So this girl wants to buy my horse. She's posted the WORST possible pix of my horse on another forum and is getting all kinds of advice not to buy, how terrible my horse is put together, etc. I came across the thread when I googled her trainer's name - so totally by accident.

I just have to laugh at the people who are telling her that the mare is post legged and weak hind end, the front doesn't match the hind, and that her gaits are terrible (the trot is too loose - she has a TON of suspension, esp for an APHA horse) because this horse scored an 8 for confo at her Oldenburg inspection and usually gets 8's for gaits in her dressage tests. One lady even said she looks malnourished... LOL

WOW - to think that a forum to advise others enriches some peoples' lives so much that they deem themselves experts w/o really knowing a thing. Wow.

Note the malnourished horse ;)

It really is sad that so many "experts" are quick to advise others on the negative aspects of a horse based on a picture. A two-dimensional picture can't show the most important aspect of horse appraisal - the movement. Nor can the picture show temperament and attitude. Nor can the picture show heart and ability. Nor can the picture show health and constitution. If we are being honest, the picture does not even reflect conformation. If such were the case, we wouldn't need to haul our horses to horse shows. We could just submit photos and let the judges have at it.

Good luck on selling your horse. She looks really nice to me!

Mark Sellers
http://equimed.com

LOL - That's a good point about horse shows and just sending pics in - never thought of that. :) Thanks for your kind words. As it usually happens, just when I think the horse is great to sell, I'm actually starting to really like her and am thinking about hanging onto her. Maybe has to do with the fact that I'm working her on a regular basis all of a sudden ;) Well, that's life. Student loans are coming due so the horse has to go!

I'm sorry you have to sell her. Hope you can figure a way to keep her. BTW, from the pic, she looks fine to me.

I've got a pretty little Arabian mare who is just lovely but you can't get a good pic of her to save your life.  Every single pic I've taken makes her look like a nag.

kristilyn1963:

I've got a pretty little Arabian mare who is just lovely but you can't get a good pic of her to save your life.  Every single pic I've taken makes her look like a nag.

lol that's too bad!!!

It's hard to comment without seeing the pics. Obviously, if I see a "bad" pic of a good horse standing all crooked, I'm never going to be able to say it's legs look straight. It's unfortunate that it happened to your horse, but those people are just doing the best they can with what they've got.

I agree that a bad pic can make the nicest horse look awful. But at the same time, someone who is qualified to comment will recognize the picture is taken at an angle or is obviously not suitable for evaluation purposes. Also, the video that they commented on of her movement had still pro confo shots that show a square horse. So really there is no excuse. The girl also posted a link to my facebook acct so there were alot of candid and posed shots of the horse - but hey, ultimately, the girl completely misrepresented herself. It was good in the end because now I know my horse is totally beginner proof. Last I heard she is planning on buying her I'll believe it when she shows up with cash and a trailer!