# Sensitive Topic: FHOTD



## BluMagic (Sep 23, 2007)

Etiquette: I strongly feel that this topic is for strict conversation and viewing other peoples sides. I don't want any arguments to start. Remember, everyone has the right to their own opinions and don't feel you are being attacked or anything....

I have taken time to view the Fugly Horse Of The Day blog and I don't necessarily agree OR disagree with it. I honestly don't care much for the blog itself and the person who writes it. If you feel I am out of line or something, feel free to tell me so. 

I think that you truly have to be very pessimistic to actually burrow into people's business and pick at things you know hardly anything about. I'm not trying to be mean or judgemental. Simply how I feel. 

I try to stay out of the whole good breeding, bad breeding thing. But...I will have more to say later.

How do you guys feel about this stuff?


edited to remove the link-appylover


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## FGRanch (Feb 9, 2008)

What gives her a right to run down other peoples horses and use their pictures without their permission. Does she know that it's illegal?

And noticed how she never has anything bad to say about her friends horses. Hmm...what's with that. 

I truly think that this girl has no life what so ever and has serious confidence issues to feel that she needs to run everyone else down to make her self feel better. Well I guess I have to say I hope one day she grows up.


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## BluMagic (Sep 23, 2007)

Thank you for your reply and point of view, FGR. 

I've noticed voting but no replies. PLEASE reply to the thread before you vote to explain your decission and beliefs. Thank you...


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## moomoo (Feb 21, 2007)

I dont really know much about it, but after looking at that I voted no. What an absolute **** of a woman, I bet her horses are "fuglier" than those! Where does she get her facts from? Anyone could get a picture of some random horse and make fun of it :roll: And the pic of some horses by a car she says "my money is on they havent seen a farrier for a while", their feel dont look ridiculously long and they dont look starved :? I honestly cant imagine how crap her life must be to sit and do that! :shock:


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

deleted.


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## Bitless (Jan 11, 2008)

Well all i can say is the person is picking on the wrong subject.
Ridaculing these horses when its not there fault, the horses didnt ask to be born with faults to there comformation, if this person is out to make a point she should be bitching more about the people that created the horse not the horse itself. Talk about kicking them when they are down :? . 

The site is mindless, i didnt look at it for more than a minute. :wink:


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## BluMagic (Sep 23, 2007)

lol. I like to see what she has up her sleeve every now and then. :roll:


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## kim_angel (Oct 16, 2007)

I voted yes. Only because there was no choice for "sometimes".
She has valid points - and I think her point of it all is that people should stop breeding these poor horses that are going to end up at auction... and to stop over breeding. She is trying to show how there are these stupid people that neglect their horses, lie about the horses they are selling & such.

It isnt that she doesnt care about the horses or is trying to directly insult the horse. She knows its not the horses fault that he is deformed, poor conformation or whatever. 

Although sometimes I think she can be harsh. She doesnt sugar coat things.


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## kim_angel (Oct 16, 2007)

Bitless said:


> Ridaculing these horses when its not there fault, the horses didnt ask to be born with faults to there comformation, if this person is out to make a point she should be bitching more about the people that created the horse not the horse itself. :


That is what she is getting at. :roll:

Read it... she is bitching about the breeders who breed poor quality horses. 

You do realize that the more breeders that keep having their mares and stallions spitting out foal after foal... the more horses that will end up in slaughter, right?


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## LuLu (Sep 11, 2007)

Like Kim Angel, I put yes, because there was no sometimes. Alot of what she writes is true, she is only trying to point out how people are breeding from completely unsuitable mares and stallions, she isn't bitching about the horses, she is saying that there are many people out there who think their horses are good enough to breed, when in fact their not!


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## FGRanch (Feb 9, 2008)

We all know about the problems in the horse economy, or at least we should if we are into horses. Why should we read about them on some know it all's blog. 

She's a pessimist, and seriously needs to go see someone for some help. No person should be that down, that bitter. 

And one other thing, 

No horse has perfect conformation. There is no such thing. But if you are going to breed a horse that has flaws (and yes everyone does) then you breed it to another horses that will counteract these flaws. So she can't just go getting a picture and saying "Don't breed this horse cause it has a thick neck!" 

For example our stallion has a smaller hip then shoulder, so we breed him to mares with bigger hips. What do you get? Foals with even shoulder and hips! 

Any good breeder should now this and she shouldn't be yapping about something she doesn't know. And she obviously doesn't know.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Eh, I hate that blog.
She has no right to do that.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

deleted.


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## Abby (Nov 26, 2007)

I think some of the things she says goes unjustified. Ugly horses aren't terrible horses. The only think I dislike about FHOTD is she talks about horses like they aren't real, like they're Breyer horses and just tears into them with no compassion. Some of the things on there are rather comical and profusely absurd while others are unjustified. I hardly read FHOTD as it is, I may browse it once and awhile to see whats new and that is it.


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## Kyani (Apr 30, 2007)

I COMPLETELY agree with the overall message she's putting out. I DON'T always agree with everything she blogs, or the things she chooses to write about, but she has every right to make entries about what she wants, so as long as she doesn't stray too far from the message, and no one is ever going to ahve exactly the same opinions so I can let go of a few disagreements for the sake of the wider picture.

I find criticism of FHOTD always comes up in the same forms - 'she's picking on -insert discipline/breed of choice-', 'she hates horses that aren't perfect', 'I bet her horses are the fugliest' etcetc. I find that quite sad. Every entry she has to reiterate that its the BREEDERS she's getting at, not the horses themselves, link to other entries on a HUGE variety of disciplines/breeds to avoid being accused of picking on one, posting pictures of her own horses and so on. You can disagree with her, right, but to say these things just proves you haven't understood the blog at all, and porbably not even read it.

I think she's a very brave woman. She sticks to her message, even when a lot of people don't agree with her AND even now everyone knows who she is IRL. That is OUTSTANDING in internet blogging - it's is very unusual and very brave to carry on once the world knows who you really are, but she has. And no one has yet found anything about her real identity to bring her down. I really respect her for that.

And she does have every right to do what she's doing. The blog is satire, and it's educational. Both are clauses which automatically bypass internet copyright regulations - there is NOTHING illegal about her use of other people's pictures. In short, if you put images on the web, you ARE effectively allowing the world and its mother to use them. I don't necessarily agree with this, and would never do it myself, but I can overlook it for a good purpose - she's even used some of MY pictures without asking and I can overlook that because it's a good cause and hey, they were fabtastic bad riding fodder. There technically is nothing stopping her except politeness, and in extreme circumstances, politeness is overrated.

I honestly don't see how the premise of FHOTD as a blog could offend anyone, unless they were a potential subject. Well, I suppose here youcould look at her own blog subject for today: people who just don't want to hear it! People don't want to be told a foal they've bred is worthless, that their crossbred, badly conformed mare shouldn't get pregnant, no matter how much they love her, and people certainly don't want to hear that horses are going to slaughter every day. What fugly's blog does is actually talk about these issues that no one else wants to bring up; it's a big step away from other sites where everything is flowers and rainbows and no one will tell anyone their horse is ugly for fear of offending. Many people just can't deal with that.

Besides, it's **** entertaining.


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## Harue (Jan 28, 2008)

It often takes something like FHOTD to make people see that there is a problem.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

deleted.


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## Cheval (Jan 1, 2008)

Kyani said:


> I COMPLETELY agree with the overall message she's putting out. I DON'T always agree with everything she blogs, or the things she chooses to write about, but she has every right to make entries about what she wants, so as long as she doesn't stray too far from the message, and no one is ever going to ahve exactly the same opinions so I can let go of a few disagreements for the sake of the wider picture.
> 
> I find criticism of FHOTD always comes up in the same forms - 'she's picking on -insert discipline/breed of choice-', 'she hates horses that aren't perfect', 'I bet her horses are the fugliest' etcetc. I find that quite sad. Every entry she has to reiterate that its the BREEDERS she's getting at, not the horses themselves, link to other entries on a HUGE variety of disciplines/breeds to avoid being accused of picking on one, posting pictures of her own horses and so on. You can disagree with her, right, but to say these things just proves you haven't understood the blog at all, and porbably not even read it.
> 
> ...


