I don’t quite agree with this. I’m a trainer and I ride lots of horses, most of whom I like well enough but I wouldn’t necessarily want to own them. I think your statement could be true enough if we’re talking sale horses- if I want a resale project, I buy what will sell, and I will enjoy the ride in the meantime. But it’s rare that I come across one that really lights me up, the kind of horse that I can’t wait to get up and ride every day. This is the kind of horse I want as a personal competitor horse, and it’s hard to find! I think the fact that I am a skilled enough rider to ride pretty much whatever, combined with the sheer number of horses I sit on every month, means I know EXACTLY what I like- and it makes me picky as hell!
3 Likes
Color doesn’t matter to me other than I’d prefer to never own a gray again. I personally like geldings because they are lower drama around my current geldings. But I’d never ever ever buy a horse under 16.1 again unless I was 110% sure I would never sell it. Trying to sell one under that was a nightmare
2 Likes
I find the prejudice (and it is real) against small horses so frustrating. I’m 5’1 and really prefer a 15h horse or large pony, if for no other reason it’s easier to groom (and really does fit my stubby legs much better).
I also don’t understand why some people are so into grey horses. Nothing against a nice horse, but all things being equal, I’d rather not deal with the risk of melanoma.
I prefer geldings, too, and sometimes when ISO ads looking for geldings get posted on my local FB page, people selling mares (or even those who just own them and are passionate advocates) get very angry!
7 Likes
I prefer mares, avoid grays (and big white markings, especially bald faces), and like a horse between 13.2 and 14.3. Being 5’ and shrinking.
But humans are primarily visual. What looks flashy is what most people are drawn to. Big white splotches and rare colors draw the eye away from plain bay and brown. Tall draws the eye away from medium. It’s the same for long luxuriant manes, high stepping, and other traits which usually have nothing to do with practicality or usefulness and everything to do with appearance.
Humans are also primarily followers. They want to like what their friends and mentors like and have what they have. They also easily acquire, with no examination, the prejudices of those around them.
That’s the way the world is.
4 Likes
I’ve never understood why grays, all other things being equal, tend to sell faster and bring more money that even flashy bays and chestnuts.
I get that they do look pretty when they’re all cleaned up for a show and the dappling when they’re young is very eye-catching, but when they’re older and grayed out it takes way too much work to keep them from not looking totally filthy 24/7. Not to mention the melanoma risk, which is easily avoided by buying a horse of basically any other color.
If I were going to order my perfect horse out of a catalog, it would be a bay with some white markings. Shiny, gorgeous, and classic and they look clean when you pull them out of the field.
9 Likes
They might be referencing how some horses hate going out on trails solo, but are great in groups. Ridden a few of those and you don’t want to be on the buckle when they decide they’ve had enough and they’re going home. 
2 Likes
I have long thought that the US needs to embrace cobs! In the UK various sizes of cob (lightweight, heavyweight and maxi, both under and over 15.2) are hugely popular not just as shoe horses but because they’re sensible trail and hunt horses who can turn a hoof to anything.
And to reference the OP they come in all colors with traditional cobs bring piebald or skewbald more often than not.
6 Likes
Agree w this. Also worth noting that many ammys who are buying their one horse find coat color to fall into the “I am spending all this money and don’t have huge time pressure to buy so why NOT get the 16.2 black gelding I want?” This is a mindset that lasts until they either a) meet and fall in love with a random 15.3 gray mare or b) they start to get desperate after shopping forEVER and realize that coat color is mostly immaterial.
So OP I’d say it’s not so much that some ammys* are fixed in hating a chestnut for example but rather more of where in their shopping journey they stand. 
*I want to assume that pros know that “a good horse is never a bad color”…
8 Likes
We kind of have our own cob breeds, but maybe more on the light cob side. Morgans can definitely be called cobs. especially the stockier ones. A QH/Arab or QH/Morgan cross can be very cobby depending on the bloodlines, and usually more ammy-friendly than the non-QH parent breeds.
