Third Time's The Charm....Maybe....

Ah, the end of the school year approaches, and with that comes the Arizona summer heat - and end of the year class swimming parties. Since I spent 10 years on a local swim team when I was younger, and spent lots of time learning water rescues, I volunteer to attend/chaperone twice each year; one for my 1st grader, and one for my 4th grader. The 1st grade class had their party today, and while watching nearly 90 7-8 year olds swim is entertaining, its also exhausting. Spending the whole day out in the sun, even at just 95 degrees, can be draining, so thank you to whomever invented sunbrellas. :) The 4th grade class is next Monday - they should be a lot more rough and tumble than the little ones were today.


As if the giant pool party wasn't fun enough, we also had a one day special election to determine whether or not a very small (less than one cent per dollar) tax will be added onto local retail sales to help fund a shrinking educational budget for next year. If it doesn't pass today, then next year the school district my children attend will loose their art, music, and media education for the next two years. My son started playing the violin this year, and was very upset over the thought of not continuing to play next year... so I hauled my tired butt to my voting station and put in my duty as a citizen of the school district to vote yes. 


We'll see how it ends up. Now the rest of my day will be filled with getting todays blog post finished, getting ready for a closing shift at the retail store I call hell work, and then, by 11pm, I should be home. What fun, eh? 


Moving right along, I promised yesterday an ad that changed - at least three times. IF she changed it more than that, we didn't catch it. 


Its interesting to see the progression of the three ads - and the thought process behind the words. 


Since she used the same four pictures each ad, I'll share those first. 

Average Arab mare. Decently pretty head, obviously not done shedding out yet. Can't help but wonder (as did Niki, who sent me of this ad, and the paso chestnut pinto gelding ad) why exactly she's being pictured on the back porch. There doesn't seem to be any barn around... does this horse literally live in the back yard? I see a storage type shed, and another building that has the architecture of a house... but no barn. There is the distinct possibility that it might be behind the picture taker, but really, your guess is as good as mine. 


Alright. Here we go. 


Ad #1. Posted May 15th, around 12 noon. 




"shes pretty here and feeling out nicely.needs more saddle work and ground work di=one. 14.3 hands five years old.worth alot more then im asking.hurry im about to change my mind and keeper. 360---0534."


If Niki hadn't  gotten the screen shot of this one, this wonderful bit of word play would have been lost forever to the cemetery of dead Craigslist ads. I just love the di=one (done?), feeling (filling), and the best of all keeper (keep her). And here I am voting to PAY MORE tax to help keep the fundamentals of my children's education going smoothly. 

"shes pretty here , and is getting the prettiest wavy mane. 2people comming to see her tonight so if your thinking aabout this mare..HURRY. I will say I love her and want her to get a good home that will love her and keep her along time ..if not id like to have the first chanch to buy her back at same price.however im going to the auction next month to save a horse and hoping to find one just right for me.if not atleast I will have  made sure it didnt turn out at the wrong places.and try and find it a good home if not.shes 14.2 to 14.3 needs trimmed and getting it done at 11am tomorrow. 5 years old.good at letting me clean her hooves.completely sound...shes worth alot more but I really want someone to get her and train her more and just be good to her.360---0534.. thanks for looking." 

Ok, really? We really need to know that you are selling her because you want to rescue another animal? That in itself is noble and great. DUMPING your perfectly fine horse on Craigslist JUST to get another stinks of a bit of bad taste. At the very least DON'T MENTION it during your ad to sell your OTHER horse. The one that at 5 years old, has the best notable quality that her feet can be handled! I'm so happy that you will say that you love her. You are still trying to dump her for $200. Lets hear MORE about her - and not this other one that (and I can't even decipher this, the grammar is so horrible) she's " hoping to find one just right for me.if not atleast I will have  made sure it didnt turn out at the wrong places.and try and find it a good home if not."


Those of you that have been to auctions, and bought a rescue, have you ever gone out there with the intent in mind to find the right horse for you out there? I've personally never gone through that route before, but if you have, and you've FOUND that 'right' horse out of the auction herd, then please let me know.


Posted 2 days later... I guess those two people she was so excited to tell the world about either fell through, or saw something on this mare that they didn't like. 

