Functional, Fantastic Fugly Friday!
Sep 17 2010
Sometimes newcomers to the blog get the idea that I hate fugly (definition: poorly conformed and/or really unattractive horses) horses. No, in fact this blog was inspired by my love of all horses. I was tired of seeing horses in the kill pen, and a lot of those horses were conformational train wrecks. Being a conformational train wreck has two big negatives:
1 . People are less likely to buy them because, given the choice of two equally well trained horses, buyers will choose the pretty one about 99.9% of the time. Also, some features like a straight shoulder make a horse less pleasant to ride, resulting in a jarring gait.
2. Poor conformation is often a primary contributing factor to unsoundness. I can pretty much look at a two year old and tell you if he’s going to wind up with navicular – so can a lot of people. There is a collection of factors that make it highly likely, when present – straight shoulder, upright pasterns. Likewise I can tell you who’ll be getting hock injections first – those horses with post legs behind. Unsoundness is a primary cause of winding up in the kill pen. Ask any rescuer and our kill pen rescues, at least 95% of them, fall into category A – batshit and untrained – or category B – unsound. Or both!  That is not to say we can’t GET them sound, of course, but most of them got dumped because of some kind of soreness – lame, backsore (leading to bucking), neck/poll sore (leading to rearing), whatever. Undiagnosed pain, or pain people are too damn cheap to pay to resolve,  is a huge reason horses wind up in the kill pen.
That said, some of these poorly-conformed horses hit the jackpot. They find a loving owner who is more than willing to pay for the vet, shoeing and supplements it takes to keep ‘em trucking – or just give them such a light use home that it’s a non-issue.Â
So, today, I want to see those! Please post the direct link – the one that starts with http – no code, no brackets, etc. I’ll make it show up when I moderate – that’s the only way we’ve ever gotten it to work. I want to see your horse that was not the result of the BEST breeding decisions, but has a great home with you. I also want to hear about how you’ve dealt with limitations caused by poor conformation, and what kind of maintenance it has taken to keep that horse sound.
This is a mare I really like. She has a wonderful personality. She’s a polo pony, which is a good thing because she sure as heck would not have made a show horse with that straight shoulder, super long head, weak loin, and short croup/goose rump combination. She can’t get herself pulled together I once said that riding her feels like you’re on two men in a horse suit. However, she is a sweet and consistent low goal pony and, because of that, has a five-figure value despite needing special shoes and maintenance to keep sound. See, this is how you put value on your less-than-perfect horses – you teach them a skill, preferably a fairly rare skill! This mare should never be bred (and there are no plans to ever do so) but she has a great home and receives excellent care as a result of her skill set. She is a great example of what I talk about here. If you have fuglies, even if you have to admit you bred them when you didn’t know any better, don’t breed them, and do train them, and you will get nothing but praise from me (and know that you have done the right thing for horses in general!)
TGIF EVERYBODY! Now let’s see your pics. 
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this is my first time posting
this is my wonderfully functional, fugly molly mule. her name is henrietta. i don’t know how old she is; presumably, in her late twenties. i got her for free from some folks at a mule and donkey show that i was attending (wishing with every inch of my will that i had my own awesome mule to ride!) when i was 15 years old. they took good care of her, except for letting her get so fat. she was UTD on her feet, vaccinations, and was extremely fat. the woman had recently developed lupus, and they were trying to downsize. i had to roach off about 3 feet of tangled mane and rake through pounds of hair when i got her home after the most exciting 2 hour drive of my life, but she turned out to be even cuter than i first imagined! she had no training other than being led around with kids on her back and having people bareback on her, kicking as hard as possible and yanking her head back and forth; but i rode her for hours every single day of that summer, climbing hills and swimming a river. that year, we went to a mule show and did barrels, poles, keyhole, flag race, english pleasure w/t, western pleasure w/t (no canter exists in her vocabulary…three speeds: walk, trot, and RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!), showmanship, conformation (a laugh and a half), trail, and pack classes. we got tons of ribbons and almost got the high point youth. and all that year, we did team penning two or three times a month. henrietta is about the same size as the cows, if you can’t tell from the picture. her mom was a section b welsh pony and her dad was a standard donkey; which, by the way, makes her the most sure-footed trail mount i’ve ever ridden (tested on ledges barely wider than the distance between her front feet!). she’s about 12 and a half hands tall. i’m 5’1″ tall, so it worked out okay. despite her tiny size, perpetual barrel belly, and peculiar conformation, i’ve had more fun with this mule during the time i’ve had her, than any other equine i’ve ever owned. i’ll love her ’til the day she dies. meet henrietta:
Meet Blondie, my 10 year old QH mare who I adore.
