3 ms·

Pedigree is often a scam. I know a peer of the realm who made pretty much his entire fortune on forged horses - he was breeding to make fast horses, but the pe

Pedigree is often a scam. I know a peer of the realm who made pretty much his entire fortune on forged horses - he was breeding to make fast horses, but the pedigree was a load of, well, horseshit. All started because he’d bought a stallion who shot blanks. Now it’s all about eight generations deep so he’s safe at this point, as they’re their own pedigree now. Oh, and don’t even get me started on cows. There's a whole black market genomics industry going on in the uk right now, and probably elsewhere, too.

defrost 4mo ago
I can only agree. Hard. It's less about the horse, the speed, the actual genetics - it's all about the process, the appearance, the gate-keeping. Country Clubs for horses (and cows, etc)
- bonesss 4mo ago
  At some point moving up the luxury scale the price is less about product and more about buyer psychology. I can sell a ripped t-shirt, but that same product coming from an upscale exclusive boutique owned by so-and-so’s wife is participation in a whole ecosystem with lots of signalling to other buyers in the same financial strata.
  - trumpdong 4mo ago
    Yep. Some of my pants have rips and visibly bad stitching because I ripped them and am bad at stitching. Then I see people at the same parties buying brand new ripped pants. At least I fit in, I guess.
  - joxdosba 4mo ago
    > I can sell a ripped t-shirt, but that same product coming from an upscale exclusive boutique owned by so-and-so’s wife is participation in a whole ecosystem with lots of signalling to other buyers in the same financial strata This is only true for the lower financial strata though. It’s only the poorer people for whom shopping in so-and-so’s wife’s boutique is a meaningful experience.
- kotaKat 4mo ago
  Memories of the Glock family and their horses ;) Turns out they made a little more than just a few piddly guns...

defrost 4mo ago

I can only agree. Hard. It's less about the horse, the speed, the actual genetics - it's all about the process, the appearance, the gate-keeping. Country Clubs for horses (and cows, etc)

bonesss 4mo ago
At some point moving up the luxury scale the price is less about product and more about buyer psychology. I can sell a ripped t-shirt, but that same product coming from an upscale exclusive boutique owned by so-and-so’s wife is participation in a whole ecosystem with lots of signalling to other buyers in the same financial strata.
- trumpdong 4mo ago
  Yep. Some of my pants have rips and visibly bad stitching because I ripped them and am bad at stitching. Then I see people at the same parties buying brand new ripped pants. At least I fit in, I guess.
- joxdosba 4mo ago
  > I can sell a ripped t-shirt, but that same product coming from an upscale exclusive boutique owned by so-and-so’s wife is participation in a whole ecosystem with lots of signalling to other buyers in the same financial strata This is only true for the lower financial strata though. It’s only the poorer people for whom shopping in so-and-so’s wife’s boutique is a meaningful experience.
kotaKat 4mo ago
Memories of the Glock family and their horses ;) Turns out they made a little more than just a few piddly guns...