The last time I bought a horse and he shipped north….my trainer called me on vacation wondering WTF I was doing buying the scrawny tiny thing that showed up on the trailer. And he was at a very good farm in Wellington. He lost a ton of weight on the trip. a couple of months and he was a beefsteak on a ration balancer. He’s not anything like a hard keeper.
Give it some time!
Oh, I don’t know about any of that. The OP asked a very specific question, which was not “After creeping through my other threads, can you comment on this horse’s BCS? OP or anyone else has every right to delete or edit posts and photos if the collective COTH loses its mind, as often happens, or if they think better of something they’ve posted. I assume this is why we are able to edit and delete.
Seriously? I thought the post sounded familiar so I checked and also wanted to be sure we were talking about the same horse. I then found the thread with pictures of the horse. The pictures didn’t match with my initial impressions from the OPs words on the first thread I commented on in which I said get a fecal. The pictures also didn’t match the perception the OP gave on this thread.
The horse wouldn’t raise alarm bells with me necessarily, but I never saw the trial videos. I also wouldn’t I jump to underfed and wormy.
I thought this was a forum to educate not just toss out ideas blindly.
Yes good points I hadn’t quite realized the situation when I said that.
Oof I think I agree @Bristol_Bay. I saw the OG thread and my initial thought was trailer ride blues done sucked up yo horse. Sometimes we (general we) can post threads that are a bit reactionary. Because we are human. Let’s not fire up a righteous witchhunt. Good luck with your lease horse OP.
And hey @Bristol_Bay. My horse is fat AF. Do you still want him ?
My apologies. This is a completely inside post to @Bristol_Bay but I don’t deny getting tired of the knee jerk witch hunt of posters. Seriously. Calm down
Just my size! Where do I send the trailer??? 
Florida!
For what it is worth …
… if the posts following the Post #1 don’t seem to jibe with the current version of Post #1, it is because they were responding to a somewhat different set of facts in Post #1. A BNT and a BNT barn was part of that info. No private owner was mentioned, most replies assumed that the BNT was leasing the horse to OP. So, the transaction sounded different.
If some of the replies sound a big unhinged compared with the Current Version First Post … that’s why. LOL
If at some point, some of the replies sound critical of OP, it is because more info was leaking out that was changing the perceived scenario.
And this is why it is worthwhile to quote a post that one is replying to! The author may sneak in there and change the content and tone of said post. LOL
I believe someone suggested that the OP go back and edit the posts with details that might be too specific. I just skimmed through the thread, but some of the responses seem pretty aggressive. I might edit too in those circumstances. It seems better to inform rather than to attack.
My little pony or look at my new Breyer forum. Got it
While true that creeping through other threads can be…creepy, it’s also true that when the facts are misleading in an original post, and then more facts come to light from those other recent threads that completely change how people would respond to the original post, that’s…annoying. And not helpful to anybody, because the advice you (g) ask for and receive is only as good as the accuracy of the information shared in the first place.
So there are almost always multiple questions buried in any post. For instance this post is posing 3 questions effectively.
What can or should you do when a lease to buy off video arrives in much poorer shape or otherwise not quite as expected?
How bad is so bad you would send him back or ask for a discount?
And finally the unstated question that commenters eventually got around to chiming in on: does this particular horse fit the criteria for sending him back or asking for a discount?
These are 3 interrelated questions. But you can answer #1 and #2 in general without knowing the answer to #3. And #2 is rather subjective. There could be many aspects of a horse bought off video that are “not as advertised” if we assume a relatively high end market, not a rescue or BLM sale. He is thin, his teeth or feet are neglected, his flying changes are unpredictable, he seems spooky or cranky or cribs or has awful rainrot etc etc. Given price and expected quality of horse these might or might not be deal breakers. I’m always amused when sales ads boast “up to date on teeth vaxx working and hoof care,” because aren’t all well cared for horses? And I suspect that could often mean “he was sitting neglected on a field for 3 years but we had the vet out 2 weeks ago and did All The Things, really we did.” But then you get horses like this out of presumably decent barns who aren’t maintained well, which surprises me.
