A rant, and Today’s Know Your Breed: Paint
Jul 09 2007
We’ll begin today with a rant. There was a horse auction this weekend. In case you were wondering about what sells in this world for $300 or less, here are a few examples. (Sorry no pics. Most of the auction yards will throw you out if they catch you with even a camera phone.)
30 year old palomino appaloosa gelding with a bad knee: $5
30 year old appaloosa gelding, fat, sound, blind in an eye, child safe: $50
21 year old registered, very well bred Arabian mare, gray, with melanoma around eye: $300. Since I’m sure someone thinks they can get one more baby out of her before she drops dead. My $300 says that eye never gets looked at by a vet.
Clean legged, sound registered loud colored tobiano APHA mare, in foal for 2008: $300
Moral of story on the first three: Stick a crowbar into your wallet and euthanize your old horses, you cheap, miserable, worthless sons of bitches. I truly hope you spend YOUR retirement living in a refrigerator box in an alley until you freeze to death. Yes, I know I am bitchy on this topic. Seeing 30 year olds at auction makes me very, very angry.
As to the latter mare: Let this be a wake-up call about the actual value of a crappy quality paint horse. Spots alone DO NOT make them valuable.
Now that we’ve seen that, let’s do today’s Know Your Breed on Paint (APHA) horses. I have fantastic examples to use. An alert reader sent in this Paint who is an example of pretty much everything that can be wrong with one!
When the word “fugly” was invented, they had this horse in mind! WOW. The head is almost totally square. Where is its eye? Is it pink? We have laid-back ears, a horribly ugly ewe neck coming out of a straight shoulder, huge withers that resemble a camel’s hump, and four of the weakest, longest pasterns I have ever seen. Apparently it injured both hind legs at one point (still looks like DSLD to me) but jeez, the front pasterns are almost as bad. This horse could not move well if its life depended upon it. It’s front legs simply don’t have much range of motion, which is why you are seeing so much knee action. I should also mention its dam is also it’s great grand-dam. It’s like a Jeff Foxworthy joke! Its saving grace is that it is a gelding and will not breed on.
This horse is also a gelding, but I would not mind a bit if he weren’t. I know a lot of my readers are from the h/j and dressage world and do not care for the level headset, but it is what is desirable in the APHA show world and this horse is physically built to comfortably carry his head at that level. He has a lovely shoulder and look how easy it is for him to reach out and have a beautiful, flat, hunt seat trot. I love the length of his hip. Sure, he has a goose rump but so do a lot of great jumpers. His ad says he likes to jump and I will bet he is good at it. This is a classy, lovely, all-around type gelding. Whoever bred him gets 2 thumbs up from me. I actually realized after I already selected him that his dam is sired by a stallion I used to ride a lot of offspring of, because I worked for the stallion owner. They all jumped, had great minds, and were youth/amateur friendly. Again, breeding and genetics are not like winning the lottery. You really can, a lot of the time, predict what you are going to get. And I do not need a crystal ball to tell you that at least ONE of the first horse’s parents, probably both, look a hell of a lot like he does.
26 comments to “A rant, and Today’s Know Your Breed: Paint”
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Wow, this post made me cry. How could anyone let an old horse’s reward for a long life of service be sale at auction for $5? I know it happens every day, but it’s still so hard to think about…
I’m also disgusted at those who put their 30-year-old horse up for auction. It’s just as bad as going to the dog pound and seeing the 14-year-old dogs there. I don’t get how not knowing their fate is any better than having to make the choice to euthanize or dealing with their natural death.
As for Paint #1 – what. the. hell. Why are his withers so far back from where they should be? Why are they just like a camel’s hump? How can he move at all with all the mismatched parts he has?
Paint # 2 is lovely. I’m not a h/j person at all, but that horse would convert me.
FHD, I’d like to thank you for responding in such a calm and polite manner. I honestly appreciate it. Let me start by saying that there are many, many points in which we can agree since my last comment. Two year olds should not be bred – a horse shouldn’t be bred until it’s fully developed, which can mean you’ll have to wait up to four or five years for some breeds. I also agree that 30-year-old horses shouldn’t be sold at auction. Besides being greedy, it’s also cruel. They are going to slaughter, more likely than not. That 21-year-old mare should have been sold privately, to a good non-breeding home as well. Assuming that camera angle dosen’t create any illusions, the first paint looks like a disaster – it could make a good pasture-mate or a good child’s horse, but on this one I also say that it doesn’t look like it should be bred.
