[QUOTE=Vesper Sparrow;7391818]
Thanks for explaining, Mosey! I wasn’t sure whether Painted Hunter was being ironic or not… Don’t worry, Painted, we’ve all been there.[/QUOTE]
Seriously, I feel dumb as a box of rocks today. Jesus H. Christ on a cracker, I swear I’m not a complete moron.
I also had a beer at lunch, so I am going to plead uncaffeinated-semi-buzz-work-stress-lack-of-sleep disorder.
If everyone liked vanilla, the world would be boring…
That being said, I like bays. 
Greys do have a plus: when clipped, they don’t change colour and look pretty good.
[QUOTE=IrishHunter;7391283]
I am not so worried about the cleanliness factor but the melanoma does scare me a bit. But 70% of the horses at my barn are gray and none have it due to the BO turning out mostly at night and having them in during the sunniest parts of the day.[/QUOTE]
This is a big misconception.
[QUOTE=Blugal;7391963]
Greys do have a plus: when clipped, they don’t change colour and look pretty good.[/QUOTE]
They often look better clipped. They take on a kind of blue/grey colour.
The melanoma is the big turn-off for me. I like the color alright, but not enough to risk a chance of disease. We all have our priorities, and chances are your random gray horse probably won’t have a problem, but meh. I like the dilutes and my old standby favorite, bay 
Actually, I like every solid color except black and roan, really…
I have a chestnut problem myself…compounded by the fact that no one else seems to share my affliction. Maybe I should dye my sale horses grey?
I’ve had three greys- none of them For their color. The one I have now is the worst. Hot towels, quicksilver, magic fairy wings-- NOTHING gets the poo color out of his knees and hocks, because he intertionally uses poo piles as joint cushions every. Freaking. Day.
But yeah- you get the horse that suits your needs. For most of us that’s peformance, soundness, temperament. But if it’s color, then that’s ok too I guess.
I have a grey who is now white and the finest horse I have ever owned. Having said that, really, color is really a preference. It doesn’t matter how bad a horse is, if you love to look at him, and he is loved and cared for, that is all that matters. But it would be nice if more chestnut mares were appreciated for their ability and athleticism.
[QUOTE=Ibex;7391252]
After watching a lovely mare struggle with melanomas and eventually have to be put down, I wouldn’t own one.[/QUOTE]
Me too, it was awful 
I have a gray and a bay. The gray is for sale (through no fault of his own). I have a LOT of people tell me they don’t want a gray. I usually quote LAZ, “good horses don’t come in bad colors”. Then I roll my eyes (behind my keyboard) because he’s a great horse
I didn’t want a gray either, but I wasn’t about to pass up a horse that was otherwise exactly what I was looking for…
I recently sold a grey to someone who specifically didn’t want a grey - but they chose the horse’s other wonderful qualities, and not the colour.
chestnuts are my favorite color…i’ve owned a bay, a chestnut, and a grey. My grey was the cleanest! I could bathe her and braid her and turn her out at night and the next morning she would be ready to go, shiny as ever, braids still in tact. Until she pooped on herself in the trailer…
Good question. Mine is silly, dirty, naughty, and has a melanoma. Lord knows why anyone would want one 
(she is stunning though 
)
[QUOTE=PaintedHunter;7391905]
Seriously, I feel dumb as a box of rocks today. Jesus H. Christ on a cracker, I swear I’m not a complete moron.
I also had a beer at lunch, so I am going to plead uncaffeinated-semi-buzz-work-stress-lack-of-sleep disorder.[/QUOTE]
No problemo. As I said, BTDT.
Aside from my grey’s cleanliness, he is also a total wuss about ouchies (so he’s spent a lot of time recovering, rehabbing and being out of commission) and has the biggest personality in the barn of about 60 horses. Lots of quirks.
At one point, he HATED other grey horses and would pin his ears at any grey that came into the indoor while we were working (but bays and chestnuts were fine).
He’s a real diva.
When I was a kid my ideal horse was a dark dappled grey filly with white mane and tail. Or light dappled grey with dark mane.
But I quickly realized all greys age into light grey or white, which I never liked. Not to mention the melanoma issue!
That said, I did go see a gorgeous dappled grey mare at the track when I was looking for a horse, after seeing her on the CANTER site. She was just gorgeous, but she had a bad attitude, pinning her ears as soon as I got into her stall. And that was a deal breaker for me, right there.
I ended up with a small mahogany bay Ottb mare of questionable conformation, who loves attention and is really nice to be around and to ride - well, when she doesn’t turn into a Winter Mare that is!
I prefer sturdy, bay geldings, about 15.3-16hh with only a little chrome.
Currently, I am bringing along a sturdy, grey Hungarian mare. And I think she’s wonderful, so I guess sometimes they do find us.
When I was horse shopping last summer, I avoided greys completely! I do think a dapple Greg is gorgeous, but it doesn’t last. Destined to be a pony club pony, I didn’t want it too hard to clean and I didn’t want to deal with sarcoids. I ended up with a good deal on a chestnut mare!
I feel like my life is a bit “50 shades of grey” All my riding pants, comforters, and favorite rooms on HGTV are grey. I’m also on my 3rd grey horse in a row. (However, this was just by chance.)
I wonder if SOME of the expansion of grey horses also comes from the Irish hype. You’ll find Irish horses in all colors, especially as now there are more WB/TB blood imported here, BUT the ones with Irish Draught descent are mostly grey.
If I see a big boned grey horse I will probably think Irish.
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