 Page 35 M s-COJLIT- BACK TO BASICS One way of getting back to the basics is to buy a horse. The Park City area is an ideal place to have a horse because of the easy accessibility to limitless riding trails. The beauty of the mountains surrounding our town provides a very inexpensive, yet enjoyable, experience, whether on foot or on horseback. Now that you have decided to buy a horse, there are two things to consider before looking for one: 1. Secure a good place to board your horse. Make sure that it has food, shelter,. water and adequate fences. 2. Decide what you will be able to feed it, whether it be pasture, pellets or hay. Providing man does not interfere, horses can pretty much take care of themselves. However, once man builds a fence around a horse and encloses it, then the horse is dependent upon man for the mere necessities such as food and water and shelter. The horse is then at our mercy for survival . Before you go looking for a horse, you need to answer a few questions which will make your looking a lot easier: Is this your first experience with horses? Are you scared of horses? 3. Is this horse just for you personally, or do you have a family and friends who will be riding it also? 4. Do you want a riding horse or a show horse? 5. What sex do you want, mare or gelding? 6. What breed do you want? 7. What color do you want? 8. What age do you want? 9. About what size do you want? 10. How much are you willing or able to spend? If the answers to the first three questions are yes, you should be sure and take someone with you who is knowledgeable about horses. They have a more critical eye and can spot problems you cant. Even if you have been around horses a lot, you would be better off taking another person with you who knows horses too. Two heads are better than one. If you are looking for a reliable riding horse, it will be difficult at first not to grab the first one you see for sale. However, remember it does pay to look around. Chances are you wont find your horse for a while. It will probably take three to four days of looking in various ends of a metropolitan area and small towns before you find THE one. Show horses are easier to find because they are registered or advertised a lot more. It just takes time to travel around looking at one horse after 1. 2. . . . THE HORSE well-behav- HAL TAYLOR ASSOC. P.O. Box 804 has had and its nutritional care. Size is also important. An average size for a horse is about fourteen or fifteen hands (a hand is four inches), and an average weight is about 0 pounds, depending on the bone structure of the horse. You must keep in mind your size and weight, and those of the other people who will be riding the horse, when you go looking for your horse. You dont want to feel as though you have overloaded the horse. Yet, on the other hand, you want the horse to know that you are up there and not just a feather on his back. The last point, cost, is important. How much can you spend or will you spend is very important to everyone these days. It is still possible to find good horses for but you cant be in a hurry and jump at anything More often than not, in the long run it is worth it "to spend the extra $100 for the other horse, and this should be kept in mind. Beware of good deals. Right now, horses are a little higher than ever before because of the price of meat. The companies are paying anywhere $.18-.20 from a pound for meat. Many people will tell you that they could sell their horse to the company for $200 or more, so they expect you to pay at least that. Remember, you are not buying meat, and the byproducts company is not buying disposition, cond formation and a horse. Most people would much rather have their horse go to a home where it will be cared for and enjoyed, than to send it to become dog food. It is important to keep these points in mind when shopping. The most important thing to remember is that no matter what the conformation, sex, age, breed and size, you are looking for a horse. The way the horse is handled now and was handled before is what is Park City, Utah 84060 PHONE 649-818- 1 Condominiums: 900-110- $175-$27- by-produ- Three Kings... Resales in this project that are close to the lifts and on the golf course Lots: Thaynes Canyon Lot ...$l6,OOOLOne of the largest lots in this beautiful subdivision 5, Three Continguous City Lots...75 x 75 Could hold multiple units Midway.. .17 Choice View Lots...AII have a commanding view cts by-produ- of Mount Timpanogas cts Remember well-traine- well-manner- - 1 ed the ed another. For the mountains, a good sturdy and reliable easy keeper is very desirable. The term easy keeper the horse takes care of himself, he means just that does not have a history of illness, nor does he do things to injure himself like run through wire, boards, etc. This point is very important as it is very easy to end up buying the horse five or six times in veterinary bills. Geldings are the most popular sex of horse to have as they are usually the most consistent in performance since they do not have hormone changes like mares and stallions. A gelding is a castrated male horse. A mare is also popular for riding, but sometimes a mare can get weird too, as it goes through hormone changes. Often, enough its personality can suffer during this change that horse to make you wonder if it is the same you bought. If you can keep these suggestions in mind and wont hold them against the horse, you will do fine having a mare to ride. Statllions were not mentioned in selecting the sex of the horse you want because most people (about 85 of them) have no business owning one, although they feel a lot of prestige in having one. In this sinarea, there really is no place available for a stallion ce they have to have their own place, with plenty of strong fences to contain them, or else they are always out trying to get to the mares. In deciding what color breed of horse you want, it does not really matter, as it is like deciding what color car you want. Everyone has his own preference. REAL ESTATE Age in important. If you want to get a real young horse up to five years old you will have the opportunity to do some training on the horse yourself. From six to about ten or so are the teenage years, and the horse should be by then, and pretty enjoyable to be around if it has had the right training. After ten to about sixteen is the time when a lot of horses perform the very best. All depends, of course, on the training it POOL SANDWICHES COLD BEER Open Seven Days A W.eek Til Closed I MAIN STREET i vasfo Linda Powell, who will be writing this column for the Coalition, is an experienced horsewoman. She has been riding for 21 years and is a qualified veterinarian assistant. She has had her horse, Marbles, for the past 12 years, since Marbles was two years old. Having lived in Park City for six years, Linda has taught riding at the and at the Park West stables. This summer Lazy she will be offering lessons in English and Western riding, by appointment only. She is also available for training horses and can be reached at J-B- ar 649-934- 4. Yes we're open And we have USGS Maps. These great contour maps are of areas such as the CANYONLANDSand other parts of Southern Utah. Come sec us for camping gear also. At the turn onto Main Street |