The point that I was trying to make in my last post was misunderstood. I am NOT saying that every horse is worth breeding. Or that it’s okay to breed two terrible horses together just for fun or money. What I was trying to get across was this: that conformation should not be the only, or first, factor to consider when you’re deciding what’s worthy and what’s not. What should be considered is what the horse is going to do and what it has inside of it. A dressage horse with absolutely no fault at all can’t do better at 24-7 ranch work than a tried-and-true old mutt that’s bombproof and willing to work his rear-end off. Champion horses with no faults that are bred together can create duds. Duds can create champions. It isn’t what you can see, but what you can’t see that’s important.
I wish you the best of luck with the blog FHD.
As for those who did their own dissecting on my last comment….
First, despite what you say I don’t think that this blog is humorous. Many of the photos that FHD has used were taken without permission, which is breaking a copyright law. But that in itself isn’t what’s troublesome. Humor isn’t supposed to hurt someone’s feelings. To critique something you need to focus on both positive and negative, not just one. Just like you would if it was a piece of art, or a book.
Second, every conformation fault does have a negative side, true. But they do not inevitably lead to lameness or injury (unless maybe you’re racing or doing some other extreme horse sport). Many horses with good, clean legs are injured off and on all the time, while horses with faults live to old age without a single bout of lameness. You can’t see what the future holds for a horse just by looking at it.
Thirdly, foundation appaloosas with patterning DO have scrimpy manes and tails, and mottled eyes. The Leopard gene (that’s the one that gives them all of their patterns) causes this. I wonder if your horses are solid. If so, it is likely that their manes and tails are more full. Here’s a link to the Foundation Appaloosa Horse Registry. http://www.foundationapp.org/ Please notice that the two horse pictures there today are of patterned horses that have scrimpy manes and tails.
About my username, everyone is “anon†on the internet. Even FHD is “anonâ€. Sorry that I was so forthcoming about that, and that I’m not funny enough to make you smile while you’re reading my protests. Please do not resort to Ad Hominen attacks in the future. This is a major fallacy in arguments, and is worthless for proving your points. All it does is weaken yourself, and insult your audience.
Dear anon.For your edjamication:
My leopard mare has the full mane and tail just like the leopard parade stallion I owned in the early 1970′s. There is no genetic link between the leopard complex and sparse tail and mane reported. There is no such thing as a “leopard gene”. The best guess by the geneticists so far, is that “leopard” is a complex of at least 3 and likely more, already recognized, spotting genes. Creative of you to make these things up though.
My homozygous snowcap gelding ( out of a leopard mare) also has a full mane and tail. My roan, mottled skin, stripey hooved QH/appy cross has to have his mane thinned, it is so thick, but I’ll allow it might be from the QH lines.
While some appy breeders (and the ApHA- which is not the ONLY registry BTW) do not consider the sparse tail and mane a fault, you can bet you get higher $ for those coloured appies who have a full mane and tail, so that good breeders are selecting for those. And although mottled skin and other characteristics are required for a solid colour to be registered as an appy, sparse mane and tail are not considered “characteristic”.
The sparse mane and tail are leftovers from when the US Army took all the pretty appies away from the Nez Perce for army remounts and left only the weedy small, sparsely haired ones with the tribe.
Your narrow definition of humour is not commonly accepted by the majority of humans. Look in the dictionary under “satire” or “sarcasm”. Ot listen to your own sarcastic remark “Best of luck with the blog”.
Good grief.
Its like talking to the cat.
Carry on FHD!
Bottom line: anon, if you don’t like this blog, don’t fucking read it.
The internets are self-regulatory. You are under no obligation to read this, or to even so much as make that dog-about-to-vomit grin over it.
You’ve made your point, you don’t find FHD funny, so why are you still littering this place with your diatribe?
Anon, for someone who again has no idea what they’re talking about, you certainly leave long replies.
And conformation should be the first thing to consider, because it directly affects both soundness and what the horse can and will do. There are plenty of nice horses with tons of heart out there, but only the best of them should be bred. It’s great that you contradict yourself later in your response, but at least be consistent. Please?
And since you chose to ignore your inability to grasp the humor of the blog by bringing in copyright, let me set you straight. There’s this thing called parody, which involves humor, snark, mockery, etc. As long as it involves parody, you are free to use the works of others however you see fit. I know the humor thing is foreign to you, but please trust the writer/artist on this one.