I bought Blondie about 3 years ago from a friend. She had been leased out to countless people, good, bad, and terrible over the years. Before that she was with and owner who would beat her when she spooked or didn’t understand what was being asked of her. Before that, she was found abandoned in a yard with no food and aggressive horses.
We have no idea of her breeding. She may not even be pure QH. When I got her she was mistrusting and very nervous all the time. Nowadays she is a happy, alert girl with a wonderful personality, although she still has some trust issues.
Blondie has upright pasterns, post legs, a long back, weak loin attachment, straight shoulder, and a head that belongs on a Shire. She has some arthritis in her front legs that have made her lose some flexibility, and and old sprain on her left front cannon bone has very occasional swelling if she goes out for a long trail ride. Otherwise, she is a healthy girl, an she is living her life without a worry. She will NEVER be sold. (:
Here she is:
A picture of her and I chilling by the lake on a summer hack:
My lovely riding school fugly Danny was an awkward looking horse. He inherited a boofy WB head and scrawny TB neck (not the prettiest of combinations!)
He was never particularly photogenic but was a sweetheart on the ground and in work.
I don’t have any photos of me riding him, so these ones were pulled off my old riding school’s website.
Hi, great thread – all but two of mine are fugly and loveable
I am going to apologise in advance for jacking this thread but I am pissed.
There’s this mare, she was four last year and her owners had just bought her. I sort-of-knew them. Despite gritting my teeth when they told me they’d bought a four year old for their 9yr old kid (ponies just aren’t well trained in the uk!) it seemed fine. Three weeks in, it took off and put the kid in a fence, broke her arm. Parents not so keen on her riding it now. They asked me to evaluate pony – I decided there was no malice just stubbornness, lack of training and a bit of an ‘I don’t want to do that so I won’t’ attitude going on. I also recommended keeping her in the small field they were using for her to ‘settle in’ in and not putting her with their relatives horses in a HUGE lush grass field (must be 20 acres and it is LUSH) as, despite what old wise relative who’d had horses all his life said, she did not need any more food, in fact, she was already very overweight and would maybe benefit from a grazing muzzle and more exercise as well as small field and NOT they bucket of barley every day that old wise relative (hereafter known as OWR) recommended and fed his own (unridden) horses. I also said she was a laminitus risk because of her size and ponyness (she was a haflinger) and the grass etc. So. I rode the horse a couple of times, she bucked me off. Fair dues, she did not feel malicious (I’ve ridden a lot of horses etc. etc.) but I did recommend they get her back and saddle fully checked etc. because I didn’t want to cause pain or make a problem worse etc. (plus I couldn’t miss work if I broke my arm because my boss would kill me and make me muck out anyway, natch). I said I was happy to carry on riding her, she’d already made progress but I wanted to be 100% about pain before I did any more. OK? Reasonable? They agreed, booked the back lady for the next week, but cancelled her because the kid had a party to go to. Then, they just never booked her again! Or called me. The pony stood in the field for months, I drove past regularly, occasionally they’d take her out for a walk on the lead rein up the track and back (I saw they in town now and then) and she was ever so good! Really well behaved!! The kid had been cantering and actually enjoying it and learning when she still had lessons, but now she was back to walking on the lead rein, her parents never letting her off? And OF COURSE the pony was good, she was huge! She only got taken out of the field once a fortnight! AND SHE WAS IN THE BIG GRASS FIELD!!!!
Grr. However, I couldn’t really do anything, she wasn’t mine etc. I’d offered her a livery place at my own (grassless!) house ½ a mile up the road from their field, I said I’d ride her 5 times a week and I know they could have had a slim, fit, safe pony in 6 months tops. I said I’d give the girl lessons on the pony once she was safe enough and in the meantime the girl could ride my old lesson horse pony who is the safest thing on hooves etc. I would’ve bought her (for cheaps) if they’d wanted to get rid, she had potential, but I’d NEVER recommend a haffy for a child, especially a 4yr old! She could’ve been awesome. Hey ho.
So I’d drive past and she’d be stuffing her face full of grass and never doing anything. Spring of this year, mum comes back from town saying she’s seen the girls dad and guess what? THE PONY HAD LAMINITUS! Grrrrrrrr if there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s horse abuse, particularly through IGNORANCE. There is no excuse for not knowing. Not with books and the internet and Pony Club. Anyway. I couldn’t really do much, they didn’t ask for help and seemed very jolly whenever I saw them. Grrr. So. She got better, I heard she’d recovered, brilliant. I drove past THE VERY NEXT DAY and she was IN THE HUGE GRASS FIELD!!! NOTHING CHANGED! I mean, DUH! What’s that going to do? She’s not IMMUNE to laminitus now!!! FFS.
