Advert of the Day

Who thinks this is an appropriate picture to advertise this horse with? Raise your hands please...

Anybody? Gee I sure hope not!

Here's the rest of the ad for this 13.2hh stallion...

Truthfully, I get the impression that the process of breaking to drive is not going well.. now I may be wrong but that photo is not inspiring any confidence here!!

Here is an unnecessary list of reasons this is not a good picture to sell this pony with:
1- pony in high state of p-off!
2- pony rearing in driving gear- definitely not something you want from your driving pony
3- can't see any of the pony properly only the back so can't assess looks and build
4- pony looks like is close to being yanked over backwards by its poor mouth

Anyway, if anyone wants to take a chance on this little fella- the link is here.

Advert of the Day

Here we have for sale on equine now- a blob.

This frankly terrible picture accompanies a horse for sale ad promoting a stallion for stud 'serves' or sale. 

We don't know:

-What height

- How old

- If he has ever been ridden or even sat on!

- What he looks like to be honest, other than that he appears to have four white legs

We do know:

- a breeding would cost 40-80 dollars

- He's a black and white paint

- He loves other horses. 

It's hard to tell what would possibly recommend this horse as a father. Or as someone's new horse for that matter. Please people, put some thought into an advert. Think about what you're trying to say and what your horse's strong points are. And if he doesn't have many, give him some. Get some work into him! 

Picture AND Video Fail

Rarely does an advert get it totally wrong in both selling mediums, but here we have a prime exhibit. The ad is for a young stallion named Smirnoff Ice- an alcopop for those not familiar with it- and at first glance it appears that the seller has over indulged in said beverage.

Yes the advert does look like a jigsaw, and yes, that's right, none of the shots shows the pony in full! In fact here's a close up of the 'best' one:

But it's ok, because there's a video- in fact there are three! So we can just check those out. 

Oh well, maybe the others are better:

Oh dear. Nope, all about 10 seconds of a majorly geed up pony sort of trotting towards people who don't seem to be able to keep the camera straight!

I sincerely hope that these are just make do efforts and they are going to try again as I am not sure what you can tell from this... he might have a nice flashy trot, but whether it would be as flashy if he wasn't practically trying to tank off with his rider I can't say! 

Time to have another go I suggest, maybe filming from further away? Be nice to see the whole horse clearly.

Wow, so that's not Irresponsible...

Why would a legitimate horse rescue organisation post ads like this (Link, Link)?! These two are from Equine Now and are posted, as you can see, by a group called Second Wind Rescue.

Yes folks that is not one but two adverts offering a BREEDING STALLION FOR SALE.
No mistakes- that is the title of the ad and comes up under a 'breeding stock' search.

Here's the problem-
-Neither horse is in good health (melanoma/looks like hell and doesn't seem to have great legs- see below!!)
-Both are older animals- so chances of landing on their feet permanently if just sold off and not kept under some form of guardianship are slim
-Both are priced to appeal to the idiot backyard breeder (Hey Wilma- hitch up the trailer! Got me a stallion for the old mare out back, registered and everything! *head-desk*).

Most importantly-
IF YOU ARE A GOOD RESCUE WHY WOULD YOU EVER EVER CONSIDER THESE ANIMALS SUCH FANTASTIC BREEDING STOCK THAT THEY ARE SUITABLE TO BE SENT OUT INTO THE WIDE WORLD WITH BALLS ATTACHED TO CREATE MORE OF THEIR KIND!!!

Jeez they are just not that special, poor guys. At a time when people are trying to sell horse for peanuts/dumping them on roads and out in the country/abandoning them at boarding stables and livery yards/shooting them rather than have to find the money to feed them no one should be more aware of the problem than the rescues trying to tackle the mess.

I seriously question the ethics of this organisation. SERIOUSLY. Poor horses!

Advert of The Day

Wow, these two look soooo comfortable, don't they?!

This was the only photo accompanying the ad which is selling a small stallion who is being strongly promoted as a comfortable ride for long trails or riders with back problems. Here's the issue. Neither the horse or the rider look comfortable in this shot! The girls expression and her hands, and the horses face, tail and the way he is moving, suggests they are having a real difference of opinion, however momentary. BAD PHOTO TO USE!

That's not even touching on the fact it's blurry.

Finally just how comfortable can you be in what appear to be hot pants and wellies?!

