How specific is horse shopping list?

I'd say people generally write a pretty specific list then end up buying the total opposite.
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I was looking for a bay mare and bought a chestnut gelding!! - I knew as soon as I saw him he was the one I was going to buy
 
When I was looking for my horse, I had a list of what the horse must be capable of eg good in heavy traffic, good to catch, good to hack in company etc as I was willing to work on schooling and handling issues. Age was between 7 and 12, preferred sex (gelding as I had a mare), preferred breeds, Highland, Welsh D, Appaloosa, Criollo, NFx or Irish cob (not a breed I know), and either dun, roan, spotted or black. I got a 8 year old, dun, Welsh D (cob type) gelding, that was safe to hack but very green in the school and had some issues on the ground.
I think it's good to be reasonably specific about capablity and temperment but not so great to limit yourself to one breed, colour etc.
 
I've never understood people who say they ended up buying a completely opposite horse to the one they set out to buy. How do they even end up going to see a horse that is completely different to what they want? They must have some characteristics that they want, or they would have just dismissed the horse without looking, surely?
 
I'm picky in some ways but not others! Normally I'm not fussed about gender, colour or breed but more concerned whether the horse is suitable for the job I want it to do. I tend to look more for the things that the horse or pony has done, rather than their colour etc. It is often hard enough to find a horse that is really suitable for the job you want, without restricting yourself by only looking at certain breeds or colours.

Obviously breed can be important in some circumstances, for example, if you wanted an native breed to show.
 
Yes I have set criteria. Mainly because most of mine will be sold on at some time. I only buy horses with top bloodlines in my chosen breed, they are generally aged between weanling and 2 years old, in order for me to sell them on at 3 or 4 years old. They must be interesting colours - this is what my customers look for.

My own personal horses; well they are any colour, doesn't matter to me, but the breed still remains specific.
 
My criteria:

Sound and healthy
Good temperament
Nice paces
Good looking (vain but hey ho I don't buy ugly horses!)
Solid colour (don't mind what colour)

I know what I like and usually make a decision fairly early on in a viewing, although I often have a 2nd look just to make sure!!
 
My criteria was coloured, didn’t care about gender, age etc. That’s why I ended up with an unbacked 3.5 year old, oh well, it’s all worked out in the end, he, he!
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oh god i am finding this incredibly hard, just started looking and i want a well behaved good RC type, not ploddy, not physco, about 7years and 15.3 - 16.3hh, prefebly solid colour, not another chestnut as will remind me of Jack, not full TB hopefully some ID, good manners and good in traffic. nice looking!
a lifelong friend who i can fuss and love
 
Unless you want to show or breed, why do colour and breed matter that much?

I start by thinking about what I want to do with the horse, so what the horse needs to be like to be able to do these things and therefore what would count as a problem with a horse because it wouldn't be able to do the things I want. If I have that straight I stick to it, but colour or breed who cares?
 
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