Next thing I hear, a few weeks later, SHE HAS LAMI AGAIN. AARRGGHHH! OF COURSE SHE DOES! SHE STUFFS HER FACE FULL OF LUSH GRASS (it’s gorgeously green, and OWR tops it all the time so it just GROWS) AND NEVER GETS EXERCISED!
Of course kid has totally lost interest by now, I mean she’s 9, her parents are overly paranoid and she never even gets to sit on pony anymore. All it ever did was drag her everywhere when she led it… Poor thing.
So pony has yo-yoed in and out of laminitus ALL YEAR. I am MAD AS HELL at the vets as well as the owners. May write them a (polite) letter. Which is why I’m venting here I suppose.
So I find out today – a year and a half after they got they pony – SHE’S DEAD.
Put to sleep on vets recommendation because of her non stop laminitus. THERE IS NO FUCKING EXCUSE FOR THIS! All she needed was someone who knew what to do. I have seen people with no horse knowledge at all take on ponies that have come down with lami and they have thrown themselves into learning EVERYTHING THEY CAN and sorting it out, they’ve become better owners along the way, and THEY MAKE CHANGES TO STOP IT HAPPENING AGAIN.
What these people have done to this horse is plain and simple HORSE ABUSE. It is CRUELTY through IGNORANCE and LAZINESS!
And the mum had horses when she was younger and reckons she knows about them
And they’ve instantly got another pony, a more suitable choice – a 16yr old new forest pony – but they’ve not ridden it yet and they’ve had it 3 weeks (why?) and IT WILL GO THE SAME FUCKING WAY because they won’t change.
SO FUCKING PISSED OFF AT THESE STUPID IGNORANT ABUSERS!
As far as I’m concerned they are COMPLETELY TO BLAME for the death of first pony and should be BANNED FROM KEEPING HORSES FOR LIFE.
I can barely think about the pain that pony has been in for MONTHS. She’s better off now that’s for sure, but it didn’t have to be like this. They were too damn lazy to get out there and do something. FFS I’ve been outside, in the rain, upside down over smelly abscess-y hooves of other peoples damn horses, miles from home, at 10pm and without a coat. Scubbing feet with ice cold water and the like just to make that horses night a little more comfortable and to cure the problem long term. I’m not asking for a medal or martyrdom, but most horse people I know will do that. My instructor drove a 2.5 hour round trip at 11pm to help me load my horse once. I went to a stables six times a day to hose my horses leg before he was at home. EVERYONE DOES THIS but not these people apparently, despite the fact that they live 5 minutes from the field and have nice warm stables and hardstanding.
Sorry for the rant but I had to get that out.
Xxxxxx RIP Beautiful Fat Pony xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
OT — Fugly, where did you go for a few days? I — and at least one other regular reader — could not get onto the blog from Sunday night until this afternoon. We were worried! Also needed our fix!
Here is my Fugly AQHA Gelding, Bucky. Bucky is 24 years old now I bought him as a 6 year old when he just couldn’t barrel race. (He was my very first horse.) His croup is at least one full inch higher than his withers! He has nice dip right behind his withers too and his shoulder is as straight as they come. With that conformation, saddle fit is a major issue. Also, it is impossible for him to get his hind quarters underneath himself to make the successful turns he needed to make in barrel racing. He stops on his front end and has the most jarring trot ever. He is very short strided at the canter which is the roughest I’ve ever experienced. His sire, not suprisingly, had the exact same conformation and wasn’t very good at barrel racing either. He was retired when he bowed a tendon (probably all that stopping on his front end) BUT Bucky is the sweetest big ol goof you’ll ever meet. He wouldn’t hurt a fly and can’t bring himself to kick another horse or human even in self defense. I do believe he is starting to have some navicular issues though. I no longer ride him since I have another, far more confortable, horse to ride but I’ve noticed him having a very slight limp lately and have seen him with his front end parked out a little bit. I plan to take him to the vet for xrays soon. I hope I’m wrong about the navicular.
Now THIS is a topic I can contribute to!
His head is roughly the size of Newfoundland, and he has the worst gooserump I have ever seen.
I have a soft spot for fuglies of all sizes, shapes and colours – I’ve only owned one horse at this point in my life who probably didn’t qualify as a fug. My current fug I absolutely adore, despite his various quirks. He’s pretty much the epitome of ‘what not to breed’, right down to the draftiness, purdy colour and omg pattern.
