# What do you all think? : )



## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I know nothing of draft horses, premies but I just have to say, he is cute as a bug's ear!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

i'd be gone, hook , line and sinker just by seeing that FACE!


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## Kaifyre (Jun 16, 2016)

@tinyliny RIGHT?!?!?! I have to keep repeating my mantra ... must not give in, must not give in ... hahaha the lady asked me what I thought about him and I've never had to fight so hard to not let on how much I like a horse. The absolute best I could come up with was, "He's kinda small." lolol
I've already got my Appaloosa Dreams, who is coming 3, and I was really hoping to find an older horse that's ready to be put to work. I'm really not big on babies in general, there's far too much waiting involved and I tend to get impatient. But this lady really wants to offload this horse and from what I felt messing with him for an hour he was very quiet and willing. This would be my first draft, and after looking at his sire and dam I don't think he'll be ginormous ... I mean, for a draft. She told me he should mature to 'only' 17 hands. X D
She did say she would body clip him, he'd be current on vaccinations and worming, and he'd have his feet trimmed prior to sale. She was also happy to point out some faults of his, such as a tad too long of a back, not a very clean throatlatch, etc, which I like. She wants to sell him but she also wants to make sure I know what I'm buying, which is refreshing to find in a seller. She flat out told me she's selling him for much less than the other colts because he'll never be a competitive show horse (apparently he's not 'typey' enough) and she caters to that crowd, not really the pleasure crowd.
I'm trying not to make this decision with my emotional side but I've kinda fallen in love with him already lol! 

-- Kai


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Shires are relatively rare , so that's a plus if you want to sell him, but if he isn't 'typey' you'll have to make him more desireable based on good training. is this one you'd keep , or 'flip'.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Call me suspicious but I don't believe he's smaller than expected because he was 2 months premature. Maybe he could be considered 2 months early if the mare normally went a long 365 days but birthed him at 305 days instead, which would still be a bit early. 2 months early from an average gestation would be very rare to survive & be normal. If it was a true 2 month premie that would have required hospitalization. I could be wrong but...........
I would want to see proof of breeding & delivery dates if having a big horse was important to me.

He should already be current on vaccinations & feet.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

He is just the cutest thing ever! I am also not a draft horse/preemie advocate, but wow he could steal your heart!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

You've got to put those emotions aside and evaluate this horse truly for the kind of work you want him to do successfully.
Good confo shots would of given that chance.
He's cute, _period._
Now start to pick him apart and look for the faults and make sure you can deal with them. Make sure what you want him for he can do....
Those faults will detract from his value to another if you need to sell him, and those faults could also restrict him in what he can do in his training and daily work-load of the future...
He is 6 months old already....his "baby" vaccinations and care should already be well under way...
I'm also not sure why this lady would be looking to body clip him if he is shedding out on his own...
"But this lady really wants to offload this horse..." would make me look with a fine tooth comb. There is a reason and not just him not being so "typey"...
She as the breeder is feeding you words possibly as a distraction to more serious issues she knows he has...
I believe he can only be a US registry because his color is not allowed/recognized in the UK....
He has a few issues that could make him possibly unregisterable..
If I read it correctly as a gelding the horse must stand at least 16.2, for a stallion 17.+ and mares 16.+....._{I think this size is as a 2 year old???}__
ASHA Breed Standard
Canadian Shire Horse Association
Breed Standard & Points of the Horse ? Shire Horse
_
_He *is *a cutey. Very sweet face..._
If you can look and not care if he is registered or not, not going to require him to pull the larger weights he is bred for...
Scoop that baby up and* ENJOY!!* 
:runninghorse2:....


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## Textan49 (Feb 13, 2015)

natisha said:


> Call me suspicious but I don't believe he's smaller than expected because he was 2 months premature. Maybe he could be considered 2 months early if the mare normally went a long 365 days but birthed him at 305 days instead, which would still be a bit early. 2 months early from an average gestation would be very rare to survive & be normal. If it was a true 2 month premie that would have required hospitalization. I could be wrong but...........
> I would want to see proof of breeding & delivery dates if having a big horse was important to me.
> 
> He should already be current on vaccinations & feet.


I'm always suspicious of anyone I don't know well trying to sell me a horse. Pointing out minor faults as a reason to lower the sales price could be to keep you from noticing something major. I am not familiar with foals born that much premature but I am thinking along the same line as Natisha. I do remember telling a former employer that her mare was getting ready to foal. I was told she had at least two months to go yet. Well, the mare foaled within a week, Not premature at all. It seems that they assumed that the first breeding didn't take and bred the mare again two months later. Cute little guy though and I would just give it some careful thought.


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## Kaifyre (Jun 16, 2016)

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

-- Kai


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Sooooo, when are you going to pick him up? : )


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## FrostedLilly (Nov 4, 2012)

Tough to tell at such a young age what his conformation is like. Do you have photos of his parents? That might give you a better idea as to how he will turn out as an adult, although not 100%. He is super cute, but most babies are. For what you're saying you want to do with him, he would probably suit your needs just fine. 