Here's the rest of the ad:
MiniMe as we like to call him is a very sweet stallion he rides amazing very comfortable for someone who likes long trails or maybe has back problems. Looking to find him an amazing home to trail rideor maybe even show since he does have alot of brio and the look for it. He is a lil thin because we did rescue him from a hard situation but he is getting more beutiful by the day. come meet him he wont disappoint

call me or text

He needs to find his new home by this weekend please make an offer.

Mary

might trade for maybe a dressage mount 

Hmm, so sweet he has to be outta there in days... and of course they might trade for a dressage mount. I wouldn't hold your breath folks!

A Problem

Your horse is a stud, 9 yrs old, 17 hands and weighs in the region of 1,300 Ibs. Given that the rate of economic growth in the US is around 2.4, the ratio of available horses to good, caring homes is around 300:1 and you have priced him 0.00 dollars, what is his % chance of going to slaughter?*

huge free stud horse with cut 

I can't take care of this stud horse by myself he is 17 hands has huge bones and feet he has destroyed my fences I can't do this anymore he went through a fence and cut open his chest and damaged his eye his dad is a national champion warmblood but if I don't find someone to take him I will have to have him destroyed I doctored his cut for couple of days and when I attempted to doctor it tonight he struck out with both front feet I don't know if it hurts him or what this horse weighs about 1300 pounds he is very tall around here when you say you have a huge horse they think you mean wide he is very tall and very big boned and built like a Lippizanner. this is not a children's horse he must be well handled before anybody other than an experienced person gets around him and if you think you're going to turn around and make a quick buck on him it is not possible he needs to be handled and his cut doctored before you could ever be able to sell him my phone number is fifty two. Twenty. Seventy. Owe to. do not call me at a ridiculous hour.

Why exactly is this horse a stud?! He's hardly overflowing with desirable features, physical or behavioural by the sound of it! I don't find huge bones and feet a selling point, particularly not when he's using them to trash his environment.  

The owner says she has been treating the wound he picked up on the fence and now he's resenting it- 

I don't know if it hurts him or what.. 

Yes it probably does- anyone ever fiddled with one of your injuries?! Here's a thought, maybe an infection has started to brew and his patience has been exhausted by increasing discomfort. 

This bit I don't get:

He is very tall around here when you say you have a huge horse they think you mean wide he is very tall and very big boned and built like a Lippizanner.

His size and build is not a remotely positive feature given that he's already learned to use it against people and things that get in his way! How about telling us if he's ever done anything, ever been saddled etc? I am guessing not! 

I can't figure out how this person ended up with this horse in the first place. Maybe it was drugged when they tried it, maybe they bred it, threw it in a field somewhere and only thought, 'gee that colt of mine's got pretty fiesty' when they went to find it years later! But I am sure I am thinking exactly the same thing everyone else with any horse sense is thinking after reading this advert. 

if I don't find someone to take him I will have to have him destroyed

He is a STUD! A stallion!!! He wants to mate with things and if you're not directing that energy somewhere else, i.e. into serious competition work, he's going to go to any lengths to do that! Including through fences and over the top of YOU if you haven't instilled enough respect in him on the ground. 

So why, why WHHHYYY ON EARTH don't you just get him GELDED, remove the hormones and reassess the situation after a few weeks before puttinga bullet in his head, handing him over to a masquerading slaughter man or palming him off on some naive do-gooder who might end up getting pounded into the ground by their mercy 'purchase'?

Is it not that obvious to EVERYONE that this would be the next step to take?!

*- figures quoted are rough estimates and for blog writing purposes only.

Thanks again to horse forum contributors for this one.

Advert of the Day

Where to start, where to start...

*sniffles* But, but Black Beauty was a friendly horsey!!

Ok, so first of all and most negatively to the advert at first glance this horse looks seriously p***ed as all hell. See close up:

He may be hungry as he looks pretty ribby, or maybe he's just objecting to that godawful piece of thin metal in his mouth. Either way his expression says get the **** away from me. Not the most inviting shot for a sales pitch!

Secondly do you think those front hooves have been deliberately cut out of shot? Because from the knees down they are not good looking legs and I am wondering if the horse is actually sound.

Overall total picture fail. But we go on...

Thirdly 'Quarter Horse, hard to find'. ????. Do you mean he goes to hide in his field? Because I can think of barely any regions in the USA where the Quarter Horse is a rare breed. It's like the UK equivalent of black and white hairy cobs- dime a dozen and everywhere you look.

Finally; 'Horse Starts to Dance', you mean all the time? Your average rider would kind of like a horse that keeps still on occasion please!