I 100% agree.
Well said.


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

I agree with what has been said. She should be given a better pass time than to post people's horses on the web like that.

I would love to see the horses she owns.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

deleted.


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

FehrGroundRanch said:


> We all know about the problems in the horse economy, or at least we should if we are into horses. Why should we read about them on some know it all's blog.


Actually... a lot of people DON'T know this! And it's those people she's going after. There are a LOT of idiot 'breeders' out there. I personally enjoy the blog.  No, I don't always agree with all of it. But it's all been said already. She goes after the breeders that breed crap with crap and end up with more crap that are now being shipped to Mexico. I think she sincerly cares about rescuing horses and this is her way of getting the word out. Yes, her words are caustic and at times unnecessarily harsh but can anyone on here say that they've done more to get the word out on over breeding/poor breeding then she has? (maybe you can, I don't know! but I do know she sure does a heck of a lot more then me!) And you have to admit, some of the things that she's posted on there are just unbelievable! There are a LOT of really unintelligent people out there!


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## Harue (Jan 28, 2008)

My2Geldings said:


> I agree with what has been said. She should be given a better pass time than to post people's horses on the web like that.
> 
> I would love to see the horses she owns.


She doesn't really have anything against bad horses, she has something against people breeding bad horses. That means that most of the time I don't have any sympathy towards the people whose horses she critiques. It is not like it will hurt the horses feelings.

So I don't think there is a reason why people should see the horses she owns... Besides her rescues are most likely "fugly" and she knows it. She isn't being a hypocrite.

At least she is a good owner and does good and that blog does more good than bad. Saved horses are more important than hurt feelings.


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## FGRanch (Feb 9, 2008)

Good owner? How do you know that? Have you been to her house to see her horses? Are they fed and healthy and happy? Well unless you have seen her horses personally you can't know. 

Another thing, some people breed fuglies just to keep the foals for themselves. Who cares why they do? Why should we care what they choose to breed and why? We shouldn't. I believe in freedom to do what you want to do, without being run down for it.


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## Kyani (Apr 30, 2007)

We have seen numerous pictures of her horses. Now her identity is 'outed' there are several people who can vouch for her who know her personally. She is a known figure in rescue circles and is respected by other reputable rescues such as TB friends. No, no one has seen her horses in person, that's silly, but they (even the real oldies) look fantastic

And yes, I do care when people breed fuglies for their own keeping. For one, there is NO WAY they can guaruntee they will be able to keep that horse for the rest of its life. No way. And as soon as they are unable to secure its future through one of any number of circumstances, that horse is as subject to the open market as much as any other. Secondly, it's still adding to the massive overpopulation. Breeding yet another pointless, do-nothing nothing-special foal is taking away the chance of life from another you could have picked up at the auction for WAY less than it costs to breed responsibly. There's no point to it.


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## FGRanch (Feb 9, 2008)

Pictures lie! Just because the pictures look good, doesn't mean they do. 

Why should you care. What ever happened to a free world..geesh! 

Are we becoming Communist!


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## Kyani (Apr 30, 2007)

Er...ok. the 'communist' thing was odd.

I don't care what people do, unless it affects the welfare of other living things. Then, no one has any place ranting on about a 'free world'.

Now that FHOTD's IRL identity is known, any lying through pictures would quickly be discovered, and god knows people have tried hard enough.


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## LuLu (Sep 11, 2007)

Kyani said:


> And yes, I do care when people breed fuglies for their own keeping. For one, there is NO WAY they can guaruntee they will be able to keep that horse for the rest of its life. No way. And as soon as they are unable to secure its future through one of any number of circumstances, that horse is as subject to the open market as much as any other. Secondly, it's still adding to the massive overpopulation. Breeding yet another pointless, do-nothing nothing-special foal is taking away the chance of life from another you could have picked up at the auction for WAY less than it costs to breed responsibly. There's no point to it.


Totally agree!!


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## BluMagic (Sep 23, 2007)

Everyone has the right to their opinions BUT you can be honest without being completely rude. I have no RIGHT to judge her...just as she has no right to judge those horses and their owners. I only wish that she wouldn't care so much about it. They aren't yours, therefore, mind your own business. Thats what kind of thing I see it as mostly.

JDI, all out of curiousity, why did you delete your posts? Feel free to PM me...


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

You guys are fine right now, but just because this is such a sensitive topic, I want to give a friendly reminder to keep it nice. I know everyone is capable of having a respectful and mature discussion about this.


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

I just wanted to bring up the point that there are back yard bred, ugly, mutt horses out there that will have a better chance in the open market than some well bred horses. I say this because training, disposition, care, and overall upbringing can play a huge role in the desirability of a horse. 

Obviously I am not saying this is always, or even often the case, but it is one of the ways things may play out, and should be considered when ridiculing people for breeding their backyard horses for some sentimental reason. There are people out there who plan to raise the foal and keep it....they put effort and knowledge into raising and training it...and if their circumstances change, they work hard to place it well, but they have no problems doing that because it is a great kids horse/4H horse/family horse/trail horse/beginners horse, etc. 

Then there are those huge ranches with really high quality stock, that put out more foals each year than they ever have any intention of working with or keeping (in hopes of getting that next superstar horse). Some of these foals will end up with socialization issues, attitude problems, and lack of training, and may spend much of their lives being shuffled from one place to another...possibly meeting the much undesirable end associated with the backyard bred horse. 

Again, I am not saying what I described is the majority situation, but it must be considered because it does happen. Not all situations fit the overall issue in the market, and there are responsible people out there who are undeservedly being persecuted as a result of it all. 

That all being said, I think with the problems of today's horse market, people need to educate themselves and do the research before deciding to breed their horses (registered or not). I also think it is the responsibility of every horse owner and breeder to properly train or pay for proper training of their horses to give them every chance at a good life should they need to be sold. I also think in general it is better to breed good quality, registered horses or at least marketable mixes...but there are exceptions to every generality. 

anyhoo, that is my 2 cents on the overall topic...if someone has been educated by her site enough to prevent a bad situation for some horse, she has done some good - despite the fact that she can be very tactless, and that people (myself included) certainly don't agree with everything she has to say.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I read her blog once, that was enough for me. I can see the point of it being a place to learn about conformation. Personally I try to refrain from negativity in all aspects of life. The world is a rough enough place without me looking for something to read that will upset me. The daily news does a good job of that. She has the right to post whatever she wants on the web, as do we all. I don't have to read it though. :wink:


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## Kyani (Apr 30, 2007)

PaintLover, you make a good point about large, repuatable farms - they are just as culpable for flooding the horse market. FHOTD has addressed this topic numerous times, but she tends to get slammed for it because they're 'not as bad' in some people's eyes. Then people criticise for 'picking on' people who breed on a small scale.
*sigh* Damned if you do, damned if you don't, i guess.


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## AKPaintLover (May 26, 2007)

Kyani, I have seen the instances where she addresses flooding by reputable breeders, but people seem to carry the torch of the backyard breeder much more.

I will say that reading her blog has educated me about the current state of the horse market, as I live in a place where it really doesn't apply. 

 I can see where everyone is coming from on this discussion  I agree with everyone to a certain degree. 

Well, I am heading out to keep my horses marketable now.


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## BluMagic (Sep 23, 2007)

Just a quick note:
I created my own Blog.  I will continuely change the topics. Feel free to drop by. :wink: I am pretty sure the link is http://eqview.blogspot.com
Thanks!


