Time

We all have the same amount of hours in the day, it's what we do with that time that makes the difference. Yesterday I was watching some horse training videos and looking at horse information online. I was sitting there thinking about how I'd like to go riding and tune up some of my older horses. The weather was cold and nasty and I kept finding myself making excuses to not go out in the cold. I finally went riding. What I realized was that it doesn't matter what you know, if you don't apply it daily. I had a frustrating ride, partially because of the cold, snow and ice but also because I realized that it was my fault that the horse was stiff and didn't want to do anything. I haven't ridden this horse more than a couple of times in the last couple months and I go out and expect her to be in peak condition ready for anything. It is funny that it is frustrating when it doesn't work out that way. The responsibility falls back to me, the rider. I'm convinced that the majority of horse problems are actually people problems. I have plenty of time in a day. It comes down to what I place as a priority. I can go riding everyday, it may take getting out of bed earlier or forgoing the latest TV show but it comes down to what I do with my time. I've heard people make excuses year round and I've caught myself making excuses. In the spring it's too muddy, in the summer it's too hot and there's mosquitoes, in the fall it's turning cold and it could snow, and in the winter it's too cold. No more excuses, get out and put in the time it takes to make a horse and to become a horseman.

Flawed logic

I had the opportunity to help a man find a horse a while back. I listened to what he wanted and evaluated what he said and what his skill level was. I looked for a suitable horse and after locating some we went to test ride a few.
We pulled up to a ranch and they had three horses to try. One was a nice really stout buckskin mare, one was a nice big strawberry roan gelding and the other a big paint horse. We went for a ride and got a look at what they were. The paint was definitely not finished enough for this man. The roan gelding would have definitely worked but there was a concern with a leg injury he had previously (would he hold up over time?) The buckskin mare was also very nice. The man decided to try and make an offer on the gelding. The man had a budget of $2500. I talked to the rancher who quoted me $4500 for the gelding and $4000 for the mare. This was outrageous. They weren't worth it and so I (with the customer) went and found another horse that was $2500 (a nice ranch gelding).
Here's where the logic gets confusing. The rancher called me shortly after that incident and asked me if I'd put some riding on those three horses and take them to the horse sale in Billings, MT. I agreed and I put some rides on them and they were doing pretty good. At the sale they acted good but they didn't sell well. OK, the papered driftwood bred roan gelding brought $1200, the papered buckskin mare brought $1400, the big paint horse brought $900. I felt pretty bad that they sold so low but as I thought more about this situation I was baffled.
Here it was, a man comes to the ranch and offers you money for your horses. You want to get a little greedy and hold out for the maximum amount. They offer you a good amount and you turn it down. Then you just take and dump them for half of what they're worth. Here's what I think. It's absolutely absurd! Be honest and reasonable, come up with a fair price for what the horse is. By the time this man payed to put his horses in the sale, payed to have them ridden, payed for fuel for 10 hours in a big dually truck with a huge horse trailer behind, payed for two hotel rooms for two nights, and when you figure all of the lost time, it just doesn't make any sense.
I could go on with this exact scenario so many times but I won't. In the last couple days I talked to a man who took some of his horses to the killer pens because he couldn't sell them. Well he could sell them if he would have been fair on a price.
Be honest, be fair, and with a little luck you'll come out ahead.