Today's short but not sweet ad of the day is brought to you courtesy of the good folks over at Horseforums.com; thanks guys your thread on dumbest ads is a goldmine!

Advert of the Day

Today's ad of the day has a slightly different slant, and it made me feel a lot of things. Firstly the cynic in me wondered if it could actually be for real. Then I felt very sad for the kid in question, and finally I felt terrified that someone might actually ring and offer her a horse!

Here it is:

AD CONTENT:

Hello im Kim im a 13 year old girl look i know my prices are small but let me explain my mare (Flicka a black TWH/Saddlebred mare) died on 9-11-11 due to colic for the 3rd time, apparently some horses are like born with a weakness to it which she had she was 7 when she died and i think we got her at 2 years old now im looking for a horse someone can hold for us my dad is taking extra precautions so the horse will be safer than flick was she would have never left us but we didn't make a very good fence with her but now dad said that he is gonna make the best fence in history lol i have been looking at many horses but still have not found one any paints will be welcomed i want to learn cross country so i need a good jumper and fast runner but i'll consider ALL horses i love horses my room is filled with them we have many animals so we are experienced 5 cats, 6 dogs and chickens i have had lots of horses in the past but flick was the only one who wasn't sold here is somethings i need:

-Mare or stallion (gelding will be considered because i may want to breed the horse in the future)
-All horses are welcome Paints will be welcomed with opened arms so will all
-any breed plus mixed breeds
-must be broken and young (2-4)
-Must be low priced

my parents are in debt but they try to get me what i ask for thats why they are great
There are so many areas of concern here that I can barely start.

Flicka a black TWH/Saddlebred mare) died on 9-11-11 due to colic for the 3rd time, apparently some horses are like born with a weakness to it which she had she was 7

Firstly poor old Flicka looks to have been very ill for some time. Can you see in the pictures where her hips and spine are jutting out?

From some of the content I wonder if the family really knew how to care for her properly. I wonder if there may have been something very wrong internally, maybe even a growth/obstruction of some sort. The cost of looking into this appears to have been beyond the owners- but if it was, by no means would I EVER recommend they jump in and get another horse!

my dad is taking extra precautions so the horse will be safer than flick was she would have never left us but we didn't make a very good fence with her

Um... so there wasn't a securely fenced paddock in place for Flicka? Surely this is one of the main essentials for horse keeping!

Perhaps this explains the colic- she may have been wandering into nearby wasteland and eating god knows what. Plus of course the risk of horses getting into accidents and injuring other people...

i want to learn cross country so i need a good jumper and fast runner

For $500 the poster is more likely to end up with something that would fall over a jump instead of take it! Also a horse that goes really fast and jumps doesn't always make a good cross county horse- they need to have that cruising speed, stamina, bravery and the intelligence to measure their fences correctly.

...but i'll consider ALL horses i love horses my room is filled with them we have many animals so we are experienced 5 cats, 6 dogs and chickens...

I am sure the readers of this blog don't need me to point out that keeping lots of different animals does not in any way make you experienced in horse management!

i have had lots of horses in the past but flick was the only one who wasn't sold here

I can only presume that most of the other horses just passed through and may not even have been with the family for long. Therefore any knowledge acquired is probably minimal.

Mare or stallion (gelding will be considered because i may want to breed the horse in the future)

AAAAAH!!! If you are going to buy a horse for about $500 I would bet my WHOLE RIGHT LEG that it's not going to be a good breeding candidate! I am presuming that the bit in brackets is a typing error as of course, geldings are not capable of breeding. Not to mention of course the experience needed to do a good job of caring for a mare in foal and her baby. Never mind safely and securely managing a stallion (without a proper fence possibly?! Feel faint...)...!!

-must be broken and young (2-4)
-Must be low priced

Again for $500 anything nicely broken and that age, fully sound and healthy (this could be where they get duped into taking on something with chronic illness) may be hard to come by.

The continual emphasis of a low price is a constant worry. $500 at current currency conversion rates (from those handy tools online) is only about £300. That's barely 2 months care for my horse. Keeping horses correctly is not cheap and that's assuming things don't go wrong. My horse once spent a few nights in a vet hospital. I had to pay the £250 (about $395) insurance excess, but if she hadn't been insured, I'd have been looking at a 2k vet bill. I tend to agree with the approach that if you can't afford to spend around what the type of horse you really want (in this case an allrounder/ cross country schoolie) will cost you, you probably can't afford to keep the horse anyway.

my parents are in debt but they try to get me what i ask for thats why they are great

Maybe this is why poor Flicka's recurring colic was never properly addressed. :-(

I do feel sad about this whole stituation. Heck I was a frustrated horse loving kid and all I wanted was to ride but my folks couldn't even afford to pay for regular lessons. I worry that the family could end up being presented with a horse that's either dangerous or sick at the price they are promoting. And of course I fear for the welfare of any horse that might end up with them.