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## VAHorseGurl (Jul 22, 2008)

FehrGroundRanch said:


> What gives her a right to run down other peoples horses and use their pictures without their permission. Does she know that it's illegal?


Sadly FGR, it is NOT illegal, especially if the photo taker puts it out on the internet without restrictions. And the blog author does not need permission either. 

I don't agree or disagree with this blog, but the language sometimes is too much and unecassary. 

~Kerri & Pete


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I think she knows "just enough to be dangerous" and that's about all she knows. I think she has mean tendency's and her message isn't meant to educate. She's taking peoples ignorance and plastering it on the internet to get laughs. I don't agree with her, I don't like mean people nor do I like bullies and that's pretty much what she is.

I think the horse world is full of all kinds of people, including ignorants and idiots, but I don't think that her site helps any causes... my thoughts...


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

i like reading FHOTD. but she is really harsh and hurtful.


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## claireauriga (Jun 24, 2008)

I think Kyani got it just right. FHOTD makes a good and important point, but sometimes her tone and manner hinders her cause because of the resentment it creates.

As I've said before, FHOTD helped rekindle my interest in horses and hence start me horse riding, but it's also taught me a lot about horses. Perhaps not directly from Fugly, but that blog has definitely raised my awareness of issues I didn't even know existed.

Regarding her own horses - she rescues horses with bad conformation and so on, but she's said many times (and, from what I can gather, shown through her actions too) that she's doing it to give them good lives, with the opportunity to work if they can, or otherwise a happy retirement. She doesn't breed them and produce more badly-formed horses. She does have a good colt she's training, and has stated many times that he will only be allowed to breed if he proves to have excellent conformation when he's fully grown and earns himself a good show record. So I do think she's practising what she preaches, by and large.

I don't really hold with the arguments about her having 'no right' to do what she does. Legally, she can, and she can judge my horses and my riding just as I judge hers. She'd tell me I was absolutely rubbish - because I am right now - but I hope she'd approve of the stables where I ride.


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

FHOTD has good and bad points.

My main argument is that she tends to lump one bad apple with all the other apples.

I happen to own a horse that is in a registry she hates but no way is he fugly, poorly bred or poorly conformed but she would still say he is crap and that is the word she uses.


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## kickshaw (May 7, 2008)

IMO, the blog topics are very interesting and informative to read (for the most part - - I like the auction reports and confo critiques)

I don't like that she uses the language she does (although, I've been known to use the term ***hat, too) or the fact that she exploits owners and breeders of horses without their permission...I understand that what you put on the net is basically anyone's to use...but its not any strangers' right to abuse 

I will say that from reading her posts, I have been better able to look at a horse with a critique-ing eye; and get a better view of the horse market as a whole.


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## palogal (May 30, 2008)

I like Fugly because she makes a stand against irresponsible breeding. She does not attack all horses, just horses someone is trying to breed or sell. As she says she has fugly horses herself but here horses are not pregnant or for sale.


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## Sliding4ever (Jun 1, 2008)

Where is this topic/blog at?


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## rockydq (Mar 1, 2008)

Some of her points are good, some bad. Kinda OT, but did i read right when she said her stud is 3 years old, and has foals on the ground (i know it wasn't her doing), and does anyone have the link to her studs pedigree. 
I like that she is looking out for horses, rescuing old guys, and starves, etc... But I also find some of it extremely hypocritical. I HATE how she "critiques" horses who aren't in a position to be critiqued ( standing weird, in mid stride...), for example when she was critiquing sway back, and had an image of a girl riding a horse with a sway back from an odd angle. The owner of the horse saw the blog, and sent in a photo of her horse, proving it did not have a sway back.
I also hate how critical she is of studs. i realize there are TONS of studs out there that shouldn't be, but conformation should not be the only thing that makes a stud. Maybe the stud she is critiquing has won multiple major events, or sired champions...I could show you a stud she would rip to pieces, yet who is very deserving of his nuts! She owns an AQHA stud, if she thinks he should be a stud, then why not post conformation photos of him to inform the general public what a decent stud looks like?
I also have photos of my horses on the internet in some not-so-flattering forms...they may appear, extremely cow hocked, short hipped down hill, etc... are they actually? NO! Alot of her critiques are based on assumption...

And I hate how she states she disagrees with the conformation of a racing thoroughbred, and posts one she thinks is ideal..yet that is JUST as fugly!
Also, wasn't she complaining that she couldn;t show in the amature classes with her stud because of some "professional" work she did a while ago? I believe if you are gonna have a stud, maybe you should atleast be aware of your breed associations standards and rules? She should practice what she preaches...if she wants a stud, then he should be shown at that high of standard.
And why not have all mares spayed that aren't breeding quality? I've heard alot of cases were a mare in heat has jumped fences to get in with a stud. sure its more expensive...but as she said, horses are a luxury.
Anyways, I agree with anyone who has a horses best welfare in mind, yet I don;t find her a very likeable person and i dont think she knows exactly what she is talking about.


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

In my experience if you want to truly educate someone you help them. 
Calling an ignorant (lack of knowledge) person an axxhat will not help them. It will only insult them and they will do the exact opposite of what you want them to. The guilty will only think you are an axxhat and will NOT change their practices.

Hey Mr, BYB...I want to show you 3 reasons why I believe your operation is hurting the horse world...X, Yand Z. IF you took X and replaced it with Q then you could have some great babies and make some real money while bettering the horse world. Win! Win! Wouldn't something like this make more sense?


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## Sara (Jul 6, 2007)

Eh...I might write a bigger post on this later, not a whole lot of time right now.

Overall, I find her blog an informative and interesting read. She's rough, but hate it or love it, she's generated a lot of awareness on some very worthy topics.


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## lacyloo (Jul 1, 2008)

I agree its NOT the horse's fault that they have bad comformation..

but i do read through her blog and see some itresting (sp) stuff ...


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

I think the blog is pointless because obviously the people who breed fugly horses aren't going to read it and don't care about what she has to say.


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## Cat (Jul 26, 2008)

While I found the blog interesting and agreed with the original intent - bringin awareness - I have since found it degrading and going downhill. Especially with certain followers of hers. I know not necissarily her fault, but I'm seeing on other forums the trend of "being nasty is cool" and its usually with whatever theme is on the blog. Heck, sometimes these people don't know much themselves but still feel the need to tear other peoples horses apart and its just making certain places uncomfortable to be - even when the comments aren't targeted at you. Who wants to surround themselves with such negative?


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Cat said:


> While I found the blog interesting and agreed with the original intent - bringin awareness - I have since found it degrading and going downhill. Especially with certain followers of hers. I know not necissarily her fault, but I'm seeing on other forums the trend of "being nasty is cool" and its usually with whatever theme is on the blog. Heck, sometimes these people don't know much themselves but still feel the need to tear other peoples horses apart and its just making certain places uncomfortable to be - even when the comments aren't targeted at you. Who wants to surround themselves with such negative?


I find her blog entertaining and educational at some points, and downright nasty at others. And I agree with you. I enjoy reading it every now and again, mind you!
The forum that they have, on the other hand, is very nasty. I am not exactly a bashful person, and I cringe at the thought of posting pictures there!


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## amightytarzan5 (Mar 20, 2008)

Y'all might kill me for this, but I actually like reading the stuff in her blog. People are so stupid. They shouldn't go around breeding horses that aren't meant to be bred. No, it's not the horses' faults, it's the people.

I certainly do not agree with everything she says, but I will admit to liking to read it.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

amightytarzan5 said:


> Y'all might kill me for this, but I actually like reading the stuff in her blog. People are so stupid. They shouldn't go around breeding horses that aren't meant to be bred. No, it's not the horses' faults, it's the people.
> 
> I certainly do not agree with everything she says, but I will admit to liking to read it.


