colour of your horse - did it matter to you?

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bluewhippet

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Very superficial question, I know. I just wondered, when you started looking for your horse/pony whether you had a favourite colour or were you above such things? Not in terms of generalisations such as a bay being sensible and a chestnut fiery. Just purely on appearances - did you have a colour you loved and did you let it influence your choice of horse?
 
When I bought my mare I didn't want a mare or a boring bay, and she is both, but I love her to bits. I now also have my fourth bay gelding. All my horses have been bay and I hate bay! But love my horses. If I were to choose, it would be palamino, closely followed by chestnut.
 
Not really though subconsciously i think having after greys or pallies maybe I choose a bay as they are so much easier to keep clean, and should i need to look for another pony at some time then I would tend to choose dark colours as they are so much easier to keep clean.
 
In answer to your question though, no, colour does not really influence me. But character and temperament is my number one priority.
 
I wasn't even looking for a horse at the time I bought A, never mind considering colours! I don't really have any colour preferences, although she is a very pretty dun (if I do say so myself :P). I fell in love with her personality and her attitude towards everything.

If, at the time, I was looking for a horse, it would have been at least 15.3hh and most definitely a gelding. But A is a 14.1hh mare (and a mareish one at that :rolleyes:) - so the complete opposite! But, I wouldn't change anything about her.
 
I looked at Bob the"not a" cob and decided he was far too "pretty" with his flaxen mane and tail and chestnut coat. His feet were too bad and his back legs too weak. But there was somthing about him that I couldnt let go of. So I insisted on a five stage vetting knowing he had to fail,and I could walk away. Needless to say he passed , with my own vet ! , and did the best flexion test i have ever seen.He is the most gentle amenable ,yet sharp, willing, tough horse I have ever owned.Still young and a bit of an Irish lunatic.A few months of long hacks and good grub have made a vast difference. I still look at him and think why did I go against a lifetime of experience and buy this horse. But I am so gratefull I did.I am not sure what his job will be or if I am the rider to do it with him.But I have seen what he is capable of. :eek::eek:
 
I would have liked a bay as my last was horse was grey and replacing him with another grey would have seemed callous somehow.

This one is Palamino probably the last colour I wanted and his colour is Dun on his passport which I would have loved.
He does however suit me down to the ground, and I need to buy a horse I can ride so a wonderful Palamino it was.

Oh his vet always refers to him as she ... I think he might have a thing for blondes:D
 
Yes, and No.

I particularly like palominos, or unusual colours, so I only look at those when I am buying.

As for my own riding horses, it could be purple with green check for all I care as long as it does the job. I actually have bay mares, three of them, all exactly the same shade, I really don't like bay as a colour at all. I do, however, like my mares :rolleyes:
 
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I love darks and duns and not because I have them, they suit me. When I saw Pennys advert, as a strawberry roan, I thought, pretty, more unusual than 'a boring bay' so went to see her. She isn't strawberry roan, but chestnut greying out. I didn't want a grey, the opposite to my lovely darks, but as many know, its fatal when you go and see them!! lol Currently her coat is on the change and she actually appears dun, bonus for me I guess! Wait til she is white, then I'll be cursing my decision!! lol
We all know a good horse is never a bad colour, but dark coloured horses always attract my attention.
 
Not at all, the thought of colour didnt even cross my mind! However on our yard there is a lovely lady looking and her priority is getting a bay without white on its legs :p! Wont even (at the moment although if she cant find anything after a couple of months may consider more) go veiw anything thats not one colour!! So if anyone knows of a safe as houses bay (poss chestnut or other darker colours), not pure TB, pref more stocky 15.2 to 16hh gelding for sale please do pm me!! ;)! Hehe :)
 
I never really wanted a bay or a grey (don't do cleaning! Lol).' I have though had a very 'boring' bay pony on loan once and he was fab. My horse though is a dun - I can still remember seeing his ad now (back int he days before the internet and pictures on ads). I do like my unusual colours I guess and, although I was sort of looking for another dun last year I ended up buying a 15mth old chestnut and white gelding to bring on. My first proper pony was a red and white though and I loved him so maybe subconsciously I was wanting another one!
 