"she is 14.3 hands and needs someone to take her out on the trails with other horses so she can know whats expected well I have noone to ride with and no trailor so im looking to sell her to a good home.she will be five in june.is started in saddle.Ibve rode her about 30 times . call 360---0534 I just trimmed her hooves yesterday and she has strong hooves,takes 5-10 minutes to load in a horse trailor."


I'm not sure if this is better or worse - leaning toward worse - no, better - I can't decide. 


We learn a bit more about the mare, she has strong hooves, and is started in saddle.  I've never heard of a horse started "in saddle". Is that similar to, I dunno, Early American Modern? Like the house was started in "early american modern"? 


Ok, I'm pushing things here... but you get my drift. I have a serious feeling that this horse has been started by the writer, and why do I think she pretty much just threw the saddle on this horse's back and got on and that was it? There is NO mention of training, other than the trail riding bit where the other horses will teach her what to do. Ok. So NOW horses are training each other apparently. Wow. Wonder if they can teach this mare to load up faster than the 10 minutes the owner is bragging about? 


I just have one more question - if she didn't have a 'trailor' - how was she going to rescue a horse from the auction?

My Horse is "Beautiful"... Yea Right!

We all have our own image or idea of what makes a horse 'pretty'. For some, it's a shiny coat, well brushed mane/tail, and hoof polish. For most of us though, 'pretty' means straight correct legs, a nicely shaped head, slick healthy coat, good weight, nice balance between the fore and hind, and (Ok, this MY ideal) a long thick tail. 

Copyright Robert Vavra, "Horses of the Sun" Collection

Sometimes its just a matter of taking the right picture at the right time to get a 'pretty' horse. 

Copyright Robert Vavra, "Horses of the Sun" Collection

With that description in mind, I don't think many of us will disagree that is a workable definition of 'pretty' in a horse. 


Then there is a whole OTHER side of the coin. I've been wanting to show these ads for a while, and what with everything else going on, just hasn't fit in yet. Oh, and I am gonna stay shallow and superficial today. None of this 'beauty is more than skin deep' stuff. These are horses, not international runway models. *grin*. I'm tryin' to make a point today about how sellers WAY overuse words like "beautiful" "nice", and even, "excellent conformation".


Every one of the ads today the writers at some point use 'beautiful', 'beauty', 'nice', etc, to describe their animal. 


I'll let you decide for yourself if those descriptions are appropriate to the individual animal, and lets have a bit of fun today. ;) Its Monday, and I'm sure we all need it.

This is the beautiful mare...    Anyone other than me just not seein' it? She looks more like a mule... (No offence to the mules of the world, of course. Mules are very pretty. Sometimes. But when your horse looks like this?.... well..... its NOT pretty!)

I have more....

   

Ad Text: Roan Gelding - $2000 (Mesa)This boy has muscle and strength. He is an all around beauty. He knows how to go slow so is great with beginners who young children. Also, he is good for advanced riders looking for a calm horse. 

Loves attention and company, but can also be an only horse. He is good with mares and other geldings also. 

E-mail me for more information or pictures. I am not firm on $2000 but I want to see what I can get from him. 

he is a 6-7 year old Quarter Horse about 15-15 1/2 hands 

So on this one we have an 'all around beauty'. Hmmmm.... 

Maybe after he's shedded out and gained about 100 pounds... but as his in these pics? I sure wouldn't call him 'an all around beauty'. Diamond in the rough, maybe. I dunno though.. that neck... that long pencil neck on these tall thin quarter horses just ain't my cup 'o tea. And that one top pic where his hind leg is all stretched out, it makes his hind end look twice as big as his front end, and thus way off balance. Long back combined with a very upright shoulder... That top line is nearly as long as his bottom line, and there is supposed to be a 2:1 ratio with the top line being half as long as the bottom. He doesn't have that. He's closer to a 1:1 ratio. He's just not well put together I don't think. 

I'm sure there are a few out there that will disagree with me on him, and thats just fine with me. :) 

But I'm still not done... 

Hard to read, I know. Here ya go: 2 year old gelding - $125 nice gelding ground work is done ready to be started under the saddle. easy to catch has no bad habits. is around 14 hands tall. asking $125 OBO call 712---7350. 