Very true. Maybe people would read the blog and get some sense in them. 
Like breeding for no reason... why? Why do so many people want "kyoot" foals when they don't have a reason?


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## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

I like FHOTD a lot. Her language doesn't bother me. She's real, and not bashful. Try not to take her delivery personally, but just as a reflection of her character. She has some very intelligent things to say. And, she's a great writer. 



> I think the blog is pointless because obviously the people who breed fugly horses aren't going to read it and don't care about what she has to say


The people she writes about do read her blog, and they do comment back. 

There are few points she makes that I see as false. I've learned so much from her site, and I don't believe she dislikes bad conformation, she just knows it perpetuates unwanted horses, lameness, and ultimately more animals vulnerable to abuse. I believe she owns "fuglies" herself - ones she rescued from a**hats. :lol: [/quote]


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## claireauriga (Jun 24, 2008)

I think I'd prefer it if she stuck a bit more to her original purpose for a while xD The blog seems to have veered away from the conformation critiques ...


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## Sara (Jul 6, 2007)

JustDressageIt said:


> I find her blog entertaining and educational at some points, and downright nasty at others. And I agree with you. I enjoy reading it every now and again, mind you!
> The forum that they have, on the other hand, is very nasty. I am not exactly a bashful person, and I cringe at the thought of posting pictures there!


Ha, that is true...I stay away from the forum.


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## xNigelx (Jul 28, 2008)

FHOTD is my hero. She is a person in the horse world that actually has a set of balls.

Everyone always wants to "save the horseys", but doesn't want to get thier hands wet. Well, FHOTD is actually doing something to help: education, and all you guys can do is judge her. 

She isn't picking on the horses. She is picking on the abusive idiots that decided that just because thier horse has a uterus that they can have "kyoot, kulorful ponies!". Then they go to slaughter. 

If you just breed your own little fugly horse that you will give a forever home to, I will not hesitate to categorize you as an abusive owner. You bred a comformaition poor animal and will get another one. You are breeding it for slaughter. Sure, maybe you will give it a forever home, or you might not. You may go broke and have to sell. You might die the next die. Why not just take the time and effort and money and buy/breed a NICE animal. I don't see why thats so difficult. Have some pride. 

People should need a liscense to breed. 

And what she is doing is not illegal. These morons post this crud up for the world to see, they are practically begging fugly to post it with the looks of it. I applaud it. She is taking a vital step towards ending slaughter. She is putting the word out there. I'd have never known about this stuff without her. She isn't sitting on her lazy **** juding people, either. She rescues horses and educations the public and puts those HORRIBLE people to shame. Haven't you noticed that all those breeders are idiots?

She is doing the right thing. And can you actually be defending these people who are breeding horses for slaughter?


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

xNigelx said:


> FHOTD is my hero. She is a person in the horse world that actually has a set of balls.
> 
> Everyone always wants to "save the horseys", but doesn't want to get thier hands wet. Well, FHOTD is actually doing something to help: education, and all you guys can do is judge her.
> *
> ...


Completely agree.
Too many people think "one more foal won't hurt." Well, when you have half a million people thinking this, it's rediculous! Even if half of them have forever homes (which is a higher percentage than actual figures) you're still left with a quarter million unwanted horses.
DO NOT BREED WITHOUT A PURPOSE AND WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT YOU'RE DOING!
Too bad a lot of people play ignorant :roll:


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## amightytarzan5 (Mar 20, 2008)

Totally agree JDI and xNigelx!

Totally agree.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

> Showjumping is like dressage with speed bumps!


Hahahaha!! That is the funniest thing I've seen all day! Thank you!!


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## xNigelx (Jul 28, 2008)

lacyloo said:


> I agree its NOT the horse's fault that they have bad comformation..


No. It is the ignorant horse breeders fault and it is thier job to STOP breeding horses with bad conformation. Sure, it isn't the horses fault, but that doesn't mean the horse needs to be bred, does it? No. It means it defiantly shouldn't be bred. If we constantly breed for the highest standard, the horse industry would be a better world. And even when breeding elite horses, things happen and they can't be used for performance. Those horses can be the sweet trail horses or whatever. You don't need to breed for a trail horse. If that is your goal, you are probably breeding fugly. Maybe a horse bred for barrel racing ends up being too slow and just has a great temperment and cannot handle the stress of performance. That horse can become a trail horse. 

Do you see where I am getting at?


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

Actually you can 'breed' for just about any discipline. Including trail. 

We just had a big discussion on this at another forum, but I think her blog may have once been useful as a tool for education, but now it's degraded into a pack of hyenas making fun of people, kids and horses without complete knowledge of the back stories behind the different horses.

Abuse and neglet definitley are an issue that should be discussed. One of the members on our forum described her as the Howard Stern of the horse world because of the shock value. If it was a good educational blog, she wouldn't get as much attention as she does with foul language and making fun.

When you buy a horse, you aren't responsible for what happened to it before you got it. How it came to be, what happened to bring it into whateve condition it's in, what it was used for. All we can hope for is that people who get healthy horses, keep them healthy and those who get rescues can get them back to healthy.

Yes, there are irresponsible breeders. But how is it anyone's business to tell someone they can't breed their horse? Do some people put excessive amounts of crappy horses on the market. Yeah. But unless you decide to move toward people having licenses to breed their horses, you have to rely on education - not making fun of the horses and people.


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## amightytarzan5 (Mar 20, 2008)

JustDressageIt said:


> > Showjumping is like dressage with speed bumps!
> 
> 
> Hahahaha!! That is the funniest thing I've seen all day! Thank you!!


I know, isn't it cute? I found the quote on a website and thought it was hilarious!


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## TxHorseMom (Mar 4, 2007)

I voted no, and I'll tell you why. All she (and her little clones) are doing are being mean, and trying to make themselves seem more important, or better somehow by tearing someone else down. You know, like bullies at school, who put others down because of an inferiority complex.

If they were to do things CONSTRUCTIVELY instead of rude and vulgar, then someone MIGHT listen to them. Instead, those who might not know any better are just going to get mad and not change their ways.

Let me tell you the other side of the story....................

I have a mare who I bred last year for an 08 baby. Although she is (gasp!) grade she is a nice little horse with decent conformation and a great attitude. She was used for many things in her younger years. I have bred her 3 times in the 6 years I have had her. I have had MANY people want one of her babies from our stallion, but I don't believe in over breeding my mares. (This was her last baby for us anyway)

Anyway. A week before she foaled, she looked great. Good weight, was being fed grain, free choice hay/pasture vitamins. Then she foaled. She lost a BUNCH of weight. I'm not stupid, I know she looked crappy. Took her to the vet, he said she was fine (although underweight of course) and felt that with my experience, I could get her back to a good weight. She is an older mare. At the time of her foaling, I belonged to another forum also. We sent my (adult) daughter some photos of the new baby and she couldn't tell how bad the mare looked, because the doesn't have a computer, and uses her cell phone. (you know how tiny those pics are) Well, she also belonged to the same forum and posted the pics. FHOTD forum (not the blog) got a hold of them thru this forum and posted it. 

Now, if they were TRULY caring and compassionate about horses (as they claim) they would have said, "Hey, that mare looks pretty bad! What/how much are you feeding her? Have you tried "this" or "that" on her? NO! All they did was to claim what a horrible person I was, and I needed to get off of my lazy a$$ and feed my horses! (that was a quote)

Boy was THAT constructive! Boy did I learn a lot from that! Gee I didn't know that I was supposed to feed my horse. Now I know and things are so much better now! (dripping with sarcasm)

I have tried many things, and someone from the other forum suggested a supplement called Source Focus SR for older horses. It is a vitamin supplement with probiotics to help the older horse digest and absorb the nutrients in their food. That, along with changing the feed and adding soaked alfalfa pellets and feeding 3x a day she is slowly gaining weight. They are only supposed to gain up to 1 pound a day. I didn't want her to founder.