i would love a dun horse, my pony was a dun when i was younger, so would love another but i know i will never find another horse anything like her, taz is grey...difficult to keep clean but stunning when its show time, so would def either go grey, dun or maybe even a nice coloured, think some coloured horses dont look right
 
Chestnuts catch my eye - I can't help it :D

Wouldn't ever say that I'd only have that colour but when I see a nice chestnut I just go ooooooooooooooh :o
 
When i was looking for a horse, i didnt want a chestnut mare (not because of the whole 'firey redhead' thing but because they're not my most fave colour, and i tend to clash with mares!) I ALMOST ended up getting a chestnut mare until her owner decided to keep her and breed from her. My lad now is an 'almost' bright bay, i wasnt really looking for a certain colour. He has a temperament to die for and that is more important to me.
 
I just wouldn't be inspired to buy what i would consider a boring looking horse, all the browns, chestnuts and cow horses just make me yawn. In saying that my pony is a brown/dun one but being an exmoor pony still looks a bit cool and different to me!
 
I look for good conformation first then pedigree ,then height and all sorts of other things first , but I was lucky enough to find a stallion that had every thing I was looking for and with a fablulous and unusual colour as a bonus !
Its the one in my signature and he is a smokey silver black
(black + cream + silver)
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I own a variety of different colours and I admit that if I was buying a horse to take hunting regularly I might be put off by a coloured or grey - purely because of the effort in keeping them clean over the winter...

Can you tell I have a coloured? I'm even finding myself jealous of people who own coloureds but that have a dark mane and tail :D

I think dun is the best colour, stands out but easy to keep clean.
 
Colour of the horse has never bothered me so no it wouldn't influence my decision whether to buy or not. Definitely subscribe to the "A Good Horse Is Never A Bad Colour" school of thinking.
 
Erm, yes, I must confess colour is an issue for me :o

When I bought my bay girl I was drawn to bright bays. Then some years along the line I had ended up with three bays, so when I came to buy my next one I was rather put off bays and drawn to greys, which sure enough is what I then bought.

I'm a bit indifferent to chestnuts (unless they have a flaxen mane and tail) and most coloureds. I LOVE a nice dapple grey (or dun, black, dark bay) and I wouldn't ever in a million years consider a spotty as they all look fugly to me.
 
I'm like that puppy re appaloosas as I think they tend to have quite heavy heads. I have seen a few nice ones though but they are few and far between!

Chumsmum - duns are definitely the best colour to have. This time of year they are just mud coloured so you can't tell if they're dirty or not! Mine goes a really bright yellowey/gold colour in the spring/summer. I have never really seen another horse his colour either - he is unique! Lol
 
Well, I was very fussy about breed and, because I wanted an Arab, it kind of limited the number of colours available. Ideally I wanted a black or a chestnut, I would have settled for a bay, and I was trying to avoid a grey because of how hard they are to keep clean. I ended up with a grey!
 
Colour didn't matter to me in the slightest - when I went to see my most recent one, she was in a field with a bunch of other racehorses. I didn't really like dark bays, but I bought her for her temperament and what I was told about her..... she is a pure joy to own - I think it is quite shallow to buy a horse based on colour - there are far more important points to think of!
 
Well I would never have a grey and I get that from cleaning YO grey horse for shows. I cant stand the cleaning.
That is the only colour I would not have and no other colour would make me say not to buy it. But I have always said I was never keen on chestnuts and I have just purchased a chestnut mare.
All my other horses have been bay.
 
I wasn't looking to buy when I got my horse, but my dream horse has always been a nice big grey or coloured cobby older gelding who was laid back that I could just sit on and let him do the work .. so why I ended up with a bay TB 2 risng 3yo (now almost 4) filly, who had been broken in to race so had never even been in a school, I don't know :p
Wouldn't change her though, she is amazing :)

I think I may be the only person who actually wants a grey :p
 
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