Why do people think that certain things likes Barrel Racing, Cutting, Jumping, ect are only "hobbies" and that you can't make a profit on them?
As what do these people do that put there life into the sport. Training, breeding, raising, competing the animals ..... do they do it for JUST a "hobby" I HIGHLY doubt it. Because my family Breeds, and Trains Barrel Horses as well as competing them ..........
Interesting hobby you got there.
I have to admit at one point in my life I thought all the competitions and such were just part of a hobby but then I though about it again that some competitions could have cash prizes and such.
Non-horsey people may not know everything that goes into taking care and raising a horse. I mean, I don't really know everything that goes into it, but I know that if you got on a never trained horse bareback (or attempted to put a saddle on it) you'd prob get hurt, and they somehow have to go from that to trained and not wanting to throw you through the sky lol
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
One thing I don't really get is if the point of doing competitions is to get a horse high up in rankings (i guess you would say ...) just for breeding ... hard to explain how i'm thinking of it , but it just seems weird .....
[Yeah just ignore that paragraph if you wanna XD]
As soon as I started riding it was a hobby, training up to be my job. I do barrel racing to get a profit for my next barrel race, or to go pick up a new horse. I mainly train and sell. I have only bought one horse finished and that would be Jake. Who I just bought. I feel they haven't ever experienced the high performance levels that some people like ourselves are at. So basically, there uneducated about the other side.
Because for 99% of those out there, horses are not a viable means of profit. Most of your top competitors and breeders make money, yes-But they were usually rich to begin with , and able to purchase breeding stock that was regularly winning tens of thousands at the uppermost levels of the discipline. They sell in-utero foals for $ 50,000. For the rest of us, well, we scrape by.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
People don't think it's a sport because most of them know a weekend horse person-The one who has a QH-Walkaloosa-Saddlebred-Arab-Shetland cross in the back yard and randomly gallops it around for fun, the type of person who goes into the feed store and wants to buy horse-chow. Or because they've hopped on some dead trail horse on vacation and, clinging to the horn for dear life, survived and decided that it was easy.
My personal favorite comeback is the OIympics. There's no Football, Cheerleading, Dance, whatever in the Olympics-Yet we have Dressage, Show Jumping, and Eventing.
My next favorite is the $ 50,000 Grand Prix classes. Sure, you have to have a $ 130,000 horse to have a chance-But they don't have to know that.
Because 99.9% of people make those things hobbies.
Your fam has been able to take it seriously and turn it into a full time job. Goodie for you and your family. But go to any boarding barn and you'll see LOTS of people playing with cutting, reining, barrel racing for FUN.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com I suggest you get off the farm every now and again. And count yourself as one of the lucky ones.
They think that it is a hobby for the same reason that other sports are hobbies for most people: they don't make money at it, or if they do, they don't make enough to earn a living. Tennis for example; millions of people play tennis, and millions of them pay out money to play. Then a few earn a living, and a few more make enough that it doesn't cost them any money.
Today, it is getting much harder to make a living breeding horses as the price of horses in general has dropped so much, while feed and other expenses have gone up. Having someone pay you to work with their horse, whether it is training it, caring for it, or trimming its feet, is the best way to make money with horses.
I look after horses for a man who breeds and competes his own horses. He considers it a hobby, and can afford it because he is in a high paying career. He doesn't expect to make money at it, just win enough to help cover expenses.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
It is like the old joke.
Q. "How do you make a million breeding horses?"
A. "You start with 2 million."
Mostly because if you are not born to parents who own a farm or you have money to begin with or have another professional help you along, then it IS very difficult to turn a profit with any type of horse business. Face it, land/trucks/trailers/starter stock and show horses are VERY pricey for starting equestrians. It's a challenging business no matter what discipline you are in. Of course the whole showing industry, racing industry, and other areas of horse business are strongly for profit, so that part is fact, just wonder how those people got started in it? I work full time and train and teach on the side and that doesn't really cover the whole cost of keeping and working all of my horses. I was not born into money, though my parent's were trainers they did not own a farm they could pass on to me, so I had to go out and get a different career even though I had great horses for nearly free. So that said, the perception actually comes from where your origins are or your experiences with the horse business. Many people only experience the lessons and showing end of it and can't picture running a successful farm because they aren ' t aware of how to go about it. While you are right that it can be a profit business for some, it really is a passion for some others of us and I would never be without my horses whether I made money or not ... evidenced by my doing so in the past. They are a hobby, a passion, and therefore a business only by necessity, I don't care if I make money on it, that's why I have a job. I had sponsors when I was competing and when that ended there is nothing else to do no matter how good you are than get a job. I want to pass on a good starting education to beginning riders, help messed-up horses work with their owners, and develop my own horses 'talents and happiness. If someone does it JUST for money, then there is a flaw in that in my eyes. I'd love to do this full time and make a living from it and you are very lucky to be able to! But I didn't have any way to do that starting out and I'll just aim for it as a retirement plan :-) Just realize that perceptions aren't swayed due to the strong influence of personal experience and that is a broad expanse of perceptions.