If I could have one hope it would be that someone with a stables in the area and the patience to work with young people would call her and invite her over, so she can get the feeling of riding properly schooled horses and learn to go cross country as she wants, without putting herself or another horse at risk.

As an aside, I discovered this ad as I tried to investigate the other side of horse selling- the problem of buyers! More on that later.

Advert of the Day (2 for 1)

Eegads, what is going on here?

This looks uncannily like a woman fighting with a Shetland pony- and not looking that happy about it! Sadly (or perhaps fortunately) the image is very small but dressing it up with the curtains doesn't make it less worrying to an experienced horse person's eye. Finding out the shettie in question is a stallion is even less reassuring. From this picture he appears to be a bad mannered and possibly overly randy little sod.

So you'd be desperate to buy him wouldn't you? Of course! Yes this is a sales picture. No really, it is. Honestly. Proof below:

Soon after being shocked by the above, I came across the following...

Seriously, what's going on there? I presume and hope that the chap was executing a trick of some kind with this gelding, who is nearly two years old. But did he not then look at the picture before posting it and think- yeah, maybe not a good idea that. It looks like he's p-d off and trying to attack me. Which he does! And as we have previously discussed on this blog, teaching a large heavy animal that it's OK to put their front feet and their weight anywhere near a person's shoulders and head is pretty dumb. 

Lesson to learn? If you actually want to sell, maybe say a bit more about your horse or pony's good points before you so accurately illustrate that he's a little ****** or potentially lethal!!!

Stud!!!

Ok, so maybe it's just my warped sense of humour but this ad tickled me. When his partner announced she needed to sell her stud, I wonder if this chap decided it was his opportunity to titilate some local ladies and try and find a job as a stripper at the same time by advertising his own studly qualities?!

Looks like a reasonable horse as far as I can tell, but note that I'm not getting the best view of him as the most prominent shots feature Mr Baseball Cap displaying his bronze pecs, bulging shoulders and rock hard abs!

Exhibit A:

And shouldn't this one have Hello Ladies emblazoned across bottom right shot (of patient horse apparently having his hind leg readjusted)?!

Well, lets just hope horse finds a new home and Romeo gets the new career he seems to be craving!

Newsflash- Gelding Costs Money!!

Following on from the post 'The Survivors Guide to Classified Horse Adverts' , I wanted to take one of the humorous statements and point out the truth in it- sadly there’s too much truth in many of them as I am sure you know, but let’s start with just one:

IDEAL STUD PROSPECT- Can’t afford to geld it

Here in the UK gelding can cost anything from £200 to nearly a thousand if there are any complications. At a time of recession that’s a pretty serious sum of money. Horse charities have reported finding whole herds of colts abandoned on wasteland. Dealers buy job lots of youngsters, weed out the fillies and dump the colts rather than pay out to have them gelded.

So what does an irresponsible/broke breeder do when they have a horse they want to sell but they don’t want to fork out to geld? Two options really- number one is try and convince some mug it’s fine to keep them as stallions as they are so easy to handle and number two is to convince them that they are overflowing with stallion potential.

I mean why in the name of humanity should THIS horse still be entire?!

 

In case you thought that was just a bad picture- think again- here are the rest:

 

Poor soul is a conformational trainwreck, but don't worry he's 'quite' (quiet) and easy to handle. Here's another without many physical attributes to justify keeping him as a stallion, horses like this are EVERYWHERE in this area and he's not a good example:

Here's another stallion for sale. This poor chap looks quite ribby in many of the pics. I wonder if he's been running off his weight trying to get to some mares in a neighbouring field?

 

 

 

And here's some creative marketing. There's absolutely no good reason for this 'so ugly it's almost cute' pony to still have balls. He could have made a great child's pet/ride as a gelding. As it is, he's being sold as a teaser- at least even the current owners realise he shouldn't actually reproduce!