What I needed was HELP, not cruelty. What they did/said did not change a thing other than my feelings were hurt that total strangers would rather judge a person than help them. I guess I should have known.

Let them feel superior. I know the truth.


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## xNigelx (Jul 28, 2008)

I would like to just say that you pointed out that it wasn't Fugly herself who said that, so I don't see why you have a problem with her. And the reason she is so blunt is because a] the blog is suppose to be entertaining and b] Its not like those morons are going to listen anyways. She is getting the word out to us, and I think that is the main reason for that blog. Educate the public. 

May I ask how old you mare was?


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## xNigelx (Jul 28, 2008)

Solon said:


> Yes, there are irresponsible breeders. But how is it anyone's business to tell someone they can't breed their horse?


So we're suppose to just turn the other cheek because it is none of ou business? If a horse is being neglected or abused, we make it our duty and invade that person's "business" to save that horse. She is doing the same thing on a level. And when a person is being that irresponsible and abuse, I think it is our duty to out them. You can't just close your eyes as you are suggesting. I think it is the responsible horse world's business. The horses can't talk, but Fugly gives them a voice. If you're anti-fugly, you're pro-neglect and pro-abuse, IMO.


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## TxHorseMom (Mar 4, 2007)

How is she (or the blog) helping anyone? Telling someone to get off their butts and feed their horse is NOT education!!!

If you want to save a horse then GO SAVE ONE!! Maybe _they _need to get off _thier_ butts and go save something instead of talking about it.

And I blame her because she and her cronies love to get stuff off of other forum etc and just make fun of it.

Are we supposed to ignore neglect or abuse? NO! But MY point was to make SURE that it truly is neglect or abuse before doing something about it. Why not CONSTRUCTIVELY "talk" to the person. Do they have a worming schedule? What and how much are they feeding? Are they getting freechoice hay/pasture? Teethfloating? Has the horse seen a vet? What about bloodwork? What about supplements? Just telling them to "stop it" or "feed it" or whatever is not education. The reason my mare is getting better is because I've talked to vets and nutritionists and other horse owners looking for answers. (Which I was already in the process of doing. Fugly did not make me nor _*help*_ me change anything.)

"Outing" someone is doing nothing but attempting to make yourselves feel better. I'll repeat, just calling someone an A__hat does not help them or their horses. You talk about education. Try actually educating someone instead of just calling them names.

And no, you may not like which horses I breed, or to whom I breed my horses to. That is your right. You don't have to buy them. Most likely I wouldn't sell them to you anyway. But like it or not, it is MY right to breed what I want. There ARE those who agree with my choices, that is their right also.

People should be careful throwing stones, they may find themselves in a glass house not of their own doing and having a lot of broken windows..


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## BluMagic (Sep 23, 2007)

I somewhat agree with TxHorseMom. She has very good points. And I can see very well where she is coming from. 

But i see other things as well....


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## TxHorseMom (Mar 4, 2007)

Are there people out there who are starving/abusing their horses? ABSOLUTELY! (Not everyone is misunderstood) Should something be done about it? Again, I agree with that. I occasionally have read FHOTD, and on the surface I sometimes agree that things seem bad, but then I think, "Do I _really_ know the situation?" (they certainly didn't see, nor try to see mine)

My personal pet peeve is the selling of older horses. IMO they deserve a retirement after serving humans all those years. They don't deserve to be "dumped". But you won't see me "Outing" someone. I will do what I can to rescue as many as I can afford, and _educate_ those I can, and hopefully in that way help as many horses as possible.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Problem is, most ignorant people (who want to breed their nothing special mare) will not listen to "oh, um, excuse me, could, um, you, um.. please, um not do that?"  They need public humiliation to stop doing what they're doing.


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

um....did you guys read the newest blog on fugly horse??? 

Very nice *34 year old mare*. Has taught all the kids to ride. Worked as a ranch horse most her life. Still in great shape and *bred to TB stallion*. Awesomemster.


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

^ ^ people are honestly retarded...


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

JustDressageIt said:


> Problem is, most ignorant people (who want to breed their nothing special mare) will not listen to "oh, um, excuse me, could, um, you, um.. please, um not do that?"  They need public humiliation to stop doing what they're doing.


And on top of this, if her blog stops ONE BYB from breeding a foal that ends up in a slaughterhouse, then good. She's done her job.


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## TxHorseMom (Mar 4, 2007)

Just as you are not listening to what I am trying to say, whose to say those byb are going to listen to her?

But, I guess I'm done here. As Ron White says, "You can't fix stupid".


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## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

> But like it or not, it is MY right to breed what I want


This breeding right was given to you by whom?

Unfortunately, this is the mentality that prolongs the idea that everything is on this earth for humans to use and manipulate. I don't support breeding animals at all anymore. We have literally run ourselves, and animals ragged with reproduction. We don't need anymore horses, cats, dogs, etc. I want a bumper sticker that says "Spay, Neuter, Geld".

I think the incredible negative reactions FHOTD receives about her entertaining, informative blog only make her stronger. Giver her fodder and she will feed.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

TxHorseMom said:


> Just as you are not listening to what I am trying to say, whose to say those byb are going to listen to her?
> 
> 
> > Easy there. I'm not attacking you, I am voicing my opinion.
> ...


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## Rachluvshorses4eva (Apr 11, 2007)

So, what exactly is this person doing?


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

xNigelx said:


> So we're suppose to just turn the other cheek because it is none of ou business? If a horse is being neglected or abused, we make it our duty and invade that person's "business" to save that horse.


If you read my reply a little more closely, I said the I understood about negligent and abused animals and that is definitely a good topic. And no, it isn't any of your business to tell another person what they can and can't do with *THEIR* horse.


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## claireauriga (Jun 24, 2008)

Whether it's 'your business' or not, I don't think that people _shouldn't_ talk about the breeding practices of others. Arguments about keeping your nose to yourself just don't wash with me. Aside from the fact that they're publishing what they do, I feel we can all comment on what we all do. There's nothing wrong with that.

And be honest, for someone who's not actually being harmful, just being stupid, what's the worst that's going to happen to them if they're featured? A bit of an ego bash that might hopefully knock some sense into them. I would hope your average person out there wouldn't curl up and die over FHOTD's comments.


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

You could put your life out here on the internet with pictures of how your horses look and how you ride and I'll guarantee there will be a lot of hurtful comments about it. It won't feel good. Whether or not you deserve it. I think my biggest thing is - there's a lot of back story that they don't know from just a picture.

Some of it is plain stupidty on the part of the people featured. But not all of it. The damage it does can ripple quite a ways.


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## amightytarzan5 (Mar 20, 2008)

I did a project on puppy mills for my social studies fair, and these backyard horse breeders are kinda the same. Sure, they don't have thousands of horses on their properties, but they breed in bad traits and then no one wants the horse. Then the horse goes to slaughter. That's not right and I think we should be concerned. It's our business as horsepeople to make sure that the animals are being treated with the respect they deserve.

The barn where I work has taken in a few horses who have had HORRIBLE conformation, but that doesn't really matter to us because all we do is let girls walk and trot them and go on a trail ride. We don't look so much for conformation as we do attitude. This is not what most of the horse world does. They want a horse that can win in shows or be a nice comfortable ride. Normally horses with bad conformation are not comfortable to ride. I've learned that from this forum.

This horse was a horse at my barn. He is probably a result of backyard breeding.








Now seriously, would you buy this horse? He was the sweetest horse, but no person getting a horse for themselves would buy this horse. He was donates to our barn, so we kept him.

This is just my take on this; you don't have to agree with me. I do agree with JDI that if this blog stops on backyard breeder, that's fine with me. That could save about 20 horses in a lifetime, probably more.