A picture with my friend, who would kill me if she knew. *cough*
Unrelated, but if anyone has any information on a GOOD rescue in Ontario, OR someone looking for a thicker (drafty) project, please drop me a line. There is a stout guy at our barn who’s owner is sending him to auction (turned down our reasonable offers, and is asking about twice what he’s worth), and both my friend and I would REALLY like to ensure he gets a fair shake. Options on our end are pretty limited at this point (paying what she’s asking would empty my emergency vet account, and neither of us own a trailer so we can’t just go pick him up ourselves), but if someone has a lead on either a responsible rescue, or a prospective owner, heck even someone who’d be willing to trailer him back from the auction for gas money please do drop me a line – thewormwoodATgmailDOTcom.
Thanks so much!
Aww… Seeing a ton of horses labeled “fugly” but all I see is cute!
I have no horse of my own to share, but I can tell you about my friend’s old horse who was quite possibly the weirdest-looking mare I have ever seen. She’s been sold now, and I don’t have any pictures, but picture this:
Grade mare, most likely a QH cross. Very pale palomino (which makes me guess it was a Krazy Kolor Breeder who created her). About 16hh, shortish body, enormous butt, and skinny warmblood-type legs attached to Clydesdale hooves (no joke, they were MASSIVE). Chunky draft head, no visible neck. No tail, crooked knees, posty hind legs, straight shoulder and that unpleasant gait where they put down one hoof at a time while the other feet are flailing about in another universe- you know, the kind which does not gallop, but gallomps. Ran with her head way up in the air. Also the most round-barreled horse I have ever seen- made worse by the fact that she was enormously fat. (They had the vet check her for pregnancy twice, didn’t believe him the first time). Her name was quite fitting- Pearl, the pale sphere. I guess her head and hooves alone made up half her mass…
I win this one, hands down. Although I do not own the mare in question, nor can I seem to find her, had I the power at any time she would be mine. TB mare, blew out BOTH front knees at the track, had surgery. Came to a therapeutic riding center (whaaa?) then got kicked in the head- broke the bone where the whorl is and had two huge ugly lumps there too. This pic is pre-skull fracture, but clearly shows at least one really big knee. Both were equally horrifying, although she was a natural at self carriage- I guess anything to get OFF that front end! I won’t mention her neck. That would be just rude.
What neck?
I acquired my fugly in June when I was hunting for a new horse. I lost my last somewhat conformationally challenged (duck footed) paint to a twisted gut and set out to buy a reining and trail prospect to replace him. After vetting two trial horses that I loved that both had bigger issues than I cared to deal with I met Travis.
I wanted 15hh or shorter, compact, well-built and smart. Travis is 15.3hh, weak loined, long backed, straight hocked, toes out and is just smart enough. But you know what? Unlike my last gelding he adores me and he wants only to please. He’s already a great trail horse and he’s quickly becoming a lot of fun in the arena. Of course, his sensitivity and anxiety when asked to learn new things are also making me a much better rider than I’ve ever been before or ever aspired to be. He’ll never be a reining horse but there’s just something about him that I adore. He wasn’t what I set out to buy, but he’s exactly what I needed at this point in time.
im not sure if lakotas is fugly just let me know what u think. he is 14.3 hh last time he was taped and these are of him as a 3 yr old. but even if he is a fugly i love him no matter what we saved each other.
He isn’t bad. I would get his feet trimmed up properly, and take all the training crap off him to build up some real neck muscle, that would help his looks. Cute little guy!
his feet were trimmed in every one of those pictures and that is his neck bilt up a few of the pics are him after him being worked for 5 months strait. he wasnt feed right while he was growing before i got him. now he is in great health she just thinks mud is the best thing ever. when i got him he looked like hell he shouldnt have been walking. he is the best thing that ever happened to me.
Good work – he’s super cute! (Like I said, not really fugly at all, haha) And the only pic where his neck looks slightly wonky is that last one, and even that could have just been a bad angle = )
I hate to be internet police here, because it’s pointless, but I’m not sure that comment was entirely necessary… She’s just showing off her “fugly” (who’s not all that fugly even), not asking for training/shoeing critiques.
If by “all that training crap” you mean the running martingale that is loosely adjusted (because the only other stuff he has on is a bridle, a saddle, and some boots), not sure why that’s a big deal. It’s often a nice protection feature if you have a horse that is prone to bopping his head up too high from time to time. Not everyone has a goal to put 100% perfect dressage training on their horse, and even dressage trainers will use “training crap” from time to time if an individual needs it. And really, most horses can be quite happy and be very rideable without building up “real” neck muscle.
Also, if you would like to offer advice on trimming, there are constructive ways to suggest different methods – your commentary wasn’t all that helpful, and it came off as a bit snooty, whether you meant it to or not.
Anyway, I think this little guy is pretty cute. He doesn’t have any glaring conformation flaws and looks like a nice overall horse. Fugly fail! Haha = )
OK, well…his feet look to be at not correct angles (at least from the view of the photos), and the toe is really too long with not enough heel.