 

 

Here we have a pony being sold specifically as a stallion prospect, having already reproduced several times apparently. Here's my main problem with this one- they thought a picture of him apparently rearing in someone's face was a real clincher! If you have a stallion, you need it to have basic manners and THIS is not appropriate behaviour!

 

 

His other pictures aren't the best either! Here's a similar one... no evidence of a performance record but he sure can stand on his hindlegs and pop out babies! These shots are not convincing me he's the most cooperative of animals... the guy at the end of the line looks like he's about to leap out of the way!

 

 

 

Here's what I would call a good stallion ad.... Cute little pony, purebred and registered, and LOOK! He actually DOES THINGS! He gets ridden and jumps fences and everything!

 

 

Bottom line? Keeping a stallion can be a real pain. You need to have somewhere with the right facilities and you need to be able to manage a strong, spirited horse and keep his mind on the job in all situations. However 'quiet' the sellers may claim these horses are, they won't stay that way with maturity- I can almost guarantee it. Factor in the cost of gelding if you are looking at a horse that still has his equipment. In the majority of cases he won't be worth your keeping them attached!



Photographing a Horse for Sale FAIL

You may have read my page on how to sell a horse, including suggestions on how to photograph the horse. It’s all common sense, I hear many of you cry! Sadly, as your mum often told you, the problem with common sense is that it’s not actually that common.

Ensure the Picture is Clear and From a Good Angle

To be fair many of these shots are one of a couple, but they really add very little to a sale effort!

Head too big to fit in one shot?

Looks sweet and might well be beautiful but you're really not showing her off to her best here (P.S. What exactly is a skewball?!):

This is just terrifying! If this is the best shot you could get of this horse, I can't see many people lining up to buy her!

Can you actually get near these two, or is this the best shot possible?

Apparently the pics don't do this one justice - nooo really?! I can't link you to the ad as it's sold- somehow, with these shots!

Clean up the horse first!

This poor soul is the wrong colour to be presented for sale without a good brush...

This one appears to be untouched by human hand! 

This stallion would love his mane detangled- and some food maybe.

Sweet looking filly- why couldn't you knock the mud off her back?!

Wow, a 'hairey' stallion who has clearly been rolling in his own muck- there's enough of it.

Only Have One Horse in the Picture

Yes they are selling the horse at the back here...

Selling a coloured mare, evenly marked- and no I don't know which one it is either! There's two shots of the same group and they are in different positions on each!



Selling the one on the left but that piebald gets enough coverage to look like he's on the way out too...

These folks are selling a black and white gelding- That could be either one of these!

Pay Attention to the Background

I do like adverts where I am not experiencing terror over what the horse might put a foot through...

Or waiting for it to strangle itself...

This pony, given its colour and the lighting, is lost in a dark stable- couldn't you take it out for the picture?!

Wow, who'd have thought this would happen if you stood a black horse against a black background?!

And with this amount of blur, standing a bay horse against a brown background doesn't do it any favours either! Here's a suggestion- move the wood bits, use the white wall?

Make Sure People in the Shot Look Professional

I'd hide my head too if I were the person on this pony... BTW, he has a driving bit on another shot, you couldn't use that instead of the rope?

Rugby shirts and jeans are not GENERALLY riding attire....

My baby backs all my horses....

Here's the part that boggles my brain- you can just see a chap's head behind the horse, and he's ducking down as if not to be seen- do you honestly think it LOOKS BETTER if it appears that no one is holding that baby?!

The two year old colt has now been sold which is why I can't link you to the ad, but apparently, this family had decided they'd keep the baby a while longer, but get rid of the toddler.... no one holding onto the child here!

Seriously people, do you not LIKE your kids? I mean that's not a soft landing there... and no hat to protect the skull!

Lady, are you barefoot?! Don't you like having toenails?!

Use an Appropriate Picture

Is it just me or does this look like the horse is stopping rather than jumping?! Surely if a horse is a potential showjumper you can get a better shot of it in action than this?!

Being sold as a potential competition horse but the blurry pictures don't inspire confidence- loose schooling over a jump might be better than standing there looking confused...

I am sure this horse has many good points- with forelegs like that I dispute the claim that jumping is one of them.

This horse might jump but I don't think this shot is showing her best side...

Although at least that explains why she looks so worried in this image... she's wondering if she'll still have her teeth when she lands.

Ok so I know almost all of us have got bad shots in our horse photo libraries, but here's the thing- we aren't trying to sell one!! If you're asking for money for a horse, it's good to look like you care about it a little. If you want a lot of money, you should look like you care a lot!