not a sign of the times. If you cant afford a horse when times get tough, you shouldnt have the horse/horses. For some reason, people get a raise at work or save up a few thousand dollars and then go out and put themselves in the same situation they were in prior to the raise. Do you go buy a mercedes if you get a raise or get a large commission on some sales this month? NO, because you know you might not make enough money next month to afford the payment. Its all a sign of the thoughtlessness, narcissism & arrogance of the ME generation that is controlling things right now. They care about what they have and what it looks like to everyone else, not what they can afford in the long run. Its the reason people are up to their eyeballs in debt with credit cards, mortgages and more. Its why the economy is the way it is and why so many people are getting layed off. Businesses, Banks, citizens etc have spent spent spent their way into debt not thinking of the repercussions of their selfish actions. Why take a loan for a 200k house when you make 35K a year? You KNOW you cant afford it but you do it anyways. Why buy a 50K car when you can only afford $150 a month? Then you people try and blame the banks or credit card companies for the problem because you didnt read the fine print? And you wonder why you have no equity in the house when you go to sell it, not knowing youve only been paying on the interest? Gimme a break. You are all responsible for yourselves and have no one to blame but yourselves. Its just a shame the horses cant sue you for neglect and stupidity and take the last $700 you have in the bank...then youd understand what Im saying to you while holding out your hands asking for spare change.