Does colour influence you when you buy a horse?

mudmonkey17

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Used to be bothered and before bought my horse I wanted a bay gelding or a coloured and def not chestnut. I ended up with, of course, a chestnut :) looking for a second horse now and have my eye on yet another chestnut. Think am just gonna be stuck with chestnuts lol x
 

TarrSteps

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I doubt I'm your target market ;) but no, it doesn't influence me. I love the look of greys and some of my best friends are grey horses but I would have to think hard about having one because of the cancer risk. Otherwise, if it does the job it could be sludge coloured for all I care. :)


I did get a bit of a lesson about odd coloured horses, though. I rode for someone who bred, amongst others, a particular unusual colour. I started riding for them because their previous rider had a very dramatic incident with one of these horses at a large show. It took years before people stopped asking me, every time I took one of their horses out, if it was THAT horse.
 

TGM

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I would buy a horse of any colour as long as it wasn't grey, cremello or any other really pale colour needing lots of washing! Our horses live out most of the time, and we have no mains water on the yard, yet do a lot of competing, so a pale horse is a non-starter for us!

I do seem to have ended up with a yard full of chestnuts though, so I must have a subconscious bias for them!
 

BTR

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I've always wanted a liver chesnut with white face/legs, have always said a big no to grey or no white on face...so when looking for my new horse I managed to end up with a bay with no white on him other than pastern mark.

To be fair he's a nice horse, just not overly 'wow' to me. And I did say to lady looking for me, if its perfect in every way but grey I'd still go and look :)
 

zoon

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Love loudly marked spotted horses and bright buckskins. I bought my loud leopard spot as a foal and last week bought a bright buckskin. The leopard spot was chosen because of his colour, but my new 3 year old just happened to be the "right" colour. I would have looked at any colour if it ticked all the other boxes
 

imr

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Yes and no. If it was the right horse, colour would not matter, but I actively would prefer to avoid coloureds or greys. I don't much go for the cow marking look and have seen some horrible melanoma issues which would actively dissuade me (along with the poo issue) from a grey. Have had bays and chestnuts, though not a liver chestnut, which is probably my favourite colour.
 

TarrSteps

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It does show how perspective and personal experience plays a part.. ..unlike many on here, I actively rate Appaloosas for certain jobs as I have a lot if experience with good ones. To me they are a breed, not a colour. I can't say I feel the same about Knabstruppers as my experiences riding carriage-bred horses has been lukewarm. I also understand, though, that Appaloosas here might not be quite what I'm used to!
 

FlyingCoo

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Nope not in the slightest as my first look when looking for a pony is their eye and if I think they have a kind eye or not. Then onto confirmation and then to see if they have a brain and are willing to do the job I want them to do. I'm more fussy about whether it's a mare or a gelding!

It is irrelevant that right now I have a Piebald, a Skewbald and a Bay with minimal white they all sort of appeared regardless of colour.

However, I do LOVE the new boy and it wasn't his colour that drew my attention but his build and quite my type. :D

Skuttles off to rob a bank!!:D:D:D
 

ihatework

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Although I would add that my above post is in direct relation to horses that I'm intending to purchase for myself to keep long term.

Every now and then I buy a sell on for the lower end of market, and in that circumstance I would almost actively choose spotty/coloured/dun/pally as there is a niche of people who like something a bit different and IMO they are a bit easier to sell on to a non-affiliated competition home!
 

3Beasties

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633F194E-2464-4572-9217-D316999C7375-2068-000001E70309EF87.jpg

That type of Appalossa wouldn't bother me at all, I'm not so keen on the white with spots on top though.

Likewise when I was looking, although I was wanting a coloured I would only go for a particular type of coloured, I'm really not keen on them when they have more white then colour.

Think my new one has got more then enough white on her!!

20120912_115310_2-1_zpse2800923.jpg
 

deskbound

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Not for a keeper (sez she with two matching chestnut mares ;)) but for a sale prospect I'd try & find something easy on the eye - not necessarily unusual, a bay gelding is fine, but a nice looking one - black points, good colour etc.
 

Sol

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Doesn't really bother me, there are colours I like more, but still... My mum said before we got my first pony "No chestnuts or coloureds, must be bay with no white, dapple grey or dun with no white"! First pony, chestnut with a blaze & 4 white legs... 2nd, appy/coloured! 3rd was a grey & we eventually sold her on, and now I have a bay, finally (who ironically my mum didn't always get on with!). I've never been fond of blacks, but I also find myself the owner of a black Fell pony... :p hmm!
 

Horsemad12

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The last horse I sold was a golden dun (Stunning colour in Summer) and I sold her to a lady who want a dun and nothing else!!!

When I was looking I did not want a grey and guess what I ended up buying..........

I an not too bothered about colours but am not so keen on coloured and spotty ponies.
 

peanut

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Yes, definitely. With enough horses out there to choose from you might as well have a colour that you really like, especially if you are buying for keeps.

I would never buy grey, bay or coloured purely because they do not appeal to me.
 

posie_honey

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yes - i like a traditional hunter type so look at dark colours.
with so many out there id rather get a colour i like
the least white the better - i'm far too lazy to keep them clean :eek:
 

Enfys

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Because I buy to sell, or specifically to breed, yes, colour is very important.