The blog already stated twice that injuries do not count as conformation faults, so I don’t know why you’re bringing them up. Did you even read before you started bitching? Honestly, you’re just making yourself look like an ignorant crybaby that rambles on to distract from how utterly weak their arguments are.
When I said “best of luck with your blog”, I was being sincere. Since my last comment, it has changed slightly from just bashing to bashing alongside satire of practices no one should follow.
I think that – if we all forgot about confo – FHD and I could get along fine, really well. It’s just people like serendipity that get under my skin. Google creative commons laws and copyright laws. I’ve been up for a straight 24-hours working and don’t feel like doing it for you.
While I agree that 30 year old horses should never be sold at auction. I’m afraid I side with anon with the conformation issue.
I know plenty of horses that have great conformation that go lame a heck of a lot more then those with faults.
I also think the first thing you look for when breeding horses is temperament, especially if you are going to sell the horse. I would rather buy a horse that is calm a quiet with a fault, then one that is a bitch without one.
As for Lori’s comment on there being no leopard gene I have to disagree. How do you know there is no leopard gene if ‘The best guess by the geneticists so far, is that “leopard” is a complex of at least 3 and likely more, already recognized, spotting genes.’? For all anyone knows it could be a gene on it’s own.
If you want a horse with so-so conformation and a good attitude, thats what you get a GELDING for. Has she not been saying that FOREVER? The point is, if you’re looking for a nice trail savvy horse, with whatever conformation, get a gelding or a non breeding mare.
Sure, good attitudes are great, but say you’re breeding for a dressage horse. If you’ve got a naturally built down-hill horse but she has a SPARKLING attitude, you AREN’T going to achieve Prix St. George clearly…
‘Sure, good attitudes are great, but say you’re breeding for a dressage horse. If you’ve got a naturally built down-hill horse but she has a SPARKLING attitude, you AREN’T going to achieve Prix St. George clearly…’
Maybe not, but I never said anything about dressage.
A horse with great conformation would do better in some shows, but in others you need the temperament. I guess it all comes down to personal preference and what you plan on doing with the horse. I know which I would chose, and I am sure there are plenty out there who would agree with me.
Woah, people! I know the horse world can be a bitchy place, but no reason to be at each other’s throats!
Oh, and FHD is breaking copyright laws. No way around that. But then, so are billions of other people on the internet without getting in trouble, simply because what people don’t know can’t hurt you!
A lot of people here seem to think you have to have one or the other. A good temperment OR good conformation.
HM, how about BOTH?! YEA, horses with good conformation aren’t evil hags! Haven’t you heard her mention “She seems to have a sweet eye” etc.? That is in reference to attitude. So instead of breeding SHIT. Why don’t you TRY and breed something with good conformation AND a good attitude! Then, we definately wouldn’t have to see them go to the slughter house! And this STILL falls under the fuglyhorsedaily sayings. You are STILL be irresponsible for breeding something shitty. Cause they’re the ones that are usually on the auction block. Horses with good conformation and good attitudes usually come from RESPONSIBLE breeders and USUALLY have homes!
“FHD is breaking copyright laws. No way around that. But then, so are billions of other people on the internet without getting in trouble, simply because what people don’t know can’t hurt you!”
Didn’t your mother ever ask you that, oh so infamous question, “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?” Haha. Just because other people do it, it isn’t right or moral.
Anon, you seem to be trying to find anything and everything wrong with this blog. Is it possible YOU have a fugly horse and are just getting your feelings hurt by it? Or maybe your panties are just in a knot.
Sheesh, I’d hate to be one of your friends since you can’t seem to take anything as a joke and everything is serious f**king business with you.
Do you REALLY have nothing better to do but whine?
No, cupcakes, I don’t have a horse yet. But I’m looking into buying a gorgeous, completely unfugly mare named Dhali. Maybe if I get her I’ll email you a picture.
Is it possible that you can’t deal with what I’m saying, and are losing your temper a little bit?
lol, calm down girlie. I’m just responding to what folks are saying now.
I just wanted to add in – I have mentioned positives about this blog cupcakes, with the negatives…because that’s how you critique somethng. Check out the first paragraph in my first post, and my second comment. Don’t let your temper get the best of you.
anon, don’t you think even YOU are getting a little touchy now. As a photographer and artist, I HATE it when people use images without permission, so I’d never condone the practice. But I just meant I’m not going to get worked up about this use of them, since it’s insignificant compared to what’s going on on the internet.
