Scary picture in advert!

:eek: ..actually that looks like a stallion that lives by me ..he has no right to be a stallion either :( and even more surprising is people breed off it :mad: ..and poor sod is kept in a feild full of crap ..cars etc ..poor boy i wish i sould buy him and cut his whotsits off and give him decent field with some mates!!
 
I wouldn't take it as indication of his temperament either, I know what people are capable of doing to take pictures that they think will sell a horse.

Wouldn't surprise me to find out he has been sedalined up to the eyeballs.

If a horse looks a little doped in it's ad photos I tend to presume it has been, I saw a youngster that looked a little drugged in the "ridden" photo, with hindsight I am sure he was. I am of the opinion it was the only time he'd ever been sat on, lets just say he wasn't "backed and going nicely" and I can see why the rider was not available to show him of for the viewing.
 
Really I do feel sorry for you guys who take life so seriously and appear to have missed on a carefree childhood as afforded to some of us.

Crawling under your childhood saint of a pony is one thing, allowing your child to crawl under a 5 year old cob stallion is another matter entirely.

People lie in adverts and they put their children at risk to validate those lies, sad but true.

Edited to add, he is actually 4, my mistake.
 
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Really I do feel sorry for you guys who take life so seriously and appear to have missed on a carefree childhood as afforded to some of us.

Ditto, I actually thought the initial post was a joke when I looked at the picture, yes, maybe not a 'great' idea but hardly the crime of the century! :rolleyes: :cool:
 
On the flip side of the "chill out and enjoy life" argument (which I am in favour of most of the time:)) does anyone remember the thread about the little one kicked by mums pony whilst feeding treats in the field? Most of us were of the opinion that that was an avoidable accident. Yes I rode without a hat and did silly things, my daughter used to ride her pony back from the field bareback in a headcollar (not when I was there LOL) but crawling around between a stallions legs seems pushing it a bit. It certainly would not encourage me to view the horse.
 
On the flip side of the "chill out and enjoy life" argument (which I am in favour of most of the time:)) does anyone remember the thread about the little one kicked by mums pony whilst feeding treats in the field? Most of us were of the opinion that that was an avoidable accident. Yes I rode without a hat and did silly things, my daughter used to ride her pony back from the field bareback in a headcollar (not when I was there LOL) but crawling around between a stallions legs seems pushing it a bit. It certainly would not encourage me to view the horse.

Why? :confused:

I am going to sound like a broken record here but when you view a horse you judge the animal you see before you on the day/days you see it, not the yard, the seller, their stable management or their opinions (if you have any sense) If a photo shows colour/markings/shape/size that is all I care about. If I buy the horse none of the above is relevant or matters.

As for the wisdom of the photo, there are a thousand badly chosen For Sale photos, just because one person chooses this one with a child doing what could be dangerous shouldn't put someone off seeing a horse.

I am quite aware of the 'what ifs' of the situation, but regardless of what I would allow my child to do (and she has done similar) what someone else does with theirs is none of my business, even if they do open themselves to criticism by using the photo publicly.

Stallion? So what? They can be gelded. Would opinion have been different if it had been a mare pictured?
 
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No being a mare would not change my view, as I said previously stallion or not - not a great idea. I bought a colt and had it gelded - from a family home that sent me brilliant pictures of the foal and his brother in the field, with family members and with his dam.
This picture would put me off viewing the horse as, called me snobbish/old fashioned, I would look at this photo and assume rightly or wrongly that this was not a home I would chose to buy from. It is a bit like a job interview - you may be the best applicant but your application form and how you present yourself will influence the employer.
I do not think a "nice" photo equals a good horse/seller - far from it - but it is a starting point.
 
Not saying the pic is right, that decision is down to the parents and how much they want their offspring to be entered for the Darwin Award (natural selection is alive and kicking folks!), but why is everyone in this country so worried about stallions?

I know some deserve their reputation, but I have a half share in one and he is like a lamb. Much more handlable and biddable than my young mare for example and no more likely to kick a kiddy between his legs than the next laid back Ned. If you paraded a few lovely ladies in front of him he would sharpen up, but on the whole he is great and hacks out with other horses, mares and geldings very politely and is easy in the stable.

People need to see horses as individuals and treat them (or worry about them) according to their temperament.
 
No being a mare would not change my view, as I said previously stallion or not - not a great idea. I didn't say it was, all I said that it wasn't the viewers concern:)

This picture would put me off viewing the horse as, called me snobbish/old fashioned, I would look at this photo and assume rightly or wrongly that this was not a home I would chose to buy from. No, I wouldn't call you old fashioned, blinkered maybe, sorry

It is a bit like a job interview - you may be the best applicant but your application form and how you present yourself will influence the employer. Yes, absolutely, you have a point. I know some prospective employers would be put off if the applicant didn't fit neatly into their little box, I myself would dress as I thought it would be expected - until I had the job, then I'd go back to being 'me' and not some sober be-suited facsimile of everyone else.

I think sellers often chose photos because they like them and feel they say something about the horse in question, not because they are the best one to attract viewers, all a matter of opinion.


I do not think a "nice" photo equals a good horse/seller - far from it - but it is a starting point.Again, yes, you are right, but no-one can please all of the people all of the time:(

It is all down to opinions of course, and we are all entitled to have them, as we should. As this is a well known dealing yard I am often surprised that their photos display the horses in less than the classic poses but perhaps they want to show off the horses attitude more than anything else, or, they don't care, or they can't be bothered to take better photos, or this was all they had to hand when they listed the horse etc, etc, etc Their loss if it loses them viewings.
 
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If a horse looks a little doped in it's ad photos I tend to presume it has been, I saw a youngster that looked a little drugged in the "ridden" photo,

Sorry just joking but had to read it twice the child doped or the horse too......or both....
 