As for the martingale, that is fine, who cares. But from what I have seen, martingales are not the best way to build a strong topline. And, if his neck were more filled out from muscle on the top, it would improve his looks. That’s all I’m saying.
I personally don’t think he is ugly at all, and she did ask for others opinions on the horse. Those are two suggestions that would improve the appearance of an otherwise nice looking horse.
thank you the reason i asked what people think of his looks do to i have had a lot of people say he is ugly.its never been fugly to me i guess that some people dont know a good lookin horse when they see one.lol. as for the pic where his feet were long he was due for a trim(he also had shoes on not sure that that realy matters)i get them done every 2 months when he has shoes but at the time i was haveing a problem with the farrier i was useing at the time.he no longer dose lakotas feet and we are goin barefoot as of this week and i am very happy about it are he also has a new farrier. i dont think i had a a lot of “training crap” on him and he was learning how to set his head(and we did not want to a tie down on him because that can make more problems then it fixes on horses.well some horses so we used the other) and we love our smb 3s. safty comes first when i do any riding.
i dont think any horse is fugly they all have their own little things that make them cute no matter what anyone else might think.they dont know what they are missin out on havein a horse that loves you no matter what happens.
if safety comes first whenever you are riding…where the hell is your helmet? I believe that would be the first thing to come to mind when someone says horse safety! nice horse btw =]
I’m a bit late to the party, but I think I have all of you Fugaloosa lovers beat.
That, ladies and gentleman, is the rare Appaloosa/pig crossbreed. A eweneck slapped onto the straightest shoulder I’ve ever seen, and someone took what should have been her ass and slapped it onto her belly instead. Please note that she is a maiden mare (thank God!!), no broody belly excuse here. And yes, she does rip shoes off with those camped-under hind legs.
The jury’s still out as to what to call that color.
However, this mare was a career Ponyclubber, and had evented through Training before I got her with only mild arthritis in her stifle at 15. Lord knows I didn’t fall in love with her looks, I’m pretty sure it’s the fact that she’s as stubborn as I am! The most important lesson I learned from her was “get back on after you fall.” Which I did, many times…but we did make it through Beginner Novice before she bowed her tendon, and since then it’s been colic surgery due to more sand than Pilchuck has ever seen in a horse, then choke, and now IR/Cushings. She’s still plodding around as a pasture pet at 25. I sure love that mare, but I really hope they never bred any more like her! (My current senior has the same grouchy-old-alpha-mare attitude that I love, but is 100% sound and healthy, and just won a halter class at age 28ish.)
All I know about this one is that the dam was BS Paint, and there has to have been a draft somewhere in the mix to throw that head. She was bought as a project horse – BEFORE I learned anything about conformation, obviously. Unfortunately her attitude matched her conformation; she pinned her ears and either tried to bite or swing her butt at you whenever you got near.
If anyone recognizes this horse please contact me; she was lost in the woods over a year ago and never found despite tracking her with S&R dogs. She has a white spot on the left side of her neck. I don’t want her back if she’s being taken care of, but will take her if she’s in a bad situation.
Where did you lose her at? if you use pilchuck im sure you’re fairly close to me. i’ll keep an eye out for her.
Ok, some of you saw my Fugly a few years ago when he was a skin and bone rescue. He’s gone from Little Lucky to Medium Lucky, but his legs are still as F’d up as ever. He is doing well, a great pasture pal to my Stormy, and has no other job in life than that.
yup i own one hes a standy hes a jigsaw puzzle as i say a pony confo in a horses body hes got a trot that makes you think you riding pongo stick yet a canter to die for had him 4yrs my first horse and won’t change him for the world hes my bubby boy hes 13 this year and stand at 15hh
saddles gwd don’t get me started lol is and was a nightmare till we found treeless OMG we where saved so we now no longer riding bareback as he bucks in every other saddle if it presses on his loins as one would do
stock if correct is fine a western made well hes happy but a AP i go splat unless fitted correctly but sadly we didn’t have the saddle fitter we have now but we learnt a lot from each other and now have found his ideal saddle the wonderful treeless
his life was a trail riding horse when a girl took a like to him so he did some ODEs but arenas fried his brain as he was rushed and jumping again was rushed so he saw things and would shy and get worried and then throw a hissy fit so she gave up and he went back to being a trail riding horse when every anyone took him out he come home with no rider that he got rid of if they did something he didn’t like he went “lame” but he wasn’t he was fooling so he get out of work he gave them many chances and they broke them all its a wonder that he he didn’t have more issues then being hard to catch etc
lucky for him jumping is fairly random as i am not the most confident higest i go is 40cms as for arenas they bore me too when we have lesson we ridein the paddock or we go for walks working on ground manners etc and funnily enough once i brought other then his sometime bucking and his issue with being caught all his old habit died when he left the place him but then hand i clicked from the moment we meet
hes very special 
hes very much a ADHD pony his minds active always thinking lol just like me so we suit well
ok here he is my rossy this is his confo my pony and i mean it lol
and my riding him bareback
and a shot of him moving
and my fave picture i love him so very much
he teaches me and i teach him together we have healed and learn so much love my rossy
This is my lovely horse:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1454131&l=019c9e14c9&id=1487181796
(hopefully the picture works)
He is a 14yo Paso Fino gelding. As you can see, he came from a wonderful breeder, breeds only top quality-conformation horses! But, you know…he is BLACK!
