One of those things that makes you as "What the Heck?"

I Would Have Loved This As A Kid!!

Not a rant or anything, but this is cool!! How many of you would have loved one of these as a kid? I didn't get my first horse until I was 11, so this would have been an awesome replacement while I was really young!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-BpsVRicvg&feature=related

If You Pay for A Photo Ad to Sell Your Horse, Do It Right!!!

I can't believe the number of for sale ads on the internet that people pay money for, and still don't bother to even slap a halter on the horse and take it out of the crap-filled pen to advertise properly.

I surf around different sale sites just for fun to see what's for sale in my area and I've made some notes on the dos and don'ts of good horse advertising.. I thought I'd share my biggest annoyances:

1) Take your horse out of the pen, and give it a once-over with a brush... for improved selling results, do a full groom, maybe slap some hoof polish on...
good example of the bad: http://www.equinehits.com/horses-for-sale/horse-189642 - look, we put food down so she'd stand still long enough to take a picture!
another one: http://www.equinehits.com/horses-for-sale/horse-188007 hey look! The telephoto lens works!

2) We all want to see a conformation shot. This means: You have to go all the way out into the paddock and catch your horse. Make sure your horse is perpendicular to the camera so you get a nice side-on shot, and square him/her up. If you want to add to this, take shots showing the legs from the front and back. Tie the tail up for the back legs.
good example of the bad: http://horsetopia.horse-for-sale.org/classifieds/ad281005 - great... all I know from this picture is that the horse is bay, and might try to eat your cat.

3) Pictures of your horse preforming its discipline are great, but do it right. If it's a jumper, do a nice shot - not one where the jumper is chipping a fence. If it's a dressage horse, make sure it's in a decent frame. If it's doing western pleasure, try not to have its nose stuck straight up in the air. And for God's sake, throw in a conformation shot as well!
good example of the bad: http://horsetopia.horse-for-sale.org/classifieds/ad279716 You have not shown me anything impressive about this horse other than it tries to evade the bit.

4) Dress nicely! If you're going to appear in the picture (if you must..!) do something about the hay in your hair and manure on your shirt. There's nothing that ruins a picture more than a person handling the horse wearing something that should appear on TLC's What Not To Wear.
good example of the bad: http://horsetopia.horse-for-sale.org/classifieds/ad279647 This could be a nice shot... if Smokey McHigh wasn't in the picture.

5) Put a nice halter or bridle on... I suggest something not manure-encrusted.
good example of the bad: http://horsetopia.horse-for-sale.org/classifieds/ad220128 Mmmmm... black and crusty for your enjoyment!

6) Be Safe! I don't care if you could stick dynomite up the horse's bum and it wouldn't flinch... but all you're doing by doing stuff like (below) is proving that you are eligable for a Darwin Award. Another note: don't show your kids on your horse or around your horse unless he/she is properly outfitted - that means proper shoes and a HELMET at minimum. Don't even get me started on foals/greenies/studs with kids.
good example of the bad: http://horsetopia.horse-for-sale.org/classifieds/ad280242 ... and once the horse takes off, throwing Mr Brainless off, who's going to stop her and the homemade cart?
another example: http://www.equinehits.com/horses-for-sale/horse-190846 prime example of stupid parents. It took me going through a lot of ads to find a properly outfitted kid!! http://horsetopia.horse-for-sale.org/classifieds/ad275923
this one takes the cake: http://horsetopia.horse-for-sale.org/classifieds/ad279432 S-T-U-P-I-D!

7) Make sure you have adequate lighting...
good example of the bad: http://www.equinehits.com/horses-for-sale/horse-162051

8) Make sure your spelling is good and you're using correct grammar. Don't sound like an illiterate hick. Bred = pregnant mare... she's been bred, not bread... that's something you eat. It's dam, not dame, and please learn how to spell your breed's name!



Alright I'm done ranting... I'm going to bed.

There's Stupid, Then There's Animal Cruelty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3NuPxgiqaU&NR=1

Oh my good God. I'm stunned silent. You can see the poor animal's legs bending under the weight! Those two should be ashamed. I'd like to see one of them get loaded up with what looks to be their own weight load, then slapped in the face and butt, and see how they like it.

What goes on in some peoples' minds that makes this even close to being right?

If you breed her, keep your fingers crossed for a normal baby!!

This drives me nuts: people advertisiting malconformed mares as great broodmares just because they have great lines.
Introducing Givemashiver:
http://www.equinehits.com/horses-for-sale/horse-183764
Shiver came down very ill when she was only a couple days old. She is now stunted because of that. What I mean by stunted is that she's a sway back and is also bum high (shoulders haven't caught up to her rump). It's not heretitary as non of her lineage has it. She would make a nice broodmare with her bloodlines or a cart horse. Her full brother sold to a roper. I'm offering her very cheap because of her being stunted. Photo was taken this summer. www.freewebs.com/convincingjag buyer must find own transportation for this horse.

Gah! Take a look at this mare! Even at a quick pass-by glance, you know she's not breeding quality! Why advertise her as such? She is not breeding quality! She probably shouldn't even be bred... it could add extra strain on her back that she probably couldn't take! I doubt she'd even be a good saddle horse.. I'm not that big, and I certainly wouldn't want to get on that poor thing!

Frusterated

I am so frusterated with seeing people own a horse just to own a horse, and let it rot in a pen somewhere where it's not properly cared for. I would LOVE to take a horse from someone like that and show it what good life can really be. Unfortunately, most of these "owners" want thousands of dollars for their "prize" horse, when it's barely halterbroke.
I just hate that I can't affoard to buy a horse at the moment, but could most definitely take care of costs other than the initial multi thousand-dollar cost. It's extremely frusterating.
Thing is, it's not just being around horses... I was the manager of a dude ranch and had my pick of 40+ horses to ride whenever I wanted. I am currently training a horse for someone else, and it's great, but just not the same as having a horse that is truely "mine."

Some people have no idea how to treat horses - only letting them out of their box stall for a couple of hours at a time, or not at all, not catering to the horse's basic medical needs, hell some of them don't even know what to feed their horses. Overgrown feet, standing in their own filth... it is disgusting.

Training....

So I have to rant a little about my new job.. I took on this mare to train and I have a few rants to make about it... any comments and help of how to deal with these problems would be great!

- The people that own the property that the owner boards at only feed the horses (on a fairly decent sized property) once a week - I think they feed 1 round bale per week, which the horses devour within a few days. (Since the horses are in their "winter fuzzies" it's hard to tell if they've got the correct weight on. They don't look terrible, but that could just be because I can't get close enough to any of the others that I'm not training to check their ribs)
- There are a few pregnant mares on the property which is fenced in with.. you guessed it - wire! Not barbed wire, but just your good ol' plain wire... can we say dangerous to foals?
- Some of the bridles in the "tack room" are hung up by their bits/romels.... is it just me, or does this indicate a lack of knowledge about tack?