Now, this ad was sent to my inbox just yesterday along with another one that I'll put up next. I will admit that they at least didn't use the word BEAUTIFUL in this ad, but 'NICE' is still pushing it I think. Apparently these same folks are selling everything from horses to pigs, and basic health requirements like WORMING are unknown to them. I've NEVER seen a 2 year old in that condition that wasn't just chock full of worms - and these guys just don't have a flippin clue -

This is the other one... its not much better. 

BEAUTIFUL JENNY $125  (ut oh - there it is!) coming 2 year old jenny. has been running with a spotted jack. hasn't been handled. asking $125 OBO call the same number as the wormy sick gelding that they are asking the same freaking amount of money for. 

Ok, fine, it doesn't say all that, but really it should. 

Isn't she just so..... screaming out for help? Beautiful is NOT a word I'd choose here... that poor thing. And she's been with a jack... so y'all just KNOW she's preggers. There's no way she isn't even with a belly full of worms. I bet thats the jack in the background. Such a lovely farm, isn't it. 

And I really gotta ask... the guy that the jack is looking at.. what the hell is he doing? I can't figure that out....

Hang in there... I still have more to make my point. 

Sometimes a horse just LOOKS beautiful upon first glance, all seems well but then that ugly   side that you just don't see at first pops out in the strangest places. Check this out... 

Doesn't he look pretty? Nice action shot, he's well groomed and shiny, ears are up, he's got a good weight; it's a very nice picture. This cute gelding is a paso fino, and yes, I do have a history of working very closely with the breed... nearly 6 years worth. This ad was sent to me also in conjunction with another one, and I will send major kudos - her eyes are good to have caught this particular craigslist screw up; I don't think I would have caught this.

Look closely at him. He SEEMS to be rather correct, right? At least at first glance he does. 

The ad text isn't so important here, except to note that the seller says he's got an 'excellent disposition and conformation."

Ok. Maybe ..... NOT. 

See the chestnut pinto on the left side with the REALLY REALLY BAD HIND LEGS? Eyup. Same gelding. Rather scary, isn't it?

Now, having worked with rather well bred pasos, I can pretty much say that his conformation is NOT EXCELLENT! Lol.

Ok, forget breed here. Lmao. IN NO Breed would that be excellent conformation!

[Oh, and I HAVE to mention this too... The bay centered in that pic is also for sale, same people, and they ONLY want him to go to either a natural horsemanship home or trainer cause he can't handle rough treatment. (" My ignored daughters horse. Extensive ground work and ridden several times as a 3 year old. Since then my daughter has done nothing with him. Ground work currently re-established. Ready to be started under saddle again. This is a very kind horse with no vices, but he is unable to handle rought treatment. Buyer should have natural horsemanship experience or be willing to send this horse to a natural horsemanship trainer.") 

So sorry Laverne, but just cause he's had 'rough treatment' doesn't automatically mean he can ONLY be trained by a NH trainer. Shall we go back over the video of a certain leading NH lady smacking a blind in one eye horse in the head to make him back up?  Or how about 

Julie Goodnight, another very well known NH trainer, actually approving the use of a shock collar on a horse for behavior modification purposes? Do I really have to say that there are plenty of non-violent ways of training a horse without using the NH crap? ]

And one more just to compare/finish up with... and because I think this guy is just completely adorable...

This is the way to sell a horse!

Just LOOK at him! I LOVE the way he's marked. :D. He makes me think a kid with a giant square eraser just stood next to him and erased all the black helter skelter, doesn't it? He's built nice, straight legs, cute head, well balanced, doesn't look choppy like some minis do, has a nice elegant look to him.... just a very, very nice stud. He's been trained and has several national championship titles to his name. NICE! (And isn't his two color tail just awesome!?)

Oh and yep, he's a stud, but if he's got a few foals... WONDERFUL! Thats one horse that will BETTER his breed, not make it WORSE! Oh, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they say that papers are at the sellers description - limiting essentially the buyer pool to those very serious in keeping him on his winning path; AND MAJOR kudos for the 'not for kids' comment. 