I can’t even start to list all the faults with his build, of course he is standing retarted because this the first time he had boots put on (and yes, I know, they aren’t on the greatest, but it was mainly a “you are having these put on!!” deal, and only on for a few minutes.), but basically he is pretty ugly! Everyone tells me how pretty he is, and I just have to laugh at them and say “no, he’s not, but thanks anyway!”.
He is a very sweet guy. He had a pretty rough life. He’s scared to death of pretty much all people besides me (and still kinda scared of me). When I first started working with him, if I would look at him while I was walking by his stall, he would fly and hit the back wall and just shake. It would take me about 3-4 hours to catch him the field every single day for the first month or so. He would have a nervous break down for saddling and mounting, and would shake the whole time he was ridden. He had no idea what walk or stop meant, just go-go-go in gait the whole time. Up until about a year ago, he would not walk while being ridden, for the other 2 years I’ve owned him, it was just GO! There was no touching of his legs, especially the back ones, no walking behind him, in front of him, etc.. Basically, I could stand at his shoulder and pet him while he stood there tense and shaking.
At any rate, took lots of time and work, but he has become a much happier guy! He is getting over a lot of his fear of people, and while he is still not-so-sure about everyone, he will at least come to check things out, from a safe distance of course! But, he will now stand for vet/farrier without a huge fight from him, loads in a trailer no problem, LOVES to have a bath, clips, stands relaxed for grooming and tacking up, will stand for mounting, sits his butt down when asked to “whoa” and stands forever until I say “go”. And, no soundness issues yet, despite his generations of shitty breeding! Oh, but did you know, his daddy is a grulla?! OMG! And, his grand-daddy was a pretty decent show horse, but produced nothing but shit babies! So awesome!! Just had to throw that in there
I wish I had the pics of the horses I rode growing up, I am sure they were some (extremely well loved and therefore perfect
) fuglies, but my mom has them in storage. Just had to say this is my favorite thread in awhile, such great pics and stories!!
One of the best horses my family owned was a backyard bred and trained horse. We had bought a pony mare (no specific breeding, just a cute riding pony) from a man who didn’t realize (or didn’t tell us) that the mare was pregnant. It was early in the pregnancy when we bought her, and we were naive backyard riders ourselves (in my defense, I was only about 8 years old), so no one had a clue until lo and behold we found a foal one day (I cringe inside when I tell other people they should get good care for pregnant mares, be prepared for foaling, etc….but face it, horses have been doing this on their own for a long time!). We kept the foal and “trained” it ourselves (by “ourselves,” I mean my mother–the only horsey parent, my 8 year old twin sister and I, and my three year old sister…good idea, right?). When he was old enough to be ridden (or, we thought he was) he was sent to a friend who had some spare time. This friend was probably 15 or 16 at the time. He “broke” him for us and then sent him back. Needless to say, any of those elements by themselves should produce a poor looking, bad acting, lame horse. Instead, “Stormy” spent about 12 years with us–from birth on–and taught my twin sister, younger sister, and little cousin to ride. He showed 4-H, hunter/jumper, dressage, and open shows in every class but gaited. He’d work cows (and liked it!), jump anything up to 3’0, do a training level dressage test, or take you through a trail pattern without blinking an eye. He was also borrowed by a local Pony Club kid and helped her team qualify for the National games competition (not sure of the exact name). He was also adorable–roly-poly fat and strawberry roan with flaxen mane and tail. He measured at about 14.3 hands, give or take a tiny bit, and after several years of being a pasture pet (when my sisters outgrew him), we sold him to a local hunter/jumper trainer where he became a favorite lesson pony–just bratty enough to teach the rider, but completely safe and reliable. He was sold more recently to a private owner. He was a brat and hated other horses, but he never bucked, reared, spooked, or bolted in the 12 years we owned him. He also never took a lame step or required a vet for illness–unlike most of our other “show” horses and better-bred horses.