As you all know, I have a 14.3 palomino Morgan mare. A little spicy and very very smart. I bought her for eventing (she had the experience) but “life” had other plans. Before she started having soundness issues, I could have sold her many times over, for more than I paid for her. But she’s super flashy and knows she’s All That.
The only color I wouldn’t buy is a gray. It’s that melanoma thing. And I probably would not like a horse with a lot of white (tobiano pinto) or double-dilutes that are nearly white.
7 Likes
Oh we have “cobs” in the US, but they are all “unregistered Gypsy Vanners” esp if they are feathered, and they fetch heart-stopping majikal prices. 
It’s the same with Norwegian fjords, WONDERFUL ammie horses, but supply, restrictive registry, and marketing make them very spendy.
The US answer to cobs was the Morgan horse, which has sadly fallen out of favor, so it’s mostly just tossed-off western bred QH that we have available for affordable entry level ammie mount 
10 Likes
I wish Morgans were more popular and that they would go back to breeding them with shorter backs and not built a whole hand downhill… They are the size and have the go getter attitude I love but I won’t buy something that looks like they are built from spare parts.
4 Likes
The old style Morgans, the Lippitts and the Working Western, they are the schiznit. Little, tough, strong, steady but spirited, elegant. I wuv them. I’m close enough to go up to watch the Lippitt Show in Vermont, which is a blast. Not many breed shows have a contest in which the same horse has to gallop a mile, trot a mile in harness, pull a stone boat, and compete in a Pleasure class.
I somewhat admire the “Sport” Morgan although to me they look like generic smallish nice riding horses, and pity the Show Morgan, they lead a dreadful life while competing. But if I were a lot younger and richer I would breed Lippitts.
9 Likes
Um, downhill? I am not sure I have ever seen a Morgan built downhill. Some lines do tend to have dropped backs, though. It’s a show ring thing, and I dislike it.
7 Likes
After owning a big one years ago, I made a statement “never a gray again!”. Fast forward to maybe 8 or so years ago when I wasn’t ready to buy anything, up popped an interesting part lease option. Lusitano, Gray (read white) stallion, 15.3 hands. Who wants to own a stallion?? But I wasn’t going to buy this intact white horse, so no problem. Except that I fell head over heels in love after a few months, and wrote the check. 
7 Likes
I agree that downhill is not a common issue in Morgans. I have always shopped on a budget so color was not a big consideration for me. My first horse was chestnut (sorrel) and my second was dark bay. The next was an unusual red color with a mane and tail that were black/brown/silver mixed. Then came a liver chestnut. Current horse is a sooty palomino.
Since the majority of my horses were red-based, I guess color wasn’t a deterrent for me.
I do think that size limits the buyer pool more, especially if the horse is 14.3 - 15.1 h and not a child or beginner safe type. Suits me as several of mine fit into that category and were likely in my budget because of it!
That’s another reason why I love Morgans so much as well! With the one I rode, as well as being a great, stocky, small all-rounder type, I felt incredibly secure on him. He rarely spooked, (and even when he did, it was very undramatic) but it wasn’t like one of those slippery little eel ponies that can just be…somewhere else within seconds, leaving the rider on the ground. On the other hand, they’re not built so upright they can’t be be supple.
5 Likes
I do as well. I prefer a smaller pocket rocket type ride but after trying to sell a 15.3h horse that wasn’t supposed to be a resale, I’ll never own one again. My current dude is a long bodied 17h and feels huge after years on my 16h when shod older gelding. I miss how easy he was to collect and turn and how much smaller EVERY thing felt on him.
2 Likes
It’s getting crazy. I remember being at a hunter barn and one mom saying her five foot nothing twelve-year-old was SO HUGE on the daughter’s large pony. A child!
15.3h is such a great size for so many people unless they are super-tall, but I guess buyers see the 15 think the horse is a pony. 
4 Likes
I mean…you could just do what everyone else does and add 2” to the height when you advertise. 
Presto, 15.3 = 16.1 and most people would believe you anyway!
9 Likes
I’m only trying to buy chestnut mares, LOL.
7 Likes
