Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Uniqueness Creates Personal Value

“Why would anybody want to buy another horse?”

With what seems like a pasture full of “hay burners,” as Dad generally referred to them, we have more than we can ride.. That’s certain.

However, the population is about 50 percent below what it was a year ago. That number has been taken down, because of low profitability in the industry.

Reduction has been difficult. When a person builds a program for nearly half a century, each horse, it seems, has a special place and reason for being there.

Those who have not been in a lifetime endeavor, which there is none other with any similarity, can probably not appreciate what that feeling is. Sometimes, even those with longtime close proximity to it can not understand.

Downsizing has been difficult, because run-of-the-mill horses are low in value. What might have been above average and in demand at one time, become less than that when there are many “outwardly” quite similar. They all require feed, board and care, which aren’t that abundant in tight economies.

In comparison to when slaughter horse prices were markedly higher, today’s base worth is far less. There have been situations where horses couldn’t be given away.

So back to the original query which we’ve been posed when remarking we’d added a horse to the feed bill.

While our heartfelt reasoning was self evident, conversation with a renowned horseman, who likewise has a unique breeding program, reaffirmed why we would write another check with no apparent way for monetary gain.

Seven generations of production are represented in the purchase, and the value only comes from that heritage to us. If we don’t continue the lineage, nobody will.

We’ve seen that occur in families, whereby a generation works a lifetime to produce a certain line, and upon passing, the program also went to the grave. Nobody had the earnest desire to continue. We will persist with this legacy as long as we can.

Reminds us of Job 23:13: “But He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does..”

Appropriate also is Ecclesiastes 2:21: “When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil.”

+++ALLELUIA+++

V–15–4-10-11

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