Do you really think it looks doped?

I see is a horse in a stall with a haynet, he could simply be relaxed and at peace with his world.

I could trawl through PG on here and easily find 50 photos of members horses looking just as dopey and I'll just bet they aren't.

This horse looks just as doped to me, the others are already dead obviously.
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As I said, the photo, taken at first glance, is everyone's loss. The sellers because people pass it by, and the prospective buyers because they could be missing an absolute diamond.
 
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It makes me cringe! Purely because I came very close to having an accident with a child.

I was riding out with my friend and I was riding the old plod, Blobby. (R.I.P)
A small child ran up to him and started to go under his belly. I asked her to be careful and not go near his legs or under his belly, the mother then huffed at me and said "Gosh, she'll be fine, just let her do what she wants" I was shocked!!! Blobby didn't like it and I could tell he was getting restless, but he was a good lad and just shuffled a little. When the girl had stepped away from his legs me and my friend made a swift exit! Ignoring the woman moaning at us to stop so her daughter could carry on!!

It make me cringe and I wouldn't let my kid do it, but whatever! It's their horse and their life, I just wouldn't get involved.
 
Really I do feel sorry for you guys who take life so seriously and appear to have missed on a carefree childhood as afforded to some of us.

Me too! I am in the process of looking for a quiet L/R show pony for my girls and I rang last week about an exquisite pony advertised on Horsequest, when I asked the lady whether the pony was quiet she told me she had a picture of her 6 year old daughter standing up on the pony's back but she didn't dare use it in the advert "because you know what some people are like"! Just a bit sad really I think.
 
But that is a totally different kettle of fish, a mother allowing a child to do something with a horse she knows nothing about. We get that with dogs "Oh don't worry he's fine with horses" they say "Yes, but mine kills dogs" I have to reply.

These people own the stallion and presumably have some idea of his temperament, it's not some random horse the kiddy has run up to in the street.
 
Even though it is 25 years ago I will never forget finding that my son had managed to climb out of the garden and was in the paddock standing underneath a similar aged Highland gelding hugging his front legs and laughing
That pic on DD reminded me of that day

The Highland had something of an unknown background, being bought from travellers for meat money and used to being tethered at the side of busy roads and I did not know him well at that time.
I had to resist the temptation to rush--however...

He had locked his legs and was rooted to the spot until child extricated from under him

That pony stayed with me all of his life and was the kind of pony all visiting children went to see and many rode him.
 
I could post pictures that look 'scary', not very PC etc. A picture is a moment in time, it doesn't paint the whole picture, it doesn't tell the full story. I have 3 horses and deal with children on a daily basis, we have fun, we do things that may be 'taking a risk' but isn't everything we do with horses taking a risk?! They are after all, big flight animals!

I have a good relationship with all 3 of my horses, I know their flaws and weaknesses but I also know I can trust them, I can allow a small 5 year old girl to lead my two year old mare, I can allow a 10 year old child to jump my 16.2HH Ex-racer and I can put a young child on that same TB, bareback while he is eating in a stable! To some these pictures may be shocking/scary/stupid and maybe it would put you off buying my horses if ever they were for sale but it would be your loss, not mine! To me the pictures show a relationship based on trust, understanding and above all having bit of fun!

Just because the horse is a stallion it does NOT mean it's going to kill every child that goes within 5 foot of it, just because it it looking sleepy and relaxed it does NOT mean that it is doped and just because the owner has allowed their child to stand between the legs of her horse (which I assume she knows and trusts!!) it doesn't mean she is irresponsible and shouldn't own horses (or have children for that matter!)!
 
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If a horse looks a little doped in it's ad photos I tend to presume it has been, I saw a youngster that looked a little drugged in the "ridden" photo,

Sorry just joking but had to read it twice the child doped or the horse too......or both....

The horse, not the rider ;) the rider wasn't a youngster, the horse in question was though lol
 
No worse than the pic PonyFeet posted of her two year old daughter kissing a three year old colt on the nose.

If I am remembering the pic correctly the child was outside the stable (colt being inside) and could have easily been rescued should the need arise. If something went wrong with the kid under the stallion inside a stable, it would be very hard for his parents to extract him from the danger, and any horse is capable of being spooked regardless of their sex.
 
I have a good relationship with all 3 of my horses, I know their flaws and weaknesses but I also know I can trust them, I can allow a small 5 year old girl to lead my two year old mare, I can allow a 10 year old child to jump my 16.2HH Ex-racer and I can put a young child on that same TB, bareback while he is eating in a stable! To some these pictures may be shocking/scary/stupid and maybe it would put you off buying my horses if ever they were for sale but it would be your loss, not mine! To me the pictures show a relationship based on trust, understanding and above all having bit of fun!

Just because the horse is a stallion it does NOT mean it's going to kill every child that goes within 5 foot of it, just because it it looking sleepy and relaxed it does NOT mean that it is doped and just because the owner has allowed their child to stand between the legs of her horse (which I assume she knows and trusts!!) it doesn't mean she is irresponsible and shouldn't own horses (or have children for that matter!)!

Being on top of a horse is a lot safer position to put a child in than under it's feet. I have pics that some people would find shocking and deem unsafe (we all do I expect) but under the feet of an entire youngster inside a stable is a little bit too unsafe in my opinion.

Just because he is entire doesn't make him likely to kill someone no. Being an entire and being a youngster however does make him more likely to react, both youngsters and entires being more prone to unpredictability.

I did not say he was doped. But I have known horses to be doped for photos and considering he is advertised on a website know for attracting "dodgy" types it wouldn't surprise me.
 
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