The moral of the story here folks would be using words like 'beautiful', 'nice' and other descriptive words ('excellent conformation', anyone?) is perfectly fine - when they actually describe the horse!

Tomorrow, I'll have a doozy of an ad that every time we (me and the other lady that was following it with me) turned around, it changed! 

Happy Monday!

P.S. - For those of you still interested in following the story of Einstein, his owners were interviewed by Good Morning America last week - friday-ish. If you head over to hulu.com, and search for their GMA clips, scroll down some through the massive number of segments archived you'll find it. I warn you though - I suggest you watch with your sound off. The conversation/interview was one of the most annoying, ignorant, disgusting, stupid conversations I've EVER heard a reporter give. Consider that the reporters are the main anchors for GMA - that makes it doubly bad. At one point the owners were asked about Einsteins' future as a stallion, and the male owner answered yes, their eventual goal was to get him a 'wife and have him raise a family'. I kid you not. It just got worse from there... at one point they were making very horrible jokes about him being a 'ladies man', and then the female reporter tried to joke that the foal was winking at his owner, and that he might need to take a moment off by himself. Not only did the joke fall totally flat, the insinuation was highly inappropriate, and just totally disgusting. 

The only reason I'd even watch it without the sound would be to watch and study Einstein himself walk around the stall, his legs have straightened up and he's walking just like any other normal foal. There certainly seems to be absolutely no signs of dwarfism in his legs... while he certainly is very tiny (just 15 inches & 20 lbs, I think?) his legs are straight, and he's a perfect miniature version of a normal sized foal. 

Watch for yourself, and let me know what you think!

FFFS # Too Many: Good Breeding Home Only!

older proven black & white tobaino stallion has Easy Jet on his papers.
he about 15 hands tall he has both APHA & Ptha papers,I have owned him since he was a yearling,he was foaled in the year 1995
he is very gentle & has good manners & will stay in a 1 wire electric fence,he is Broke to ride & rein,he ties ,loads, baths,easy to breed ,easy to pick his feet up,you can touch him any where on his body.
selling do to my health.
looking for a good breeding home for him.
I paid a lot for him as a yearling & also paid to have him trained.
I asking $2500 for him but will consider all reasonable offers,
but will only sell him to a home that has use for a good stud horse
email your phone number so we can talk 

looking for a good breeding home for him.
but will only sell him to a home that has use for a good stud horse 


Why? Why? Why? 


Why do people think that just because it has balls, it has to make more? There are 249,502,938 black and white tobiano stallions out there. (Ok, google only brought up a little over 30,000 but still. 30,000???? Thats about 29,900 too many!) According to this owner, the world really will NOT survive without her stallion being bred!!! 


My head hurts already from the flu that hit me literally within 30 minutes while I was at work yesterday - they sent me home and I have been sleeping nearly non stop for the last 20 hours or so. This ad certainly is NOT making it better. 

Why can't people just STOP BREEDING?

Didn't We Just, Um, See Him?

Ya'll remember him? The little paint stud from Friday that we couldn't decide if he looked more like a gelding than a mare? (I think 'mare' won with more people commenting he looked rather feminine rather than masculine.)


Weeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllll......


Cut-N-Jump found this yesterday.

The ad is so long that it took 2 screen shots just to grab the text. I won't post both, but here is the full ad text:

4yr old APHA Colt - $850 (NW Tucson)
Frosted Dakota aka "Handsome" (pedigree can be seen at http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/frosted+dakota) is being offered for sale to a good home. He is a 4yr old APHA sorrel overo stud colt. He has an excellent disposition, is eager to please, very honest and learns quickly. He leads and stands for grooming. He is OK with his feet, but definitely could be better. He loads like a pro without any problems (in a stock trailer-- never tried a 2-horse). We are working on lunging. He had his first session with fly spray today. It took him about ten minutes tops to get used to it.


Handsome is by Frost My Feature (Frosty Feature X Painted Robin bred mare) and out of a Peppy San X Docs Prescription bred mare. He stands about 14.2hh and weighs about 1000 pounds. He has HUGE, hard, black feet and is solid muscle. He has been bred to one mare this spring. She is an old broody and did a fabulous job of teaching him the ropes and how to be respectful of the ladies.

