Also i would buy him for the 6k and flip him for 15 the next week.
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The QHā¦donāt think so. When a horse kicks up that much dust, it isnāt showing much natural suspension or elasticity. Ask meā¦I have trained a couple (not QHās, just lacking the elasticity and schwung). Certainly trustworthy for lower levels but not what I would pick to move on up.
Susan
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Iāll take the TB as well. I donāt know if that QHās hind end can trail any further, unless it was detached. 
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I would hazard a strong guess that he has some variety of (fixable) foot pain in those front feet, or soreness somewhere in the related areas. The stabbing/toe stubbing is a dead giveaway, usually of heel pain.
Personally, I like him - he has potential to be a decent moving, very consistent horse and is probably the kind more people ought to buy, ans put the rest of their $$ into lessons and training. But Iām over here with a herd of <$500 auction dumps and Craigslist projects, so Iām never going to be the person willing to spend $50k on any horse anyway, even if itās got the wow factor. 
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Thatās great, but I stand by my original observation that Iād worry about this horseās long term soundness. Thatās a lot of stress on a 4yo both physically and mentally.
There is a reason the FEI young horse test equivalents are +/- training level for 4YO, 1st level for 5YO and 3rd level+ for 6YO. There are also many well respected trainers that donāt show in these classes as they feel that it pushes the horse too much, too early.
I know that TBs often are physically more developed at younger ages than warmbloods, but having lived through soundness issues more than once with TBs that were are least aimed towards racing (one raced, one never did) Iām very wary of pushing any horse as hard as youād need to be getting those scores at 3rd/4th regardless of the USEF rules.
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This is assuming that the horse is training at home at the same level they are showing which is usually not the case. I donāt see any issue with a 4/5 year old doing lateral work and some lead changes. If the horse were more consistently being collected and showing more advanced training that is more in line with 3rd/4th level work, then I would have an issue with that. Iām just not really seeing a horse that is truly performing at 3rd/4th level here.
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The horse in the video is nice, and would certainly do well in western or the lower levels, but if we are talking about ābetter movingā in the dressage sense this horse does not even come in the same zip code as the original horse posted. A very odd comparison indeed.
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OK, for some reason the video I was originally looking at is not the one showing up in the link anymore. It was a very lovely red roan in an indoor ring, now its a red roan outdoors doing roping stuff and bopping around. Not sure if the wrong video was in the auction ad, but this isnāt the one I was looking at.
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That makes more sense! Pleasant horse who would be fun as a dressage horse but not one Iād look to be my upper level prospect.
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I would agree if the horse was being worked with 3rd / 4th level collection and engagement but thereās no sign of that. Whatās particularly stressful about going sideways and doing single flying changes in a First Level self carriage?
I can guarantee you that a lot of the people showing FEI 4yo and 5yo are training Third Levelst home every day.
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That makes more sense. We were all starting to wonder what kind of glasses you were wearing!
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Which then begs the question of how is the horse receiving scores of 66-67% at 3rd 3? And I would really question whether a ātrainerā who shows a 4-year-old at 4th Level just because he can move his legs more or less the right way at the right time has any true understanding of collection or the purpose of dressage training. (Not criticizing you, @Warmblood1āthe whole situation just seems unwise for the horse.)
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From the trainer perspective - because itās a good selling feature and boosts the price of the horse to have a show record at that level. And because they know that from most judges, doing the correct pattern without mistakes or resistance while staying on the bit will get you at least a score in the low 60s, even if the horse isnāt meeting the requirements of the level.
Why judges allow that to happen? That I canāt answer.
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I understand what you mean. I agree with Bigmama, I think the trainer is trying to market him at the highest level for the most money.
I do think in recent years we are seeing more generous scores from judges. I also think he has a lot to offer in other ways - balance, rhythm, relaxation, submissiveness, a fair amount of accuracy WRT the actual test, a decent amount of suppleness, the rider is riding pretty well, etc. So while collection may be pretty much non-existent, those other factors will drive up the score. It is a bit contradictory as far as testing goes - tests are supposed to prove that a horse is at a certain level and it is clear he is not in several ways, but he does have a lot of the basic requirements to a moderate degree. It does make you question the reason for testing in the first place.
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My personal opinion regarding thisā¦. I looked through the FB page of the rider. She is a lovely rider and obviously rides all her horses well (just my impression might simply be a well managed FB pageā¦). She got this horse 10 months ago. I believe she does train this horse well and itās not pushed to the limitā¦. My personal concern would be how things develope with a potential buyer who is not as skilled as herā¦ the horse is still a baby and if things are not as perfect any more the horse might get confused and itās will to cooperate might changeā¦ with horses this young you have to be careful with their mind. Otherwise itās very pleasant to watch her rides on him.
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Like the Scandinavian chess champion of horses?
I should qualify myself as I intend to be posting here more oftenā¦Iāve ridden talented (well bred warmblood) horses that *could perform at 4th level during their own 4th yearā¦soooooo much had/has to do with the rider, sorry to say.
A superbly talented & like-minded horse is possibleā¦will the athlete be lame at nineā¦who knows!!!??
This is speaking from my own experience as a very young person who trained extensively with Melle van Bruggen, who rode his GP dressage horses daily as a 16yr old & my own boy, who could physically do circles around his horses though then developed a tumor behind his navicular bone, never to be the same. This world class imported Hann was reduced to a very naughty trail horse & then lived happily in basically retirement until the age of 28.
Sound training can procure advanced horses if the universe is on board, being that fate will have it, ultimately.
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