~ Pakistani "Harp" Info

The Himalayan Horse Experience

Some people want a horse really badly, so badly they will do anything and believe anything as long as they get their horse right now. Horses are expensive creatures to buy, own and house and anything that bypasses these obstacles is very attractive in the haze of immediate desire. And along comes the answer to all their prayers - the Himalayan horse.

Himalayan Horses with Traditional Saddles

To a horse rider the Himalayan version is a Yak but to a few if it is dressed up well and is priced cheaply enough it might be construed to be a horse. Everybody in the Himalayan horse distribution game knows it is a Yak but they also know that somewhere there is someone who is unwittingly willing to live the delusion that it is a horse and part with their money no questions asked.

So these Yaks (excuse me: Himalayan horses) end up in North America having been shipped from Pakistan and all the insiders in the game make a nice slice. The new owner has a problem, however. This new acquisition does not seem to act like a horse. You can braid the tail, groom a mane, tack on horse shoes, get a saddle fitted but this creature just does just does not perform like everybody else's horse. Some more outspoken horse riders will inform that this is a Yak and not even a horse. This can be very hurtful.

The realisation slowly dawns that just because this creature has four legs, two ears, eats grass, has a long hairy tail and can be ridden with a saddle does not necessarily mean that it is a horse. A Yak is a Yak is a Yak and it is a cruel ruse to be told, and therefore believe, otherwise. Yes, a Yak may be ridden but that is simply not the desired experience - dressage? racing? jumping? trail rides? It is even more cruel to find that this is more likely to be a completely untrained Yak that will probably never even be ridden at all.

So we will bring the story around to the Pakistani Harp-Shaped Objects (PHSO) cobbled together in the backyard sheds of Pakistan in a home-grown cottage industry and sold on eBay as a super bargain too good to be true. If it looks, smells and walks like a Yak it is a Yak. No desire otherwise is going to transduce it into a horse. At West Coast Harps we are constantly asked about PHSO and the answer is simple they are not musical instruments. They are very large ornaments designed to look like and can be construed to be a harp.

~The 36 String Meghan Pakistani "Harp" Experience in Review

IF they are fully restrung with the correct strings
IF the tuning pegs are successfully stopped from slipping
IF the correct sized bridge pins are found for the larger sized new metal bass and wound nylon strings
IF the neck does not immediately crack under the new and correct string tension
IF the thin pillar does not bow sideways out of alignment at correct string tension
IF one removes all the buzzing levers which are neither effective nor the correct size from the outset
IF one pays that professional harp repair person 10-20 hours minimum necessary to do the above IF's
You will then have a stringed sound maker
Technically it will be a harp
Will this provide you with the satisfaction you seek?

Editor Stephen welcomes your images of failed PHSOs.

~ The Pakistani Harp shaped Object / Himalayan Horse Experience

A Yak is a Yak is a Yak - no matter how hard one wishes otherwise.
Some invest a lot of emotion into their Yaks.
All humour aside - Is the Himalayan horse experience the experience you want?

~ UsedHarpMart.ca ~ Pakistani Harp-Shaped Objects Policy

Please do not ask to list these Harp-Shaped Objects on this site because the Editor (Stephen Vardy) of Used Harp Mart.ca desires to not be a knowing member of this ongoing game/delusion. If your harp is made of handcarved, real rosewood please do not apply for a listing - whatever the bill of sale says.

~ West Coast Harps ~ Pakistani Harp-Shaped Objects Policy

West Coast Harps (WCH)* has a simple policy - WCH (Alison & Stephen Vardy) will not physically touch Pakistani Harp-Shaped Objects (PHSO) for whatever reason. This means we do not have to charge good money after bad for poor repair outcomes, we do not have ongoing feelings of guilt and anger from continually trying to fix the unfixable for free nor will we by our very actions somehow endorse the practise of selling these PHSO's in the first place. We are happy to discuss and review any consideration made in advance of actually purchasing a PHSO.

*Disclaimer - www.westcoastharps.com owns and operates Used Harp Mart.ca

~ If You Already Own a Pakistani "Harp"

If you already own a Pakistani "harp" you have our compassion. Buying a harp is a very intimate and emotional time because harps "speak" to some people at a very deep level. After being associated with the harping community for two decades, a better more gracious group will be very hard to find. The harpists and harping people that West Coast Harps deal with regularly are simply a great bunch. AND they are not part of the game of selling Yaks. Try again and be prepared for a much more positive experience. Be patient, do your homework, use the Internet wisely.

Read about the Orphan and Chinese harps too....

Thank you for reading - Stephen