I can't say enough good things about this horse. He is GORGEOUS with his sorrel sabino/overo markings and his two blue eyes complete with eye liner. He's super smart, too! Once he learns something, he knows it and it sticks with him. He will make an outstanding gelding, and is a decent stud prospect. I adore this horse, but I honestly do not have the room nor the time for a stud horse. He is currently living in my round pen.

The people I got Handsome from (his original breeders) put about 3 or 4 rides on him. They said he never offered to buck and was a real quick study. They have owned and started numerous colts by the same sire, and all have had that easy going disposition. Handsome grew up in a large pasture and has never been messed up. There is nothing to "fix" with this horse. He is a clean slate and is ready to be trained the way you want him. He has the pedigree to be an exceptional gymkhana horse, cow horse, or family trail horse (if he's gelded).

Handsome got hung up in a fence as a yearling, so he does have an ugly scar and thickening on his right hind cannon area. But, it does not affect him at all. I have never seen him take a lame step. Its just ugly to look at.

I am open to offers on this horse, and he will only go to a good home. Would consider trade for corral panels or.... what do you have? Make me an offer. =)
 
 
...............Ehhh...... he's in Tuscon now???
 
{Edit: Ok, after going back and looking at the copy of the ad from Friday, they didn't actually LIST a location for him... but they were advertizing him in the Phoenix CL. I originally thought when I first saw this latest ad, they had moved him from Phoenix to Tuscon in the time frame from last week to now, but I think he has been in Tuscon the entire time. Doesn't mean much anymore, just tryin to get facts straight :) }
 
OK..... Soooooooo....... I guess he wasn't such a fabulous addition to their breeding program after all if he's up for sale! Whod'a ever thunk THAT!!! I really wonder what happened here. The original ad showed him in with another stallion (the mustang) but the style and pattern of writing is different on this one. I seriously doubt that this is the same person that put up the ad for the breeding one.
 
Ya'll see the note about the leg injury? Got caught up in a fence? And he's not lame? Wow.
 
This ad just feels like this person pulled this guy out of some sort of situation, and is either trying to make a quick buck off of him in a turnaround sale, or is trying to dump him for the other ad poster. Several things jump out at me to substantiate this:
 
1) The fact that he's living in a round pen. This is not a permanent solution, and In my experience, a horse only goes in a round pen as a stall for two reasons; there are no empty/available stalls or they want to keep this horse away from the other horses.
 
2) The ad reads like the person is working with the horse for the first time in some areas, yet in others the writer has a history of sorts. Trailer training, for instance. Working on loading in a stock trailer, but they know he's never been in a 2 horse. The lunging. Fly spray.
 
3) If this person doesn't have the room for a stud horse, then I'd almost bet 100% its not the same person that was studding him out. That person had the two - and had NO Plans to geld either - they wanted babies.
 
I wonder what happened to this guy in the last week. He's obviously had an eventful week - new place, new owner, been shod, trailer training, fly spray, and even lunging!
 
What irks me though - they refer to gelding him several times, but you think THEY WOULD DO IT? This just sounds like they grabbed him for whatever reason, and are just trying to turn him around and not put any more money into him than they need to.
 

And no, he doesn't look any more masculine 5(?) days later. Nor did they take any better pictures than the FIRST AD!
 

I *WANT* This Horse

I'm gonna switch things up a bit today for our WTF Wed. Lets make it.... HOLY SHIT Wed LMAO, cause thats exactly what I said when I found this ad!

Church rodeo - Play day Horse - $1800 (New Caney) Donna is an 8 year old 15.2 hand Bay mare. She is an excellent trail horse, that is also trained to run barrels and poles. We have been taking her to the church rodeo events and she is just a good all round mare. We have thrown a rope off of her at a few calves and chased a few goats. She stands quietly for the ferrier, is easy to clip and bath, and loads / ties well. For more information please contact Gayle @ 281---7204

Sounds like a pretty decent horse to me. Nothing out of the ordinary though. Standard stuff. 

Right? 

How many of you wish you could do this with your horses?

I *HAD* to post this. Aside from the fact that she is not wearing a helmet, that is pretty freaking cool! (The pictures themselves clearly prove this girl isn't really a beginner-beginner rider. 

