Thanks all, that was some great advice. There were 2 other colts born this year, one in March like him and another in April. Both were a good hand taller and looked to be at least 50 pounds heavier. I did see pictures of him when he was foaled March 7th, but I never thought to ask what date his dam was bred. Personally I won't mind if he's on the small side, as I said this will be my first draft and I'm not looking to show, or have him pull ridiculously heavy loads. A large calm horse that will be happy out for a pleasure drive will be perfect for me. I wasn't planning on reselling him but everyone knows what life has in store for them, right? ; ) I'd make sure his training was stellar, I'm a stickler for well-mannered horses and all the horses I've ever trained have been very well behaved.
I suppose I should have gone into more detail as to why she wants to sell him, this is a lady whom I don't know personally but she is well known locally for producing horses with good minds and correct conformation. I've yet to speak to someone with a negative opinion of her, and when I showed up unannounced she was more than happy to show me everything I wanted to see, explain how she trains, etc etc. She bred 6 mares last year and one of them didn't take, the other came up with twins and was pinched, so she lost money on 2 potential foals (one for the mare who didn't take and one for the mare who produced twins, the last twin didn't count as she would not let a mare come full term with twins). The only filly of the bunch she decided to keep, since she lost her main herd sire last year and this was his last filly. So she's only got 3 colts to sell this year, meaning with the cost of feeding, veterinary care, etc she is already upside down, as she was expecting 6 foals. With the cost of feeding this colt, plus care and everything else, she's going to have to put more into him than she'll get out, and and he's from another bloodline that she is no longer using in her breeding program so she doesn't want him hanging around. If all that makes sense. She also confessed that she has very little time for him, which is why he's frumpy looking and a bit of a chore to catch, since she's putting a lot of work into her 2 year old stallion prospect.
I also was a little confused as to why she wanted to body clip him, I thought it was a Shire thing. At the very least he'll be desensitized to the clippers if I decide to buy him.
-- Kai