–Stormy in 2006 after a few years of doing nothing but being a pasture pet! We sold him in 2008.
Here is the Hopster. Sire – gorgeous. Dam – stunning. Offspring? See below. Clubfoot. Funky withers. Short neck.
Gives pony rides to small children. (“OMG, honey, you’re riding a racehorse!”) Such a joy. Wouldn’t sell her for a billion dollars.
Album of at and after our first show and trip away from home, ever. http://s820.photobucket.com/albums/zz129/pokeydoke1/Hops%20at%202010%20SAFE%20show/
LOL love this. You’ve summed it up so well…God bless and long live the generous, kind and clever fugly!!
I’ve had one fugly in my (fairly short so far) riding career . . but boy oh boy was he fugly! His name was Bullet and he came to us through the sales. He had no teeth so we had no idea how old he was, though I would have guessed upwards of 25. He was trained in barrells, sporting, mounted games, show jumping and hacking, so he’d obviously had a long and checkered career. He stayed with us until he was put down two years ago.
I don’t think I really need to point out his conformational defects . . he was a bit of a franken horse, but he was the most amazing horse I’ve ever ridden. His trot was choppy as hell, but his canter was glorious, and he always put in 110% to everything we did together. He was fast and fairly badly behaved for the most part, but the minute you lost your balance, he’d slow to a walk and let you sort yourself out. He was just beautiful. I still miss the ugly little critter.
Oh man does this post have a lot of heart. This is just beautiful.
I too own at least one fugly. His name is Drifter and he is a bay roan with an odd assortment of comformational defects, plus the funky color to add to his character. And boy is he a character, he LOVES smootches and kisses, sharing ritz crackers with me and following me around whenever I am in the pasture. He steals tools out of my bucket and carries his rubber feed pan around like a dog. I went to look at a beautiful bay roan last winter in a town not too far from me. From the pictures and the ad he sounded exactly like what I was looking for. When I arrived at the arena I was surprised to see his pictures didn’t quite tell the whole story, and what clever camera angles didn’t hide, lots of winter fuzz did. But Drifter was an absolute angel. I knew I was going to buy him before I even rode him. The asking price was way out of line but I wanted him anyway. He rides pretty smooth and is responsive to my cues. He tries very hard to learn new things and always with a happy pleasant attitude. He almost makes me feel guilty for riding him! He just wants to be petted and loved on. He almost has a “donkey” back and rump, his feet are too small for his size and his head (although very pretty) belongs on a horse twice his size. His body is blue roan with appaloosa spotting, and his head is a dark red bay color as well as his legs and flanks. He has black mane and tail. I love this guy so much and he will be with me til the end. That’s a LONG time cause he is only 5 years old! I wish I knew how to post pictures!
Love love love this post. All breeding discussions now seem to consider confo as the be all and end all…but what good is a perfectly formed but vile tempered and unutterably stupid horse?
I bought this after a long break from riding (13-14 years or so) because I sat on it at a riding school (didn’t want to get on to be fair) but when it moved I had a near enough religious experience and really wanted to own it (was not even looking for a horse at that time). Lucky for me, it bolted. So a week later was for sale, cheap, and was mine
foolhardy as it gets. BUT I had my plan – if I can’t fix it, I get prof help. If noone can fix it, I get it shot. Not being a tough sort of person this was hard but the only way forward.
Long story short…many years and an out of this world trainer with a ton of patience later…I’ve got me THE most reliable, intelligent, kind, clever, surefooted and ATHLETIC hose imaginable. His hindlegs are the same length from stifle to toe, as is his arse from top to stifle. No kidding. But the weird animal has joints that are so bizarrely mobile, his hind hooves rarely land behind his girthline.
He does everything, bar gymkhana games. For obvious reasons. He’s a terrific hunter. Over years his severe cow hocks have straightened. Obviously skeletally he is unchanged but never underestimate what correct muscle building will do! First time out hunting he cleared everything with style that matched the field master’s steed. He is brave, wily, full of guile and moreover, looks after me like a piece of china over all terrain and all manner of fence. He outgallops the TBs (none of us to this day have worked out how or why this creature does this. But he does).
Leave this horse alone, allow him to DO it, and he will get you out of any situation and over any ground. Trust him with your life and you will both not only survive, but glow, grin and buzz with sheer pleasure for weeks, months, years after. Mess about with him…and he will give you the bird, take off, and refuse to entertain any of your instructions or ideas for the remainder of that day. He is the ultimate teacher.
And he’s a really, really, REALLY nice person. He challenges, he is grumpy and superficially unaffectionate…but he loves with all his big heart and would walk through fire for me.