Lets think about this. There's a LOT going on here. 

Girl is riding bareback, which means that she has to have a decent seat/leg. Mare is NOT in a bridle / bit, so most of the communication is through the girls seat/leg - which makes her that much of a better rider. Most horses will willingly enough go over a wooden board or bridge of some sort, but how many do you know will go over one thats balanced over a PVC pipe cut in half so the board 'teeter-totters' and moves under them? 

Add to all of that the twirling hula hoops - (Ok, I would NEVER be able to keep them ON MY Arms twirling....especially while bareback...)

This mare has been worked with to accept twirling giant plastic scary things that make some weird noises (cause most hula hoops I've messed with have a weird weight in them that is loud and makes this almost snake-like 'whoooshing shuuuushing' noise as it slides against the inside of the plastic ring) WHILE being asked to step up onto a moving platform with cues only given verbally and by leg. Her head is down and relaxed, her neck/body language is soft and responsive, her ears are forward, and she's obviously paying attention to where her feet are going which means she's totally unconcerned about the circus on her back. 

The hula hoops ALONE would send most horses into absolute paroxysms of terror. 

Thats one mare I would most definitely trust around my own kids.

Oh, and not one single mention of NH training - so I am going to stick a foot out there and guess (hope) that they did this training ... *gasp* in a semi-common sense method of desensitizing?

Wow. 

Did I say I want this mare yet? And she's only 8 years young! 

Anyone wanna 'lend' me around $2500 for purchase & transport from Houston to Phoenix? I will repay in home baked chocolate chip cookies and California rolls. :D :D :D Or whatever delights you request. :-}

She Doesn't Know WHAT She Wants

I don't have time for a big long rant, so just a quickie for you all today. 

Ad Text:Wanted: Free or Free lease horse

 I am looking to give a horse a good home. My 12 year old standard bred gelding is in desperate need of a buddy. I have a 3 and a half acre farm with plenty of room. Looking for a calm, child friendly horse, doesn't have to be broke to ride, though that would be nice. Between 7 and 15 years old give or take a year or 2. And nothing too big, my gelding is 16 hands so nothing bigger than him, between 14.3 and 16 hands would be the best size. Thanks for reading, hope to hear from you soon 

Asking for a free horse in this economy isn't any worse or better than giving away a free horse. 


Its the "Calm, Child Friendly Horse, Doesn't Have To Be Broke To Ride" that concerns me a bit...I know most horses around kids will be gentle and curious at the least, but what is confusing to me is if she NEEDS a child safe animal, eventually any kids that are in the area will want to RIDE said animal. Its unclear if said children are hers or just neighbors, but either way, logic states that a 'child safe' horse, should also be BROKE to ride. Saying its ok for the horse NOT to be is just asking for trouble in my opinion.


Doesn't make any sense to me, maybe one of you will make sense of it? 

20 Foal Free For All!

Everyone loves foals, right? Cute, fuzzy, curious, and mostly just so adorable you could top them with some whipped cream and just eat them all up. 


Whats your limit to how many you'd like to see running caterwompus around the back yard? 


Maybe 1? Naw, he's gotta have a friend to play with. What about 2 or 3? 3's a good number. Manageable in size, and they often form their own little foal-herd with foal-herd-social-graces! (Think of that as the kind of social graces a 2 or 3 year old human child would have in a 5 star restaurant, and you'll get the joke implied *grin*)


I think most of us would agree, unless you are running a professional breeding operation, (and then well, hopefully we wouldn't see THAT ad on Craigslist) that any number above, oh lets say 5?, would be too much for one person, or a small private horse owning family to handle. 


Following this line of thought, if 3 is ok, 5 would be 'pushing it', and anything above 5 is too much... what about 20? 


Yes, I said 20. 


And its not even just 20 foals. Its WALKALOOSA foals! 


No folks, I DO NOT make this shit up. 

Dear Sue, who I think has sent me more ads than just about anyone else, found this lovely gem up in Wyoming. 

Anybody else be scared to see pictures of this clusterf**** waiting to happen? 

Her question, and I think its a very, very good one, is this:

Do you get ALL 20 FOALS for the $2500?  Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Just imagine what fun THAT would be!