To buy or not to buy?

Seeing all the "what's my horse worth?" threads on the critique forum got me thinking, and I thought it might be interesting to do a little excercise...

There are a lot of different factors that go into buying a horse, common ones being:
• conformation
• temperment
• level of training / type of training
• show record
• breed
•*age
• size
• color
• pedigree
•*breedability / fertility
• location
• price

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to see what people really think when they go horse shopping...so my challenge to you is this:

Using any resource on the web that you wish, find an advertisement for a horse that you would be very interested in taking a second look at, or even buying on the spot. If you think the horse is a real bargain at the price, so much the better.

Requirements
• You have a budget of $8,000
(We're not talking dream horses here, you have a budget. I actually wanted to make it lower for a bit more of a challenge, but I didn't want to completely shut out some of the more expensive breeds)
• Rescues are acceptable
• Try to limit yourself to one advertisement.
• Explain the reasoning behind your choice. (be thorough)

Here are a few resources, or you can use your own:
http://www.equinehits.com
http://www.equine.com/
http://dreamhorse.com/
http://www.equinenow.com/

This seems like a lot of fun! Is it limited to any areas? As in can someone in the US look at horses in Europe? And vice versa?

You have to factor shipping in to your budget, so a European horse may be off-limits to an American buyer.

Ok, that's fair enough. Inbetween working, i'll sneak onto some websites. I think it would be really interesting.

This mare looks nice but her pedigree isn't so impressive. Location is great and price is not bad for her attributes and age. I'd at least go and look at her if I were in the market. Nu York Cool Attraction

I guess if I were looking for a halter horse, this one would be interesting. I doubt he will grow into much of a pleasure horse but his existing show record speaks for itself, especially for a horse so young. His bloodlines are very halter rich. Gotta Clu

Both of those horses are from the same farm. I find this a lot. Some farms just have a good record of producing nice horses, so it isnt surprising to find more than one from the same place that you like. My guess is that I'd have a lot of opinions in common with the breeder there.

This horse only has one interesting name in her pedigree - Zippo's Mr. Goodbar. Still, she looks amazing and she has grown up a little more than the others. She has the highest price, $7,000, but I would definitely take a look. Willen to Rock

Haha yeah, I'm in the same boat...I'll probably post my selection tonight; I know if I start surfing for horses now, I won't get any work done:P

Tim, I agree, that last mare is a real looker.

I have to say, I was looking a several different horses. All of them were nice, but I have come down to one. He's a 2007 friesian/TB cross. I want to get a baby, so why not start with this one.
http://www.royalknightfriesians.com/forsale.htm

He's a little more than 1/2 way down the page. His name is Sir Lancelot.

I can't really critique him as he still is a baby, and there is only one picture, but I can't see anything really wrong with him. Of course, a vet check and actually seeing him is a must if I were going to buy him.

Can I look for another horse since I have left over money in my budget?

Okay, this is the one I chose...was kinda hard because I saw several that looked promising:

http://www.warmbloods-for-sale.com/H...33&UserID=4141

The good:
• Conformation and Movement: these are not confo shots, but this horse looks to have overall good balance, with movement appropriate for a dressage career. I would not buy him unseen, but I would go check him out. He looks tall and athletic with a big free stride.

• Age: at this point in time, I'm looking for a horse ready to start a serious working career. This horse fits the bill. I already have a colt to train, so I'm looking for a riding horse.

• Size: he's big, and I like riding big horses

• Training: from the photos and the description, I'm encouraged: he has started training in an area I want to continue, and looking at the photos, he moves like a lower level dressage horse. He's well-positioned to start moving up.

• Breed: This is definitely of lesser importance, but I've had good experiences with this breed, so I can't say it doesn't influence my opinion at all.

• Location: Also of lesser importance, but he's definitely close enough that I could pick him up and bring him home myself. I could definitely get him home for under the 1000 dollars left in my budget:P

The Bad:
• Undefined soundness issues: The description doesn't give a lot of details about this, and its something I would definitely want to address. However, the fact that the seller is willing to give a soundness guarantee is encouraging.

Haha, sure, if you like:)

Oh this sounds fun Sara!