You can PM anytime if you want to. I have other pictures of our horses with bad conformation probably as a result of backyard breeding if you want to see them.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

AT, we all have our fuglies, or know someone that owns a fugly.. HOWEVER... are they breeding those horses? I certainly hope not. And if they are, shame on them! 
The horse world is in the dumpster right now because of irresponsable breeding. Go ahead, call me mean - but you sure as heck cannot call me ignorant.

One more thing - too many people live in the land of daisies and rainbows - take your fingers out of your ears, open your eyes and take a look around.


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## amightytarzan5 (Mar 20, 2008)

Is "AT" me? I haven't looked at some of the other posts, but I hope "AT" isn't me!

I agree with you JDI! 100%!


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

FHOTD has her points but when she classes all horses from a certain registry or breed or type as being fugly based on one or two "frauds" "pretend to be" or "they are all crap" then I certainly do object.

I posted some pictures of my horse here in the picture section and according to her he is a useles fugly and in her own words "crap".


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## amightytarzan5 (Mar 20, 2008)

I do too, in that case. Spyder is gorg! I love him!


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## mlkarel2010 (Jan 27, 2008)

Hmm, I voted in the "I don't care" option.

Only because I've only been to the blog once maybe twice. She's by no way a Saint in the horse industry, but she has some valid points. I like that she wants to stop the backyard breeding of some of the animals that are supposedly horses.

However some of her posts aren't completely fair and I would feel horrible for some of the breeders who find their horses unfairly put on there and ripped apart. I mean she has a new horse every day and some of them are only borderline bad, but I have to admit some of them do really resemble things I've seen dead on the side of the road 

That's just my opinion. Pretty much there are a ton of stupid people out there and you just can't get the point across to them no matter how hard you try or how loud you scream.


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## doc_western (Aug 6, 2008)

i agree with somethings on that blog....but definately not everything. many times she's posted pics of riders jumping, ect. and ripped apart they're "horrible" position.....how does she know that they didnt just have an awkward jump? ya never can tell just from a picture!! her blog , IMHO, would be much more enjoyable to read if she was a bit more.....polite? forgiving? understanding?
some of the stallions she posts, though, are definately _not_ stallion quality.....she could definately be more polite about saying that the stud should be gelded, but she obviously doesn't care much about manners :? 
one thing that i do like about her blog is that she promotes alot of rescue horses, many of which have found homes. 
that's just my 2 cents :wink:


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## xNigelx (Jul 28, 2008)

doc_western said:


> i agree with somethings on that blog....but definately not everything. many times she's posted pics of riders jumping, ect. and ripped apart they're "horrible" position.....how does she know that they didnt just have an awkward jump? ya never can tell just from a picture!!


If it was just an akward jump, then why post that picture up on your website that promotes your business? Not a smart desision. 









From Fugly in June. That is not an akward jump. This is a saftey hazard and just plain stupid. This was on a person's FARM SITE. Wow...


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## geewillikers (May 4, 2008)

Holy crap. :roll:


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## claireauriga (Jun 24, 2008)

doc_western said:


> one thing that i do like about her blog is that she promotes alot of rescue horses, many of which have found homes.


Today she's posted a list of horses from every state that would make a good winter upgrade project - buy the horse, spend the winter training it, and sell it on as a good riding horse or similar when the weather warms up. She's taking on a project filly herself, and she's probably spot on when she says that the biggest market is for beginner/intermediate riders who want something they can have fun with that's well-trained.


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## doc_western (Aug 6, 2008)

xNigelx said:


> doc_western said:
> 
> 
> > i agree with somethings on that blog....but definately not everything. many times she's posted pics of riders jumping, ect. and ripped apart they're "horrible" position.....how does she know that they didnt just have an awkward jump? ya never can tell just from a picture!!
> ...


you're right, that _is_ a saftey hazard!! yipes....guess i didn't read that post!!


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## Fisher.Cat. (Dec 26, 2007)

I agree with some aspects of her blog. Some of the people she blogs about don't deserve to be alive, but others are people who made the mistake of posting a bad picture jumping without too much thought, and then get reemed out. (not referring to the little girl jumping the big bay horse from June I think. That was flat out terrifying!) She really gets the word out about BYB, which is a good thing. We really don't neec anymore grade, badly conformed horses with very little training just because their mommy 'had a sweet personality'.

I really, really, really hate the FHOTD mob quality thing that her readers have going on. When she comments about a video on youtube, her readers go in for the kill, and you can always tell if they are a fugly follower by the use of the word 'asshat'. :roll: She's already trashed the person, most of the time quite thoroughly, do they _really _ need to say the same nasty thing, over and over and over again? It just seems quite tasteless and unnecessary to me, but there is no stopping them. 

I have to say, the blog is entertaining, but her followers are quite annoying, and sometimes she takes it way too far, so I am neither for or against the blog. :][/i]


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

My thoughts...

I'm not sure what classifies as a "backyard breeder". I'm a private "facility" if you even want to call me that. I have 80 acres (20 cleared). I have my own arena, my husand made for me, I have a 6 stall barn, I have my own horses. i bought my first horse 20 years ago and still have him, I've never sold a horse before. I have a wonderful mare (Impressive bloodlines) which I know I've read people like FHOTD scream about becuase of HYPP. My mare is NN, that means she can't pass the gene on, people don't always understand that and they scream fugly or junk because of the bloodlines, that's ignorance, that's reading what one person has posted and taking it as the gospel. Anyhow, I bred this mare and now ride the baby, am I a backyard breeder? Is my baby suddenly junk because I'm not a reputable facility? I think it's ok to breed a horse for your own purposes. 

Another thing is when you discuss conformation, you have to be willing to recognize the fact that a horse that is bred to run barrels isn't going to have the conformation of a horse that is bred to do dressage or hunt seat. So to put a stocky short legged short backed thick necked horse on the site and scream fugly isn't exactly true. that horse may be bred for ranch work, they need different types of conformation. While the person may have some knowledge in the horse world, I don't think she's all knowing and I definitley don't think her language skills give her any sort of credibiltiy. 

I also saw at one point that she posted a horse that was high in the withers, a little swaybacked and ribby and screamed fugly! (to me the horse looked 20+ years old and more than likely was quite the looker in it's day. She calls the owner stupid for posting the pic. 

I believe people should have an opinion and I believe people should be able to educate and make themselves heard, but there is a right way to do things... And a wrong.


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## xNigelx (Jul 28, 2008)

Good for you to not breed HYPP positive horses. Good for you to have bred one horse and had the means to keep it. I don't know why you feel attacked by her, however. I'm sure Fugly wishes there were more people in the world like you. People who have thier horses on land, nice facilities, and check thier mares health before breeding. You certainly shouldn't feel attacked. 

And I think Fugly is pretty good about knowing that each breed/disipline has its own conformation. Normally she only points out super obvious things that some horses have a dramatic example of. For example, she only pointed out this horse was super downhill.










I think a 2 year old could be alarmed by that. Fugly isn't picking on them.


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## xNigelx (Jul 28, 2008)

bump.


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## Salty_alydaR (Mar 24, 2008)

xNigelx said:


> For example, she only pointed out this horse was super downhill.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


omgshh! that poor horse! at first i thought he was on a slope!
i've never seen a horse being that downhill before :shock:


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## Snapple122 (Aug 8, 2008)

I don't think they have a right to judge other people's horses.. if your horse ended up on the list of "fugly" horses, you wouldn't appreciate the "humour"
I know her point is to get people to stop breeding bad horses, but still.. it isn't the horses fault


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## amightytarzan5 (Mar 20, 2008)

> I don't think they have a right to judge other people's horses.. if your horse ended up on the list of "fugly" horses, you wouldn't appreciate the "humour"
> I know her point is to get people to stop breeding bad horses, but still.. it isn't the horses fault


I don't think she is trying to target the horses. She is trying to target the stupid people who breed the horses.