Cup of Cakes is dead on…it is not a choice. If you don’t have an individual that has:
1. Good conformation
2. Good disposition
3. Proven ability to perform (and that can be in any discipline you enjoy, I’m not saying they have to jump 5′ fences)
then you simply DO NOT BREED THEM…this is not brain surgery.
Just because it has a uterus doesn’t mean it has to have a baby!
Kiyani, I don’t think they’re getting touchy so much as whining and attention-whoring now. Which would be why they started clinging to, “OMG copyright!” once their last complaint got shot down. The netspeak’s not exactly helping their point.
I don’t really want anyone using my stuff, either. But again, parody is parody, and I’m not going to go on a witch hunt because someone said, “Look @ ths pic! Lol, dinosrs dnot hav faethrz! Lol!”
At least Anon finally seemed to realize that this blog isn’t saying all horses with poor conformation should die. Except now they think it’s a critiquing blog, instead of a bashing blog for people that were too selfish/lazy/greedy/indifferent to not breed their horse.
Ah well, back to bashing stupid horse breeders.
Thank you for this blog!
These 2 comments are what sum it all up for me:
“I know, I know, he’s black and he’s pretty, but he needs to be a pretty, black gelding.”
and
“Just because it has a uterus doesn’t mean it has to have a baby!”
July 12, 2007 9:52 AM
I must say that the bay overo gelding has got to be the UGLIEST horse I have ever seen in my entire life. (With the exception of one I saw on equinehits not too long ago…I will see if I can find the ad) THANK GOD he is a gelding and no one stupid enough to breed him got their hands on him before he was cut! YIKES!
Also, and I am trying to stay out of this, but just want to make a point, there are certain conformation traits that are considered flaws which actually enhance a horse’s performance in a certain event.
For example; did you know that draft breeds are bred to be slightly cowhocked? This actually aids in the horse’s ability to reach forward and dig into the ground to pull very heavy loads. (Draft breed dogs are the same way) Granted, they are not supposed to be horridly cowhocked, just a tad though.
“Also, and I am trying to stay out of this, but just want to make a point, there are certain conformation traits that are considered flaws which actually enhance a horse’s performance in a certain event.”
that point was already made BY FHD in discussing the lovely APHA gelding with a slight gooserump – she mentioned that was a ‘fault’ which many successful, quality jumpers have.
It’s totally despicable to send animals to auction that have served faithfully for many years.
In relation to conformation faults that are often talked about on here l’d like to say that many of the leg faults could have been fixed in the first month of an animals life as generally leg faults(deviated legs) are not hereditary and can be blamed on poor husbandry.Maybe something more needs to be done in relation to educating people as to how they can help their animals improve straightness as foals and the care of horses in general
To be honest, I don’t like either, but I have never seen a horse so mis-matched as that in the first photo. O M G it looks like a camel.
That is really sad about the 30 year olds at auction – if people can’t give their old friends a home til they pass on then they should do the right thing by them and have them put to sleep.
So sad…
BTW just found this blog today and spent a thoroughly enjoyable half hour reading the archive – very funny with some very amusing and accurate critiques!
I have been reading this blog for more than a year now, and I have laughed myself to bits (“head explodes” became part of the family jargon) and sometimes cried, and all in all I learnt more about horses and horse owners here,one way or the other then any other place on the net. If the blog is hurting people here and there I think that at least it is for the good of the horses,and since animals don’t have many people actively defending their rights I thonk that is One can accept the sharpness. I don’t always agree 1oo% with the blog, but so what? Adults can disagree constructively I hope. Of my two horses the magnificient, great looking, sound gelding turned out to be a scaredy critter that for no reason I could bring out of his pasture without risking life and limb (he is now in the hands of much more experienced horse people and they have trouble too) while my formerly laminitic mare, which is a bit too long, has a hint of roach back and walks like a duck, and was traumatized and head shy when I got her from a dealer as a “company horse”, turned into a fantastic, utterly reliable work horse that I can bring into traffic and adventure every day without fear, and have a load of fun with. She is still a bit difficult and many people would not like her. But she works hard, and I get along with her ways and she with mine. So, point is, screwed up horses can prove to be magnificient creatures. But I don’t think that I would ever breed her, because those qualities that make her so great for me are not qualities that would pass genetically (or at least I don’t think so, but I am no expert).