Pig Ugly Horses?

Right, ok I have not read the whole thread (seemed to go off on a bit of a tangent!) but IF you are not a troll (I am on the fence here!) you went and saw a horse, a dun and it was ugly??? WHAT?!! I have never seen an ugly dun so I will need to see proof of this!
How do you mean ugly? It's face or conformation wise? You seem to have a lot of money to pay for a horse (when you seem to already have two - why do you need another??) so what are you looking for it to do?
For what it's worth, I like 'quirky' looking horses, I would not say ugly but I don't like your bog standard 'stunning' looking bays etc etc. I bought a fantastic looking 'showjumping' pony years ago and although he looked fab and had tonnes of abililty he was/is far too neurotic to ever actually be reliable or consistent competitively. Consequently, I still have him 19 years later as my conscience wouldn't let me sell him. i now stick with quirky and whether they suit me and i like them. You get a feeling for a horse. If you think it's ugly then you probably don't have that feeling for it to be honest - perfect as it may be. If it was really perfect for you, you wouldn't see any ugliness.
That's my opinion anyway!
 
Parachute said:
You're acting like you're 7/8. Insulting other people's horses is disgusting, rude and just downright nasty. You don't know them, you probably haven't seen them because you're a new poster. If you're to stay on the forum, I suggest you apologize and stop throwing tantrums.
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Welcome to the forum, you'll fit in mighty fine. ;0)
 
I can't understand why folk are taking offence to someone who also takes looks into consideration, each to their own. I have a bit of a soft spot for horses that are let's say a tad on the ugly side, I find it quite endearing and no it wouldn't put me off but there's no shame in someone also wanting an attractive looking horse to go with the rest of its abilities, after all surely the looks and conformation is one of the qualities you look for when breeding both on the stallions side and the dam.
 
katycob said:
But is that so terrible? I am only saying that I find this horse ugly and that I would not feel as proud of him if I buy him. Wish i'd not bothered now. I'm not saying nobody should buy an ugly horse, just that if you felt the horse was ugly should you buy it? Would it make you feel negative towards the horse etc?
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If you don't like the appearance of the horse, then walk away - this is not the horse for you. Leave the horse there for someone else to buy who love him/her for ALL its qualities, not just some of them
 
If I found a horse unattractive I wouldn't buy it (or even view it), even if it did everything else I wanted. You have to like what you look at everyday...
 
we went to a view a horse once, it was so ugly my daughter wouldnt even go into the field to look at it. In fairness to her we had been told it was part bred Arab but when we got there the closeness to an Arab must have been a stallion 5 miles away when it was conceived, it had a head like a bucket & conformation to match.
Lets just say it wasnt bonny and certainly not what we were looking for.
call me shallow but if Im feeding it every day a horse has to be pretty for me, couldnt stand an ugly head looking over the door, and yes some are ugly.
 
Of course everyone has a preference but it was the way it was phrased (pig ugly horse) that people have taken offence over. Just imagine someone had referred to your horse in that way. Just keep looking OP plenty more horses out there.
 
RunToEarth said:
I honestly cannot see the huge issue with OP calling something pig ugly...

I wouldn't buy something I thought was ugly.
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Have to agree, I wouldn't buy any horse that wasn't to my taste. Wouldn't have called it "pig ugly" but looks do have to be considered. I wouldn't date someone that I wasn't attracted to and I wouldn't pay for something that expensive (a horse) if I didn't like the look of it.
 
I think "pig ugly" probably wasnt the best term to use on a forum full of horse lovers..!!! :rolleyes:
However I have to be honest initial appearances are what would catch my attention. I chose my dogs because I love the look etc but obviously temperament etc plays a big part too, I think it has to be the whole package. :D
 
Haven't read through all the posts so sorry if this point has been made already ... But it depends on what you mean by ugly. If by ugly you mean you dislike the colour or it has a clunky face or is a little heavy set then that's a bit shallow TBH and shouldn't really affect your purchase as if the horse is perfect then his looks in this respect are neither here nor there really.

However .... If you mean ugly as in poor conformation then no I would not buy it. Poor conformation can cause major soundness issues later down the line and seriously impact on the horses health and quality of life and his ability to do the job for which he was bought.

Having said that, if you go and view a horse and in your eyes he is downright ugly regardless of everything then he's obviously not for you! You're not the right owner for him as you're never going to gel with him. Sometimes it's okay to just not like someone/something. Everyone has different taste. I feel the OP was worded very bluntly .... There are plenty of horses I don't like the look of for one reason or another but. Would never describe them as "pig ugly", that's a bit rude and disrespectful.
 
I would never buy a horse that I thought was ugly. Looks, conformation, breeding, demeanor are all important to me. Sometimes I'll let one or two of those things slide if the horse is exceptional in other aspects. I don't mind a plain horse, I have a couple, but I don't care for unattractive horses. OP, I'd keep on looking if I were you :)

PS. I would like to see a picture of this pig ugly horse though
 
I think you are being really mean to Katycob. I sold a 16.2 Friesian and bought a one eyed piebald TB cross. I still thought she was as ugly as sin three months down the line but still loved her. She looks after me so well and is everything you could wish for in a horse. She has never done me a bad turn in the two years I have had her. I love her to bits and never even notice now that she has only one good eye and is behind at the knee etc.,
She is worth her weight in gold. The Friesian used to look gorgeous, everyone stopped to say how handsome he was, but he was bolshy and sharp. Mags is just adorable. So, Katycob, you will get over it. Handsome is as handsome does where horses are concerned, but I do get you.:D
PS: I wouldn't go out with an ugly bloke either. I am now ducking:D
 
How about we look at this the other way around . . . never be seduced by a good-looking horse. I did. Kal is pretty. I love him. But he wasn't fit for purpose (mother/daughter share, bombproof, suitable for relatively novicey people) . . . turns out it doesn't matter because we've sought help/learned a lot, we love him for him, he is being schooled and competed and he and we are happy . . . but it all could have ended so differently.

If I'm honest, I fell in love with how he looked and how he seemed and didn't look at the whole picture . . . his conformation isn't great (it's not terrible, but it does him no favours - his navicular was inevitable, for instance), he's a sharp/quirky/sensitive/very intelligent little horse who requires a firm/kind hand . . . I wouldn't (and won't) part with him, but he's lucky that I love spending time with him and looking after him more than I love riding him . . . and that I get huge pleasure from seeing his current jockey get more out of him than I ever could. In other hands, he'd have been written off as a problem horse (which he isn't) and ended up who knows where.

I may be stating the bleedin' obvious, but nice looking horses can seduce the unwary . . . it's not a sound buying criterion. I don't regret buying him for a second - but my right hip will never be the same again and it wakes me up every night.

P
 
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