Just wanted to say that I would probably inform the owner about the horse’s condition even if you are not sending the horse back/requesting a refund (which I would not). If the horse lost a lot of weight on a long trailer ride, or had a heavy worm load, or poor dental care, or anything else, that might be the sort of thing the owner would benefit from knowing. When I have leased horses and identified veterinary problems with them of various sorts, I have always informed the owner in a non-accusatory way. It’s their horse, and they should know about issues with their animal’s health, even if it’s my responsibility to address them while I am leasing the animal.
And, in a situation with a purchase option down the road, it may be helpful to give some advance notice that there are matters that may result in negotiation over that transaction.
Bloom is another word for a healthy, glowing coat.
“Bloom” is also a supplement.
Em
I may be missing something but why is a horse with a BCS of a genuine 3 being ridden or worked? In my program that’s an immediate “cease/desist” from ridden work until they are in better condition — especially because it’s not so much the lack of fat that’s a problem, it’s the lack of good health. Which means poor recovery - soft tissue, respiratory, stressors in general. Once they are at a 3 on the BSC there is a lot negative going on internally from poor hoof health to gastric ulcers to poor muscle or tendon recovery and it’s just not worth it to me.
I originally held off on replying to this thread because like another poster I found OPs posts in other threads and got the impression they are newish to horses or just not that experienced yet. So I originally discredited the “actual BSC of 3”; in general laypeople or people not experienced with off track TBs think a race fit horse that is a bonafide 6 on the BSC is a 1 or 2. Or even 3.
Long trailer rides will make horses lose weight. They’ll develop ulcers in a 30m trailer ride; imagine what 12 hours does. It’s not unusual to see a horse lose weight or condition in transportation. They often perk and plump right up once they’re settled in and rested. They don’t rest on the float/plane/trailer well if at all, it’s hard on their bodies. I had my chunky monkey TB transported to MA to SC by someone who I know is a very conscientious trailer driver - he had a layover on the way and he still came off the trailer missing a few pounds. I wasn’t sad to see them go — he was fat — but he did get an extra day to recover.
We all learn as we go and there’s nothing wrong with not knowing what you don’t know — as long as you learn when the time comes to. Reading between the lines here I didn’t get the impression that was the original intent of this thread.
I have never, ever seen a race-fit TB at a 6. That’s insane. Most are 3 or 4s and they are just fine. The Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover requires a 4 at their vet check, so acting like this horse is going to keel over and die or has major internal issues because of his body score is a bit dramatic.
People really don’t understand the BSC well and just throw out numbers. You aren’t just looking at a picture. You are feeling fat deposits, checking specific parts of the body, musculature, and condition to get to that assessment. It’s not advisable to do via a photo. You need hands over the ribs, around the dock, croup, you need to stand next to them and look at their neck, shoulder, and withers.
I disagree that most race horses are a 3. Absolutely not. Most are within 4-6 depending on level of fitness and connections. The Public sees a waspish waist and thin outline and immediately assume skinny — without noticing the thick layer of fat over the ribs and spine, the divet down the back, the fat along the croup, and the lack of definition in neck and shoulder and withers. Justify is a good household name example of a horse that is absolutely not a 3-4 BCS.
Maybe in the thriftier tracks you see declining condition but the top level athletes are absolutely not a 3-4.
I don’t think I said anywhere the horse would keel over and die, so I find that phrasing a bit hyperbolic…
A genuine BSC of a 3 in a non-performance horse is typically from a chronic situation barring significant health event like hospitalization or illness. Horses don’t go from a 6 to a 3 overnight. There are a lot of factors at play but long term malnutrition and poor body condition do not only come with loss of fat. I wish more people understood that.
I want to add lack of muscling in the neck doesn’t factor into BCS. I think lack of muscling led this poster to believe BCS was low.
The horse lacked muscle but was shiny. It looked like a well cared for horse who’s still growing but out of work with regards to a top line.
It’s not scrawny. I’ve received a horse who wasn’t as advertised and needed groceries. This horse isn’t it.
Unfortunately the OP deleted the pictures so people can’t see them. On my opinion the OP deleted said photos because they don’t match her opinion and wants to seem more knowledgeable than she is.
I deal almost exclusively in OTTBs and have the benefit of having an in-house nutritionist at my barn who scores them the day they come in. The TBs I get in are almost always 3s or 4s. I stand by the fact that never have I ever seen a true 6 on the track. 
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