Looking to buy - CC on conformation please

[Quartz]

As the title really. Am looking to buy a pony, have seen this connie and wondered if any of you could CC the conformation please as I am not too sure what to look for.

Thanks

http://www.leboncoin.fr/animaux/294702392.htm#

 

[tallyho!]

Too long in the back for me.

 

[AmyMay]

Mmm based on that confo pic I wouldn't be interested either.

Can you email them for more photo's - better ones??

 

[Honey08]

I don't think it is long in the back. Its not stood up properly and is taken from an angle so you can't tell really.

For what its worth, if my horse was for sale and someone posted it on a website and asked for critique, with people being negative (which 90% of respondants on CC threads are) I would be very upset....

 

[Quartz]

I have emailed them to ask for me pics and videos if possible. She has already been reduced from 3000 euros which was the original asking price.

I thought her back looked odd, but wasn't sure if it was just a bit lacking in muscle.

 

[Quartz]

I don't think it is long in the back. Its not stood up properly and is taken from an angle so you can't tell really.

For what its worth, if my horse was for sale and someone posted it on a website and asked for critique, with people being negative (which 90% of respondants on CC threads are) I would be very upset....

I am not too worried to be honest, as you are in England and the advert is not. Yes there are a few people on here who live in France (myself included). I Am not looking for a slagging off of the pony, as I am generally interested in going to see it. I am just interested to see if anyone can find a terrible flaw which I really wouldn't see.

I do know of people who have sold horses knowing full well they have bad joint problems which are only apparent to people who really know what they are looking for. Unfortunately this goes on a lot in the horse world of buying and selling.

Issues that can be sorted out are not a problem for me!

 

[AmyMay]

For what its worth, if my horse was for sale and someone posted it on a website and asked for critique, with people being negative (which 90% of respondants on CC threads are) I would be very upset....

You may well be upset - but pop something in a public domain and all that......

Oh, and post better pictures, you may get a more positive response.

 

[Miss L Toe]

The first picture shows a very ordinary type to be honest, the sort that you could pick up at the sales for a few hundred these days. It is a bad photo!
If spending that sort of money you want a county level showing pony!
To get your eye in there is only one way to do it, first look at loads of pictures of stallions [on all studs], Connemara stallions, also Pre/Andalusians and Thoroughbreds, to my mind there is nothing to beat a good TB.
http://www.connemaraponysales.com/page.asp?menu=184&page=21
They will be "stood up" so alert and showing "presence" which is what is required at that price.
You should note that they "have a leg at each corner", the front legs should be a pair [not all are], the hooves should be set on the leg with a perfect pastern angle [ask farrier].
Now is the time to look at conformation defects, there are many.
Long in the back, nothing should be out of proportion.
Over at the knee [if you can easily identify this, it is too much, to be rejected]
Behind at the knee [a big no no]
Weak hind legs: post legs[too upright], over bent [like greyhounds].
Head: a kind eye, a soft expression, good symmetrical teeth, jawline not imperfect, all in balance according to breed standard. Plenty of room for the windpipe. Head not stuck on to the neck at an awkward angle.
If you know a good judge of a pony, go to a show and ask them to help you out, but remember they will all be "good" conformations. You need to go over a few pones with someone who will point out all the things to look for, name all important body parts and identify good points. Owners are not happy to be told the bad points, so be careful. Maybe go to some lower grade horse sales, you will see many faults.
The more you do this the more you will learn, but it there is no quick method.
Your vet will pass or fail a pony on the basis if it is "fit for purpose", and can fail on poor conformation.
If you want a perfect pony for your purposes, be prepared for a long search. If you can find one that has a good show record you can assume it has no major weakness, but remember a judge is not allowed to look inside the mouth and I am not sure if they lift the tail and look at the inner thighs and hocks properly.

 

[AmyMay]

If spending that sort of money you want a county level showing pony!

For 2,400 eu?? Not likely..........

 

[guido16]

Can you translate the information on this pony for us? French never was my strong point........

How old, whats it done etc.

What do you want to do with it?

The photo is very bad, as has been said, to properly see conformation, the horse needs to be standing square with a leg in each corner, so to speak.

 

[Casey76]

If you are in France, I would seriously consider importing from the UK. Ponies tend to command silly prices, and although there are a couple of Connemara studs in France, I think I would still prefer to import.