Farmpony84, I don't think that you are a backyard breeder. I think that a backyard breeder is someone who breeds irresonsibly and who breeds bad traits into horses, like being extremely downhill, or having an extremely long back.

I think that Fugly has her good points, but she can be extremely rude about some things. I like the fact that she is trying to get people to stop breeding "trash" horses, which some of them are.


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

amightytarzan5 said:


> I think that Fugly has her good points, but she can be extremely rude about some things. I like the fact that she is trying to get people to stop breeding "trash" horses, which some of them are.


If the "trash" is an individual horse I agree but to say a horse is trash or crap or worthless simply because it belongs to a registry she disapproves of is wrong.

That is bigotry and no different that saying one particular person is sub standard because she dislikes that person's race as a whole.

In this day and age it should never creep into our thoughts.


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## amightytarzan5 (Mar 20, 2008)

Yeah, I don't mean trash by breed. I've never seen any of her blogs that target a certain breed, but from what I hear, they are there. I don't agree in discrimination by breed. That's like race discrimination. I'm saying "trash" as in horrid conformation and diseases.


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## rockydq (Mar 1, 2008)

Salty_alydaR said:


> xNigelx said:
> 
> 
> > For example, she only pointed out this horse was super downhill.
> ...


But in all fairness, this horse is not at a good angle to give any critique. The blogs author once mistook a horse for being extremely sway backed when in fact it wasn't...just an awkward angle gave that illusion. Perhaps this is a racing bred horse also, or a 2 year old, etc....


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## claireauriga (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote from the blog on the very downhill horse:

"I know that our first instinct here is that this horse is going down a hill - but look at the background. Look at the position of the feet on the side we're on. If there is a hill there, it's not much of one - certainly not enough to explain this horse, who looks like he is going to do a face plant in about two seconds. Our second instinct here is that this is a two year old and they should simply let him grow up and get level before riding him, right? Nope! It's a four year old!"

Not that she's immune to making mistakes, of course.


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

My horse see saw'd back and forth for over four years. Maybe the horse is just at one of those very awkward stages - sadly being ridden - but a stage none the less.


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## rockydq (Mar 1, 2008)

completely forgot that part about being 4 years old...regardless though, it annoys me that she critiques photos like this. I get that she doesn't want anymore halfassed foals being produced, and i support that 150%, but stick to the topic. Wasn't she criticizing the color of someones saddle? granted the saddle was ugly, but last time i checked an ugly saddle never had anything to do with the horse...its little stuff like that that gets under my skin!


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## starrynightxxi (Aug 12, 2008)

farmpony84 said:


> I have a wonderful mare (Impressive bloodlines) which I know I've read people like FHOTD scream about becuase of HYPP. My mare is NN, that means she can't pass the gene on, people don't always understand that and they scream fugly or junk because of the bloodlines, that's ignorance, that's reading what one person has posted and taking it as the gospel..


I don't think Fugly would classify you as a BYB, in fact she'd probably be thrilled that you had your Impressive mare tested and that she was N/N. Most of the frequent FHOTD readers understand that a horse that is double negative for HYPP simply doesn't have the gene to pass on, regardless of how many crosses it might have to Impressive. It's the people with only enough knowledge to link HYPP to Impressive that are trouble.


More on topic, I do read FHOTD. Like others, I don't always agree, and sometimes I think she is being unnecessarily harsh, but it's her blog, she can run it however she pleases. A lot of the time I find it entertaining, and her language doesn't bother me. She is connected to several rescues and I have no doubt that the blog is very cathartic for her. She can say whatever she wants however she wants surrounded mostly by like-minded people, and she doesn't need to censor herself like she probably does at work, or while actively attempting to track down and rescue a horse.

The Fugly Mafia is frequently stupid. I don't care when they blow up on the blog or the forum, but many of them go too far/try too hard when they contact people through email, or on youtube, or wherever. I think that does more damage than the blog could ever do.


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## GeminiJumper (Jun 12, 2008)

Doesn't fugly mean f***ing ugly???? Yeah people are breeding horses unnecessarily but why does she have to go out and pick on these horses???? wth


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

I don't think she's necessarily picking on the horses... She picks on the people who breed them, abuse them, neglect them, are stupid enough to ride them as yearlings, etc. But she does "confo critiques" as to why they aren't breeding material that may offend some people.


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

She picks on the horses plenty.


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## Kyani (Apr 30, 2007)

Solon said:


> She picks on the horses plenty.


It's funny. And so what? They don't speak english. It's not exactly going to hurt their feelings, is it?


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## claireauriga (Jun 24, 2008)

Kyani said:


> Solon said:
> 
> 
> > She picks on the horses plenty.
> ...


That is true. While she doesn't blame the horse for being the way it is - she blames the people who bred it and the people who have looked after it poorly - the horse is not going to get upset. Try standing there calling your horse every name under the sun - he's going to be just fine. Horses have robust self esteem, names don't bother them


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

Kyani said:


> Solon said:
> 
> 
> > She picks on the horses plenty.
> ...


Because it's not funny. Put your horse up and let us rip it apart like her hynea pack does and lets see how much laughing you do.


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## amightytarzan5 (Mar 20, 2008)

Solon said:


> Kyani said:
> 
> 
> > Solon said:
> ...


She doesn't target horses. You are being extremely one-sided about the issue. She targets the BREEDERS. Yes, she does do confo critiques to show people what they shouldn't be breeding. I do agree, it is kinda funny. When people put a picture of their "fantastic broodmare" up on their website with a ****ed-off look on her face, then yeah, they will get picked on. In the instance I'm talking about, she was talking about the ranch and not picking on the horses. Most of the time, she talks about how insanely dumb the people are for breeding horses that aren't meant to be bred. I'm sure that if half of the "trash" studs in this world would be gelded, we'd have less horses going to slaughter.

Just my opinion. You can argue all you want! :wink:


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## xNigelx (Jul 28, 2008)

Picking on a horse would go more like this:
Why did that hideous horse have to go and be bred and have those awful post legs? What a dumb horse. It should have a smaller head, why did it make its friggen head so big and ugly. And its so skinny? Why doesn't it eat? Yeah, his owners don't feed him, but that isn't thier job, he has legs, doesn't he?

Yeah, thats not her at all. She is more like this:

That poor horse. His dam, who is half yak, should not have been bred, would make a nice riding horse though. His legs, which are post legged, will make him cripple the minute he is ridden. WAIT, hes a year old, which in a$$hat world is old enough to jump! That poor guy. Geld him and give him to an owner who loves him.

Thats more like it.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I have a question for anyone who frequent the site (been there once, not my cup of tea). Where do the horse pictures she posts come from? Are they horses that are for sale or do they just cut and paste horses from all over, looking for the ugliest horse they can find? I just wonder if any of my horses have ever been on there :?


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

And I'd say to you guys, put up pictures of your horses and it might not be so funny when they say some of the things about them that have been said about the other horses on her blog. Not that it'd necessarily be your fault for having an ugly horse, but somehow that doesn't seem to matter much over there.

I can see why she goes after the breeders. I can see why she goes after people who abuse their horses. The other stuff, not so much.

She gets the pictures sent to her. People go through Craigslist ads, dreamhorse ads and websites to find pictures and send them to her.


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## Bucky's Buddy (Jan 27, 2008)

I have to say I agree with Solon. I think, even though a horse can't know that you're completely beating him down, it's just like someone commenting on your rump size behind your back .(I've wondered that sometimes if I pass a suspicious group of kids in the grocery store.)