And I too would be a little cynical on the 2 mos premature thing. I would confirm with the owners if he was maybe two months early for this particular mare? Maybe she's one that carries all the way to day 370 and so 2 months would put him at 310 days gestation. Which is early, but not so early that he could survive with minimal medical intervention. I've read that foals born before 300 days are considered nonviable and don't survive. Otherwise, I would assume they had the breeding date wrong.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

He's cute alright but he's going to be BIG if he reaches full size at maturity and if you're only looking for a fun horse for pleasure driving and particularly want a drafty type then a gypsy cob would be more practical in terms of cost of keeping
I can't see that it matters as he's not in the UK - but I can't see any reason why his colour would prevent him from being registered there as that bay colour is acceptable and he doesn't have too much white on him
Shires and Clydesdales for sale - HOME


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## Kaifyre (Jun 16, 2016)

@Glynnis Yes I went back and spoke with the breeder and he was born at 309 days. His mare usually carries the foals for longer, so he wasn't a "real" preemie, just premature for that mare. I'm glad you guys pointed that out; I don't have much experience foaling so I would never have thought to confirm the due date. I much prefer older babies, even this 6 month old is a bit young for my taste, but we "clicked" very well, and if he's this young he won't have any bad habits for me to fix.
As far as his parents go his sire was around 17.2 hands if I remember correctly? Here he is:
Illusion Farms Tuff Hedeman
Unfortunately he passed last year so I was never able to see him in person. His dam is Starcastle Glory, you can scroll down on this page and see her:
mares
It says her registration is pending but this website hadn't been updated in a while, I've seen her papers. So both parents in the 17 hand range, which isn't massive for a Shire, and while I never got a look at the sire, this colt's dam isn't the biggest Shire I've ever seen. She's not too wide, more like just built real sturdy. So I think this colt won't be ginormous. @jaydee Yes that's what I was thinking too, I checked the American side and it said bay was perfectly acceptable. He doesn't have excessive white on his body so I think he'll be all right as far as registration goes. I really don't care if he's registered or not, I'm not planning on showing or selling him, but if on the off chance my life goes belly up and he needs to find a new home papers will make him more desirable.
Thanks all for your input, I learn something new every day here! : )

-- Kai


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## Kaifyre (Jun 16, 2016)

Also, because I promised more pictures .... : )
He's standing kinda goofy in that last picture because he pooed and wanted to follow me around as I was trying to back up to get his whole body in the shot lol. I had to keep coming back to his head to stand him up and finally I just gave up and ran backwards to take the picture before he moved. I wasn't quite successful, he started walking right as I snapped it lol. At least he's friendly ; ) But I see we'll have to work on the "stand" command when I bring him home.

-- Kai


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

He is adorable, and when he grows into those ears, he will be huge! His sire is beautiful, too!


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## EliRose (Aug 12, 2012)

Ugh, seeing these baby pictures makes me miss being around foals everyday  That blaze and head reminds me of my beloved "Fungus Foal".










You've got to start a journal for this cutie!


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## Remali (Jul 22, 2008)

Awww jeez..... he is SO cute!!!!


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## Kaifyre (Jun 16, 2016)

I was planning on starting a journal for him when I bring him home next month. We're so excited around here, I bought him as a surprise gift for my boyfriend and I'm BURSTING to tell him. lol I'm horrible at keeping secrets!

-- Kai


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## Kaifyre (Jun 16, 2016)

Blegh so this paycheck wasn't as great as I'd figured it would be so I'm postponing the joyous day when we can bring him home lol ... Although the seller has told me she's okay with me taking him before I get him paid off, I'm not entirely sure I'm comfortable with that idea. I've always paid my horses off before I brought them home (although none of my previous horses ever cost me more than $500, so there is that) and I just think that too much could go wrong. But, I mean, I live about 3 miles from the seller so its not like I'm out of state, and I've already given her all my information (plus half his purchase price as a deposit) so we both know I'm not running for the hills with this colt. She knows where I live, she knows where my current horse lives, she knows where I work, etc etc etc (and before you think that's weird, we live in a small rural town and we have mutual friends so it's not like she's a stalker or anything lol). It just seems weird to me to take a horse I haven't paid off yet ... or does this thing happen all the time? What are your thoughts? (To be fair, I thought paying a shipper to haul your horse across the country was asinine and I had no idea that was even a thing until one of my friends did it so ... yeah lol)

-- Kai


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I would take the same position you have, as in not bringing the horse home until it's paid for. I feel the same way when I've sold one on payments which was only a couple of times to people I knew, but they still weren't taking them until paid for.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

I've always had the new owner pay upfront or put a deposit and pay before delivery not that there weren't some I would have taken payments from just that it hasn't come up for me. When I have purchased though there have been times when the owner has said that they would be willing to take payments after they delivered as long as I had a deposit on the horse. This was more to get the animal off their feed bill and ensure any incidents(accidents) needing vet care were on me. I've tried to have the horse paid off early in those cases but it doesn't always work out and they get paid in the time agreed to originally. The papers though were not transferred until the full purchase price was paid.


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## Kaifyre (Jun 16, 2016)

Yeah, I think that's exactly why she's okay with me taking him early - she knows she's not going to be short any money and she doesn't want to feed him. I think I'm going to let him sit though. Besides having to feed him and everything I'd also be needing to board him, etc. Thanks for the advice. On a side note, I'm going in a couple days to bring her some more money and I'll have to get some more pictures at that time! : )

-- Kai


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