I have full membership of the Haras Nationaux, so if you want I can look at her breeding etc (unless you've already done that )

PS. I think she is a bit long in the back, and looks to be sickle hocked. And I think 2400€ for a 12yo mare is very expensive, unless her breeding is impeccable, and she has a good competition record.

 

[*hic*]

Long in the back, common head, muscled under neck so either worked wrong or is strong or both. Having said that it really depends with what you want to do with it. If showing then it's a waste of time going to look. However if she's got the nice temperament they say she has and wants to please then the jumping pic is quite sweet and she would probably turn her hoof to pretty much anything you wanted to have a go at at a lowish level and would be worth a look at. Perfect conformation is nice to have but if you want a friend to have fun with then it is not the be all and end all. Price is negotiable I believe and I don't know how prices in France relate to here.

 

[Quartz]

The first picture shows a very ordinary type to be honest, the sort that you could pick up at the sales for a few hundred these days. It is a bad photo!
If spending that sort of money you want a county level showing pony!
To get your eye in there is only one way to do it, first look at loads of pictures of stallions [on all studs], Connemara stallions, also Pre/Andalusians and Thoroughbreds, to my mind there is nothing to beat a good TB.
http://www.connemaraponysales.com/page.asp?menu=184&page=21
They will be "stood up" so alert and showing "presence" which is what is required at that price.
You should note that they "have a leg at each corner", the front legs should be a pair [not all are], the hooves should be set on the leg with a perfect pastern angle [ask farrier].
Now is the time to look at conformation defects, there are many.
Long in the back, nothing should be out of proportion.
Over at the knee [if you can easily identify this, it is too much, to be rejected]
Behind at the knee [a big no no]
Weak hind legs: post legs[too upright], over bent [like greyhounds].
Head: a kind eye, a soft expression, good symmetrical teeth, jawline not imperfect, all in balance according to breed standard. Plenty of room for the windpipe. Head not stuck on to the neck at an awkward angle.
If you know a good judge of a pony, go to a show and ask them to help you out, but remember they will all be "good" conformations. You need to go over a few pones with someone who will point out all the things to look for, name all important body parts and identify good points. Owners are not happy to be told the bad points, so be careful. Maybe go to some lower grade horse sales, you will see many faults.
The more you do this the more you will learn, but it there is no quick method.
Your vet will pass or fail a pony on the basis if it is "fit for purpose", and can fail on poor conformation.
If you want a perfect pony for your purposes, be prepared for a long search. If you can find one that has a good show record you can assume it has no major weakness, but remember a judge is not allowed to look inside the mouth and I am not sure if they lift the tail and look at the inner thighs and hocks properly.

Thank you for a very helpful and interesting reply!

 

[wattamus]

It honestly depends what you want to do with the girl. If you're looking for something to have fun on and generally ride/ mess about with then i think she's lovely. However if you wanted to do showing and higher level competing then maybe she isn't the one for you. Having said that we have a horse on our yard that had successfull results jumping 1m40 and won £1k in prize money in a very short time that was one of the worst conformed horses we'd seen. Didn't affect him though.
As i say it just depends what you want to do but having a slightly longer back than normal wouldn't put me off if you liked her obviously get her vetted but if you like her have a look xx

 

[Casey76]

There is a photo of her here in her summer clothes

http://tourisme-equestre.fr/fyh/fr/...148&origin=fyh&adtype=main&lang=fr-iso-8859-1

Is it just me or does she have a really long neck???

 

[Quartz]

Can you translate the information on this pony for us? French never was my strong point........

How old, whats it done etc.

What do you want to do with it?

The photo is very bad, as has been said, to properly see conformation, the horse needs to be standing square with a leg in each corner, so to speak.

OK, so briefly it says she is a mare, 1.47m so about 14.3 hands. Then it has her blood lines. Ideal for hacking and show jumping. She has a good character and is very docile. Price negotiable.

So really not that much information!!

 

[neelie OAP]

Well it depends what you want to do with your pony, if its just a happy hacker you want, then as long as she is quiet and reliable with no unsoundness thats fine, but if you were wanting to show her then that would be a different story, the photo's don't really do her any justice, but to me a happy hacker yes maybe, but is that what you really want !