I haven't seen the site, and I don't plan to, so I may be making a fool of myself. It's not the horse's fault that he's fat or skinny or ewe-necked or abused or neglected. He can't help it. It's usually people who do the neglecting and abusing part, and the breeding part, too. Besides, if a horse loves you to death, even if his head's crooked or something, what does conformation matter? It sounds like this person has a giant critique website. Like Vidaloco said, I just would go ballistic on her if she did that about Sam or William when they were in their not-so-attractive state. 

Read "Black Beauty" by Anna Sewel, if you haven't already. The way she portrays a horse's life with different handlers and masters is amazing.


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## claireauriga (Jun 24, 2008)

I'm not sure how Black Beauty and FHOTD cross over, other than the line about how to break in a horse well! Sewell never actually dealt with the issue of overbreeding.

I'm going to say this again, because it doesn't seem to be going across very well - Fugly does not pick on the horses. Why would she? She has her own bad-confo rescues and she knows that the horse can't control its own shape and wouldn't have the intelligence to if it could. She criticises the people who bred such a poor-quality animal when there is absolutely no need, and if a male is still a stallion, she criticises the people who won't geld an animal unworthy of breeding. If a mare is a broodmare or pregnant, she criticises the people who let her be bred when her offspring will be just as poor quality and will not be of any value. And she criticises the attitudes behind such poor breeding decisions.

If you own a horse with poor conformation, that doesn't make you automatically a bad person in her book. Did you breed it? Then she might call you stupid. But if you're the person giving it a loving home and a job to do then you're the kind of person she wants a whole lot more of in the world. The problem with breeding poor quality horses is that most of them don't end up with loving homes where they are well cared for and have the opportunity to work.


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

claireauriga said:


> She criticises the people who bred such a poor-quality animal when there is absolutely no need, and if a male is still a stallion, she criticises the people who won't geld an animal unworthy of breeding. If a mare is a broodmare or pregnant, she criticises the people who let her be bred when her offspring will be just as poor quality and will not be of any value. And she criticises the attitudes behind such poor breeding decisions..


I do agree but please add..she criticizes the AWS because every horse in that registry is a mutt and is therefore crap ( according to her).

I certainly agree that people that advertise their horse as American Warmblood just because they think it is a fancy name when in 95% of the time is is in fact not even registered there should be held up to the light and criticized and poked at.


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

> I'm going to say this again, because it doesn't seem to be going across very well - Fugly does not pick on the horses.


Really? What about this fine statement from just the first page? "Look it's Hunchback of HYPP".


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## claireauriga (Jun 24, 2008)

It's a snappy headline. Her back is awful and she's got HYPP. It's not picking on the horse to head the post like that, because it's not going to hurt the horse's feelings and you will notice that the whole post is going on at the people who were stupid enough to breed a horse that not only is conformationally hideous but is actively affected with a dreadful disease that she will absolutely be passing on to the foal.

She thinks that the horse deserves to be a, "pet/companion horse for as long as the poor thing has." That's not picking on it, she's not saying the creature ought to be ashamed of itself.

She also remarks that the stallion is a good one but that its owners are irresponsible in allowing it to be bred to a mare like that. Again, it's the owners and breeders she has a problem with for perpetuating these conditions and faults.

It is not picking on the horse to occasionally use a descriptive, colourful or metaphorical phrase to describe them. The horse _is_ a hunchback, just look at the image!

To be honest, I think you'd have to be really strong and crude in your descriptions to be 'picking on the horse'. Accurately describing its conformation, with the occasional use of imagery, is not picking on the horse. Saying 'this is a bad fugly horse who ought to be shipped off to for dogmeat now' comes closer, but I don't really see how it becomes picking on the horse unless you're trying to ascribe the horse's intentions to the breeding programs it's involved in and came from.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I am well aware that we can't hurt a horses feelings by saying something hurtful about it. We can hurt peoples feelings, which is far more important in my book. As I stated earlier I would be upset and hurt if I knew someone had copy and pasted a photo of one of my horses to her site so the jackals could tear its flesh apart. 
I truly believe that you are judged by how you have treated other people and how much love you give. People like that are hurting other people not their horses. They will pay for their words if not in this life, then the next. 
Don't fool yourself thinking its all in fun and your just "critiquing" a horse. Those are someones beloved companions. Have a little empathy.

Edit: Sorry I had to add, it would be different if they posted photos of thier own horses for critique. They are taking photos without the knowledge or permission of the owners. Thats why we have a rule here that you can only post photos of your own horse for critique. I'm sure that rule has been broken when a mod didn't catch the post, but that is why that rule is in place. 
I'm really surprised she hasn't had any lawsuits brought against her.


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## xkatex (Oct 7, 2007)

Im not too famliar with the site but I did check it out. It really seems like this person has little or no life. I personally found this site not too interesting and soon lost interest to be honest.


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## Snapple122 (Aug 8, 2008)

Solon I completely agree with you. 

If that was any of your horses on her pointless blog, you would not appreciate it. 
and I also agree with Kate that this Fugly girl has way too much time on her hands.


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## xNigelx (Jul 28, 2008)

If my horse was on that blog, I would turn myself into the police!

EDIT: And I will add, for the final time, what she is doing is not illegal! Please actually read these posts before you continuously argue the same, uneducated point. She is not picking on the horses and what she is doing is perfectly legal. Those idiots post them up on the internet, so they are fair game.


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## amightytarzan5 (Mar 20, 2008)

Solon said:


> And I'd say to you guys, put up pictures of your horses and it might not be so funny when they say some of the things about them that have been said about the other horses on her blog. Not that it'd necessarily be your fault for having an ugly horse, but somehow that doesn't seem to matter much over there.
> 
> I can see why she goes after the breeders. I can see why she goes after people who abuse their horses. The other stuff, not so much.
> 
> She gets the pictures sent to her. People go through Craigslist ads, dreamhorse ads and websites to find pictures and send them to her.


I actually did post my pictures on her forum. Everyone had nice things to say about Spider. It was constructive critique that wasn't mean at all. Then again, he's a nice horse. If you are going to post pictures of your horse, make it look nice.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

My main concern about legality is copyright laws. If someone takes a copyrighted photo off of a web site and posts it on her site without permission or a link to the site, that is illegal. 
I'm sorry if I seem stupid, I don't visit the site. Thats why I asked where the photos come from. 
I know many people enjoy FHOTD and that there is a wealth of information for anyone wanting to learn more about conformation. Where the photos come from is my problem with it and a little thing called PERMISSION.


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## Sara (Jul 6, 2007)

This has nothing to do with the current debate...but the story she posted today just burned me. I mean seriously, what the heck? Leave the old boy in peace! http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/bizarre/5943222.html


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I read that too Sara, I had heard it on the news though. I understand it completely My father has lived on the same farm for I don't know how many years. They are building million dollar homes all around him. His new "neighbors" turn him in at the drop of a hat for every little thing.

*I also want to write a retraction about FHOTD. I visited the site and its message board. The critique section is much like ours. I guess I expected random photos of unsuspecting horses being verbally torn to shreds. The posts are a bit adult in their language but to each their own. 
Mea culpa, Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! *


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## Rowansgirl (Aug 10, 2008)

I'd never heard of FHOTD until I ran across this thread, and before I posted an opinion, I decided I would spend a few days reading through her blog....and I've come to the conclusion that while she may be crude and rude sometimes, she is downright honest, and that is SO refreshing to me. I bawled my eyes out while watching the video about Naysa, the horse rescued in Louisiana last summer. 
She is also really hilarious, I was sitting on the couch wiping tears away I was laughing so hard, and then my husband, curious as to why I was dying laughing, sat down and read with me, and he's not a horse person....but he totally understood the points she had about everything....


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I feel this topic needs to be locked. Sorry to any who have enjoyed posting here. 
I finally went to the site and discovered they do have a message board. I read through many threads and never did I see a bad word said about this forum. I think we owe them the same respect.


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