Horses are starving??

I am totally shocked, I had a lady up today to look at one of my horses for sale and after she seen the ones for sale she had also seen the others as well (being in a herd life) she flat out told me she would not buy the mare because she is to thin and its a pity that I am starving the others as well . I have never been told this before, granted my horses are in pasture condition and not ready to walk into the show ring. I never thought of them being "starved" tho....... They are in a very large dry lot that has some forage but their primary source of feed is the round bale. The lot is really flat, and they do not get worked so they are not toned up like they should be. I just don't have the time reason why I trying to sell some of them. I tried telling this woman that and she would not hear me out, she was just ranting and raving about so many horses are abused anymore and on and on...... Then she told me she was going to have the humane association sent out here, now I am freaked out!!

Whats your opinions? Do the horses look that bad??

The last picture was the mare the lady was looking at.

I mean, you said they aren't in work. And they definitely look like they aren't - They have barely any muscle tone. And they look underweight, but I don't understand why she said starving. You might want to up their feed to help put some fat on them so when they are in work it can turn into muscle.

A horse at the weight they are now won't build a good muscle tone when they begin work. They need more fat to turn into muscle, and then people would consider buying them. The people coming to see the horses will just feel that they first have to feed them more and then will have to work the fat off into muscle I feel.

You'll have much more success selling the horses with more fat on them. It's easier to develop muscle then put fat on a horse.. most people want a horse prepared to work not a horse that they have to put fat on and THEN work.

On the last picture, are those ribs on the black horse I see? Not trying to be judgemental but he has such a wide-looking belly but you can see his ribs? Weird. I definitely think that the first mare needs to fatten up. By the looks of her head she looks like she should be a thicker horse than that.

The only thing I see is the second pic, that horse looks like it could use a little more weight, their butt is suppose to be rounded out and I see a crease, but need more pics of them closer up.

Heck, I didnt think they looked that bad. But maybe I do need to up their feed.... well heck, they have free choice on the round bale so maybe adding in grain??

Maybe worms,if the black horse as a big belly,have you dewormed them?

To me, they really do not look that bad. No ribs are showing, and they are not in discusting filth! I mean, there is really nothing you can do if the grass will not grow in your pastures. If another pasture is not available to rotate the horses, so one pasture can grow back, and what not, then hay is the next best thing. The horse that she looked at (in that last picture) looks fine to me. Like you said, the only thing I think they are missing is some good muscle. But that's something that can easily be fixed with a some lounging and riding.
I wouldnt be worried about the Humane Ass. Coming out. Your horses are obviously getting fed, and you seem to love them, I wouldnt stress it. The most they are going to tell you to do is give them more hay/grain.

The only thing I really see, is in the first picture, the foals look to have worms possibly.? Because of the big bellies.

I think grain would be the best thing to help fatten them up, especially if you have trouble growing grass. They don't look that that bad but you'd get that lady off of your back and you'd have and easier time selling them.

They are dewormed every other month with Ivermectin so I know its not worms. And as far as the black one, if I thinking of the one ur looking at I just weaned a "oops" foal off of her not even 7 days ago.

They look fine to me. Like you said, not showring ready, but not starving by a long shot. They could use some muscle tone, maybe if you are really concerned you could supplement their hay with a little grain. If your winters are hard, I would put them on some grain to get them a little heavier going into a rough season, but they look what I would call "healthy lean." You could do a body condition score on them and get a better idea. There are scoring systems all over online. I know people who aren't happy until their horses are waddling, and some people are just "trigger happy" about calling something in. I don't think that a reasonable person would think your horses are too thin.

Maybe this lady was trying to get you to lower your price? It seems like if she were that concerned for the mare's well being she would have dropped the cash and taken her home.

The mare in the last pic looks about the heaviest of the bunch, to me, but they all look fine. Good luck finding the right owners for your sale horses!