My only concern, my only downside now is…how do I ever, ever, follow this horse with another?
God Bless the hideously conformed horse…for handsome is, as handsome does.
http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/cies/?action=view¤t=DylBerkeleyHunt.png&newest=1
I know this post has been up here forever but I just saw it and I say good on ya for getting on this horse and allowing him to show you what he’s made of. Love to meet either one of you some day.
My first post….
Here’s my beautifully ugly girl, Arabella. I just found out some interesting info on her today. Turns out she used to be a bit of a show horse and brought home a bunch of ribbons. She gave her owners a couple foals before she took out a fence trying to protect her foal from the horse in the next pasture and got a couple injuries. They didn’t have the money for a vet (so they claim) so they weaned the foal at four months and sent Arabella (Rhiatta back then) to a friend without her papers who fixed her legs only to find out that she wasn’t the good broke trail horse the old owners claimed her to be. She was only arena broke for shows and thought that a bag tied to a tree on the trail was going to kill her. So they sent her to an auction as a SADDLEBRED (listed on her coggins, they told me to try and get bids) in Indiana (thank goodness for Coggins or I would have never been able to find those people) where a horse flipper (trader, dealer) picked her up for a whoppin $75! This person then sold her (after carrying a foal for him) to the people who I traded a QH gelding for (who named her Trinity), whom I also previously traded a QH mare for a Haflinger they had. I’m still trying to contact her original owners but haven’t had an answer. I decided to research her past because I figured out she could REALLY park out. Oh yea, Arabella is a 7 year old Morgan mare.
Before I got her
Just the other week
Although I don’t think my other girl is ugly in the least, I do admit some Haflingers are put together odd (no neck on her at all). This is Annalie. She’s my girl. Admitting she’s my best friend isn’t easy because I’m 26 and that is usually something I hear from a teen. She IS my horse soul mate.
Sorry for posting a month after the origionalpost- but I had something important to say.
13 years ago, my instructor purchased a 14.2hh Quarab pony mare for $1,000. Notice, I live in Southern Ontario, Canada, near Toronto, so the economy was and still is very good, and you don’t find $200 fuglies. You find $900 fuglies. She bought Mindy as a companion horse, a pet. After a few years of barrel-racing, my instructor decided to teach her to jump. She took her to a professional instructor, who said that Mindy was too fugly, generally. My instructor, who keeps her horses at home, decided to train her to jump anyway, and when she reached 2’6, she took Mindy to a different professional trainer. This trainer didn’t believe in showing Trillium (Provincial level), and took Mindy straight from schooling shows to the A circuit (National level). Her first show at 3’6 Hunters, she wasn’t in the ribbons. Her second, she came 3rd place. Here, (I don’t know about you Americans), that is incredibly unusual. It usually takes one and a half years to two years to even place in the A circuit Hunters. This fugly little 14.2hh mare that’s built incredibly downhill, with a straight shoulder, tiny legs and feet and a short neck that was purchased for $1,000 became a consistent placer on the A circuit, and after a few years, My instructor was offered $30,000 for her. During this offer, we were in an economic slump, so this offer was incredible. My instrutor declined, saying that Mindy was and still is a pet, and that she would never part with her. After my instructor (then still in her teens) became too busy to ride and show her, she brought her to the barn I take lessons at. Mindy returned to pet status, and started teaching little kids to ride, and big kids to compete in Hunters. Now, she is doted on by little kids, at the age of 17, and still competes Trillium (Provincial level) with both myself and several other kids. In a few years, she will teach my instructor’s niece how to ride, and will carry her to Trillium (National) and A levels. She started as a pet, became a valuable show pony, and then returned to pet status. All fuglies should at least be a pet once in their lives, and because Mindy, is a such a sweet, kind, doting mare, she was more than eager to be loved by little girls and the occasional little boy, even after being a star-studded show pony.
Forgive me for the late post, but my fugly horsey needs to be shared. (:
This is Sterling Silver. He’s got the worst pigeon toes I have ever seen on any horse- when he was young, or so I hear, he walked on the sides of his hooves. No one knows the sire, not even his history anymore. Horrid conformation, like an ugly duckling, but he’s got a good heart and loves me more than anything. He can be terrible, he has dreadful attitude, especially when I refuse to allow him to breed a mare, but when it comes down to it he’s the best horse you could meet. I’ve ridden him with one leg, because the other got badly hurt on the trail (his fault.) down roads and home. Both of us were covered in blood. However…I doubt he’d be very good for a beginner, he would murder them in five minutes. For me, though, he’s great. I rode him home in a thunderstorm once- down a road, at an outright gallop, bareback, and he was alone. I couldn’t see a thing.
I love him<3