I simply do not look at solid colours, at all, because they aren't what readily sells in my market (trail, games, roping, showing)

If I had two equally talented horses, one bay and one coloured/dun/palomino whatever, then I can guarantee that I woud have at least 50% less interest in the bay.

I may be bowing to the trend but it is not financially viable for me not to.
 

nikkimariet

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Yes and no. If it was the right horse, colour would not matter, but I actively would prefer to avoid coloureds or greys.

This.

I've had 3 greys and when looking for 4th horse (Fig) one of my top priorities was that he *had* to be brown!!
 

wench

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As with others - I would avoid greys and coloureds - purely due to the element of keeping them clean.

You can go out to a show with a brown horse and brush the muck off. If you have a coloured (especially one with white legs), if you dont bath it, you look like a tramp!
 

councillor

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I don't like appaloosa horses, and would not even consider one no matter how many other boxes it ticks.
A palomino would have to be spectacular for me to even think about it.

So those aside as long as it looks good I would not turn it down due to colour. I like to look at whole horse before its colour, a kind eye and a handsome intelligent look comes first to me.
 

Posie

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I would never have a coloured, a cremello or a spotted because I don't like them and if I'm buying a horse to keep, then I might as well get one thats easy on the eye!

I would love a dun, am a fan of chesnuts and black horses though.
 

Jingleballs

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I have only bought once horse but if I was buying a horse in the future then colour would probably be a factor -I don't particularly like chesnuts - have only met one that I would have had as my own and that was because it didn't have a white blaze. I'm also not a fan of grey's but that is because I can't be bothered with the cleaning - I've seen some lovely steel grey's but since they are likely to white out I'd be reluctant to buy one!

I do love a bay or a dun and that would be my preference. Or a nice coloured (piebald if it's more cobby but skewbald if it's more sporty if that make sense)

Markings are also important - I don't like a horse with a very large, wide blaze - I think it makes them look a bit gormless!!

That said, if you truely fall for the horse in terms of ability and temperament them colour is irelevant really!
 

Bustalot

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Both times horse hunting for my two. Was no greys.

1st horse... a grey. 2nd horse....piebald (although mostly black, thank god! But the dreaded white legs! lol)

So, no. Colour doesn't really influence me. If its the right horse its the right horse.
 

Jenni_

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Think my new one has got more then enough white on her!!

20120912_115310_2-1_zpse2800923.jpg

I like the line on her bum!! very different.

but I agree, as much as I do like coloureds, I only like skewbalds and I like them to either have even markings, or be mostly colour - as I don't like properly white horses. Greys have to be darkly dappled or dark grey.
 

tinap

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Well I always set off saying no, but then bought a dun, a palomino & then a palomino & white!

We are soon going to be looking for a horse & both me & the daughter have said its gotta be either bay or chestnut because we've had 11yrs of trying to keep stupid colour ponies clean. Who's betting we end up with a grey :D
 

.Redmerl

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I'm really not bothered by colour. It's hard enough to find a sound, sane, useful horse that there is no way I wouldn't buy it due to colour. In fact it sounds a bit silly to me????
 

PolarSkye

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I didn't set out with a particular colour in mind, but I have always been partial to greys and that's what colour Kali is. I did, however, try horses of all colours - chestnut, bay, skewbald, black . . . and didn't reject any of them because of their colour.

P
 

meardsall_millie

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Similar to spottedcat and Deskbound - if it's a seller then yes, if it's a keeper then no, not so much. It is a consideration but way down the list after many other things, although I too have 'clean horse OCD' (those who say bay / black / chestnut horses don't show the dirt - seriously??! - mine certainly do! :eek:)

That said, I went to look at a cream horse a couple of years ago and I believe I was heard to comment that it would have to be a SERIOUSLY good horse for me to consider buying it.

It wasn't!! ;)
 

elliefiz

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Ive owned greys, chestnuts and bays. I would always say bay is a "boring" colour- but have bought them nonetheless! My current bay horse has lots of black points which i really like. Would never buy a coloured or a cremello or anything with pink skin showing around eyes and nose. Dream horse would be a bright chestnut with white markings like my old mare or a dun as have never met a bad one! Am horse hunting and am actively looking for a chestnut or a dun- although saying that Ive been to see a couple of bay horses and it wasnt their colour that ruled them out. But if im being really honest when i look at ads i would never look at the coloureds.
 

almostthere

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I said "no greys or coloureds" last time but after viewing 20+ horses, it seemed petty to refuse the otherwise perfect grey ;-). However, after scrubbing poo stains at 5am of the morning of a comp on more than one occasion, I can't say I would go looking for another.....
 

Crugeran Celt

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I am not a fan of coloureds or chestnuts and wouln't consider looking at a horse that was either of those or so I thought until last summer when I fell in love with a miniature that my husband bought for me. Guess what, she is registered as a chestnut skewbald! She is a bright ginger but hasn't got a lot of white on her just white socks and blaze with a white stripe on her bum and a white spot on either side of her neck just below her ears. She also has chestnut spots on the white of her legs. I adore her and her mum who has exactly the same markings only less white and she is a liver chestnut. I have now learnt my lesson and would look at any colour from now on.
 
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