How important are looks to you when buying a horse?

Blizzard

Blizzard

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Im not talking about glaring conformational problems here, more the overall picture being pretty, is it important to you to have a handsome/pretty horse, or is being fit for purpose the only thing that matters to you?



When I was looking early this year it was a close call between these 2 horses: (pics of them at the time)

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both in a bit of a bad way, one of which was a fantastic schoolmaster and grade B showjumper, BUT he had been hunted too much, and needed a quieter life.
The second horse was Beau, who we decided to have, he was skinny with no muscle when we got him.

The appearance of both horses didnt deter me at all though, the only reason I went for Beau was because he was half the age of the other horse, and had less miles on the clock.

Friends were disgusted that I was even entertaining either horse, but I could see potential.
I think too many people these days focus too much on looks, and end up with a pretty, but unsuitable horse.

...I was just lucky that beau turned out to be handsome too LOL!

Am I alone...I see so many people with stunning horses that cant ride one side of them!
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I would say Beau is extremely handsome (can't see the other one's face) - he has a lovely kind expression too. What one person finds appealing, another doesn't, so it's each to their own! I personally like shaggy, heavy hairies - TBs and WBs don't do anything for me
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LOL the first one was like skin on bones with loads of fur bless him, lovely horse though.

See we looked at all sorts, from IDxTB, to WB to shire X, all we cared about was that the horse could do what we wanted...and liked cuddles!
 
When I was younger looks were a lot more important than they are now.
I was on a limited budget buying my horse, so the first one was handsome, but crazy. Meg is plain, but is also sane and turning out to have some talent as well.
Meg looked like a scrawny thing when I got her, and will always have stubby legs and an odd shaped head. Chloe can never be described as pretty either, but both have achieved more than my pretty horses ever managed.
 
When I first saw my horse in the stable I was thinking 'Yuk a chestnut!' - he was skinny and didn't look anything special - but once I sat on him I was in love.

Looks aren't important as long as you and the horse can do what you want to do. My horse doesn't look much in the stable but when he is working he moves lovely and I am well and truly converted to the ginger fan club!
 
Hmmm....it depends on what I want them for. Obviously if you are showing then looks come pretty high on the list.
Looks take second place to conformation and temperament though, I live with a horse that has a face like a Hereford cow, but she's typical of her breed, a comfortable ride and a kind character. I could have the most stunning horse ever, but if he was a pig to deal with then looks wouldn't count for anything.
Evie's pony is not a very attractive creature, but he's a damn good kids pony with a kind nature so, looks, in his case didn't matter.
I would prefer a horse to be attractive to look at, but what one person likes isn't always what the next person would want. Just as well, the world would be full of clones, how boring!

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ps. I think the honeymoon period is over........just had the dreaded "Service is temporarily unavailable" notice again. It took three tries to post this before.
 
I am completely shallow and couldn't resit Ryu even though I wasn't really looking and he was completely unsuitable - Luckily its worked out.

Resist this:

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TBH not very. One I went to look at was a real state - very depressed looking (way too quiet!), fluffy coat which was soaked through and patchy, very very thin etc. etc. My dad actually called him "a donkey". I dont think it was anything the owners had done, but I just dont think a busy stud yard life suited him as he is a quiet sensitive sole and it sounded like he'd been passed about a bit due to his real owners having no time or money. He'd been shipped over from Portugal a few months earlier which apparently really got to him. He did however seem to have a really nice nature which is always the most important thing to me. So I bought him! When I saw him literally FALL off the transporters lorry looking so weak, thin and absolutely full of worms. I really did wonder what the hell Id just done!

This was him on arrival:

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You can see him now in my sig pics below (far left / middle and on right going over XC fence) - he turned out great in the end
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and luckily I was right about his temperament, he's the most honest sweetest horse you can imagine!

I bought my Welsh Sec D due to his looks, in a way. But only because he had masses of presence, HE thinks he's amazing so its hard not to think he is IMO! He's not particularily special in the field but out and about he does get looked at simply because he's like "Im HERE!".
 
