forthefutureofthebreed wrote:
And TWO says:
I haven't seen a single person say anything remotely resembling "tearing this mare down."
No? How about this from TWO:
But yes, that's a hell of a lot of money to spend on shipping when there is likely a quality individual already in Australia who'd fill the same role just as well.
...implying the same quality or better can be found in Australia. Another reason I spoke up about the quality of the mare and the selection criteria of the buyer that must be considered.
...

 That's where I got upset and defended the quality of HnH's mare vs. owners of a bunch of backyard rescues (which I still believe is the majority of the posters here). In reality, that isn't the demographics of those knowledgeable in all things breeding quality. Twenty-year-olds are also not the group where the bulk of knowledge lies as it pertains to breeding and quality (which is the age group that makes up the majority of the population here). So, yeah, my remarks were said with those things in mind. But I'm being "condescending". I am not allowed to misunderstand your comments, but by golly, rip me apart and don't give me the benefit of the doubt. Hell no.
What is so wrong with saying that the same quality can't be found in Australia?

For Christ's sake, FTF. Have you personally searched high and low and determined that an individual of equal quality is NOT available there? I don't think so.

If I were this guy and I only "winter" in Australia, I'd let Idgie live happily through the winter in West Virginia instead of stressing her out and hauling her not only over the entire US, but also over the damned Pacific ocean. If he has the money he seems to, he could just as easily buy a nice trail horse to keep in Australia for his use during the winter. If he's only there for the winter (which is what was stated, of course if that's not accurate, we can't know it without being told otherwise), does it really make any sense to bring her over there for three flippin months? And if he wants to use her as a breeding animal, it's not like she's a stud where she can produce a bunch of babies in that three-month span. Hell, she'd only be pregnant and then foal before winter is over if they time it right, (and if they time it right, she'd be heavily pregnant during shipping, also not good) but that's about it. If he's bringing her there to stay, then that's a totally different thing - but again, it wasn't stated as such, so we can't really draw any conclusions from that.

It's perfectly reasonable to not agree with the buyer's intentions. They're certainly not the worst intentions by any means, but it's certainly unusual and questionable. We wouldn't be having this conversation otherwise.

Once again, FTF...you're completely ignoring a point that I made earlier. MOST OF THIS BOARD DID NOT COMMENT ON THIS THREAD. A select few did. Some may have rescues, some don't. Some may be twenty-something, but others aren't. Regardless of anyone's age or experience, it's not surprising at all that people raised a dissenting opinion about the buyer's intentions. I guess arguing about it incredibly moot since what the buyer says and what the buyer does could be totally different things. For all we know, he hasn't thoroughly researched the prospect of transporting from WV to Oz, and he could discover that it's not really worth the money or stress on the horse to do it. Obviously nothing is written in stone. I hope he DOES change his mind, for Idgie's sake, but if he doesn't, then we'll probably never know about it. Doesn't affect our lives any more than it affects yours. It also doesn't make any individual here stupid, ignorant, illiterate, or any other insult you've painted this board with to hold the opinion that it's crazy to ship a horse to Australia purely for use as a trail mount for three months out of the year. Sure, we now know that that isn't as cut and dry as it was originally stated, but again - most of the posts on the subject were done before that point was clarified. Again, if he changes his mind, that changes the situation, but nobody is going to suddenly be convinced that it's a completely sound decision just because you're older and more traveled than some of us.