 

[*hic*]

Looking at the other pics of her I rather like her, if you make sure when she's hacking that her head is always below her withers and she's marching on and work her correctly in the school / on the lunge you could do a huge amount to improve the way she looks

 

[Honey08]

There is a photo of her here in her summer clothes

http://tourisme-equestre.fr/fyh/fr/...148&origin=fyh&adtype=main&lang=fr-iso-8859-1

Is it just me or does she have a really long neck???

This second ad says a bit more. She is being sold as a jumping and hacking pony - which is your typical connie really. I don't think any of them are that beautiful, but they are usually honest and brave jumpers. I think she is nice. The dealer that we got our ISH from imports connies from Ireland and says that even as things stand it is hard to get a cheap one..

 

[AmyMay]

OK, so briefly it says she is a mare, 1.47m so about 14.3 hands. Then it has her blood lines. Ideal for hacking and show jumping. She has a good character and is very docile. Price negotiable.

So really not that much information!!

Well bottom line is she is no looker. But - if she's in your price range, and ticks the boxes for what you want the pony to do she may be worth looking at and trying.

 

[Quartz]

I really just want a happy, reliable hacker. Maybe something I could do the odd jumping lesson on and perhaps try a local comp on. Also wanted it to be something my kids could ride if they wanted to in a couple of years.

 

[AmyMay]

I really just want a happy, reliable hacker. Maybe something I could do the odd jumping lesson on and perhaps try a local comp on. Also wanted it to be something my kids could ride if they wanted to in a couple of years.

And that is more important than what they look like.

Keep us posted, because she does look as if she could be a little sweetheart.

 

[guido16]

Agree with Dee, horrible mucle under her neck which would suggest she is either very strong or schooled badly.

If its a pony to have fun with then she seems a nice type.
Had a connemara years ago and they really are lovely ponies, very honest nature.

If you could get the price down then it is worth a shot.

Bearing in mind, I challenge anyone to find a horse with "perfect" conformation on a livery yard. They are very few and far between!

 

[Honey08]

If you only want a happy hacker and something for your kids to ride, then you don't need to buy a pedigree with lots of show jumping experience - you'd find a nice cob or something for less money...

 

[sally2008]

The fact that it is standing like a goat on a rock would be enough to make me consider taking my hard earned money elsewhere. This stance is often indicative of poor foot balance - if it's been this way for some time there is no telling what trouble has been stored up for the future.

 

[planete]

The second ad says she has done treks lasting several days so should be super reliable hacking and adaptable. Would worry a bit about her being too strong for children with that neck conformation. Only one way to find out, go and try her, she could well be a super family pony.

 

[Miss L Toe]

For 2,400 eu?? Not likely..........

Yes I think so, I did not say it had to win at County level!!!
amymay, can you get off my back please, it is beginning to annoy me.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Handsome is as handsome does. Lets hope it does plenty because it certainly is not handsome.

Seems an awful lot of money for a 12 year pony with serious conformation faults. With that lump of muscle under its neck it looks like it has sat against a martingale for years. I doubt it is a nice or balanced ride.

If I looked at as a pleasure pony I would not even ask to have it tacked up. But no doubt it is someone elses cup of tea.

 

[Parker79]

Hello

No expert but the muscle under the neck was the first thing I spotted. I think comments about her not being a looker are harsh, she is a sweet looking pony and might have a superb temperament.

I assume you will be getting a vet to look at her, if you are interested and you like her then get the vet to help on the conformation issues, as someone else posted, you can help her build muscle in the correct places, she may have ill fitting tack which would contribute to the poor muscle development along her back. In fact her back might be in a bad way so tread carefully. They might give her time off before you try her to hide back issues.

If you opt for a very basic vetting then have her assessed on a circle at least and get her back checked as much as possible.

Good luck

 

[Moomin1]

Yes I think so, I did not say it had to win at County level!!!
amymay, can you get off my back please, it is beginning to annoy me.

Amymay has a habit of doing this!

OP - I think photos can be very misleading so it's prob just best to go and have a look. If she sounds like the sort of pony you want behaviourally then that's a good strong starting point.

We all know that even photos of ourselves can look shockingly bad from certain angles!!