As a completely truly shallow person, I couldnt contemplate an ugly horse!
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(or dog for that matter, god knows what happened with the husband, but hey!)
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Sov was a hatrack when I first saw him, but he had a very noble and kind head, and he is now the most handsome creature ever!
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He is lush, just my type. I too am a sucker for a handsome face but when I was looking for Cat I wanted something that had seriously good conformation, good paces and a nice temperament. He ticked all my boxes but in the end it was his cheeky pony face over the stable door and how we looked together on video that 'sold' him to me.
 
I have a sneaky suspision that you're like me in that you see beauty in most if not all horses
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Back to OP, as long as the horse is fit for purpose I don't give a hoot what they look like. My old,late mare was sooo chocolate box pretty , I do miss her
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Her successor is totally different LOL, she looks a right non descript mammoth in the paddock BUT ridden she is just so proud and gorgeous I still sometimes get a tear in my eye
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BTW, I think your guys are handsome dudes !
 
When I was a teenager I got an unbroken 4 yr old who looked like he might drop dead. My friends first comment to me (he didn't know it was my new horse) was "What's that thing in the corner stable? It looks like a shire horse foal." He did grow into to quite a handsome chap and was an amazing jumper, but he was ner "pretty". I would never buy anthing on looks alone, with me it's usually pitty that seals the deal.
 
in the "shallow" camp, i'm afraid.

couldn't have/buy a ugly horse, sorry....


but then, what i deem ugly could be someones dream horse!
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If I am paying out thousands then I am afraid I have to like what is in the stable. So yes, looks do sort of come into the equation when I buy a horse.
 
It's sort of different for me compared to lots of you on here. I have to buy attractive horses as ultimately most of them will be sold after a couple of years.

My very first port of call is making sure they have fabulous temperaments and decent conformation; then almost as important, is their bloodlines; and then they have to be good looking and pleasing on the eye.

I think I kept the most stunning ones for myself though
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. In real life, Jet is an absolutely beautiful horse, even if he is "only chestnut". He's so perfect looking that he is actually the Logo for my farm
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when i was looking for first horse for nervous rider (me!), thought I woould end up with an ugly ploddy cob (not that looks are important), but instead I ended up with this handsome beast :

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Although he is a tb or tbx something, hes absolutly perfect!
 
To be honest, the conformation is what makes a horse attractive or not as far as I am concerned. There are of course some with prettier heads than others, but personally, I am not too fussed about that.
 
When we bought Sid he had no fur down his face, was covered in yucky sticky stuff (never did find out what it was) was thin, no muscle and looked like a long necked gangly donkey. But there was just something there. A glimmer of something lovely. So nope - guess looks weren't that important - either that or I'm just a complete sucker!
 
Oh dear - I must be frightfully shallow!
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I'm afraid beauty is very important to me - although only if it is combined with good conformation, of course.

But I was looking for a top-class 'show' Arab and future breeding stallion when I bought Tobago, so when I saw this fabulous colt...

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...I fell in love! I bought him as much for his althetic conformation and movement, and his sweet playful nature, as for his pretty face. But I have to admit that when buying a horse I want extreme beauty and 'wow factor' as well as everything else!
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Eeek - that makes me shallow and greedy, I suppose.
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(Baileysno1 your Ryu is lovely - I can see why you couldn't resist him!)
 
This is what I mean when I say that conformation is important. This horse was obviously very poor and not at all attractive in the pretty sense, but had good conformation and movement. The people that bought him were experienced in seeing through mud and lack of condition.
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This is what he looks like this year
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looks where never important to me,but size was,i never wanted to go over 15.3,but i ended up with this 17hh monster who is fab in everyway,i couldnt ask for a better horse he is a gentleman,its funny what ideas you have when looking and how they change so much if you find the rite horse !
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earl enjoying a big belly scratch !!
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sorry pic is big im rubbish at resizing them !!
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[ QUOTE ]
This is what I mean when I say that conformation is important. This horse was obviously very poor and not at all attractive in the pretty sense, but had good conformation and movement. The people that bought him were experienced in seeing through mud and lack of condition.
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This is what he looks like this year
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[/ QUOTE ]

poor yes....but not ugly, FMM
 
I agree. A lot of the horses I buy look like shite when I buy them - they still have all the attributes which will make up what they end up looking like though. I know what they will look like after a bit of good feed and slow, steady work.

Some people do not have vision though. I always liken buying horses to buying houses - you have to look beyond the outer skin which stands before you!
 
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