Horse shopping - worse than shopping for jeans. Or a husband.

I haven't posted for a while about shopping for my next event horse. Honestly, it's been less than a month since Saga's been gone, and I haven't really felt like doing much about it. And of course I've been riding Red and feeling less pressure to find a new horse. However, in late December I spent quite a lot of time on various horsey shopping sites, checking to see what was out there. I've probably called and/or sent emails on 30-40 horses, although I've only been to see a few in person. I know I said I didn't want an OTTB, but I've started looking at those too since I wasn't finding anything to speak of in the non-TB world. Karma, right?

There are a few horses that stood out. I have opted not to post videos or links to any of the online ads, simply because the horse world is small and I don't want to burn any bridges.

• I called about the RPSI gelding that I posted last time I mentioned horse shopping - he paddled like a duck, but several people commented that it wasn't considered a fault. After a bit of prying, I got from his owner that he "came out crooked and had to wear a cast for several months" but was "completely sound." She wouldn't say any more about what had happened, but suggested that I do a vet check on him. Um, thanks but no. (He's also been for sale for over a year.)
• A LOVELY 7 y.o. OTTB gelding who was jumping 2'6 very quietly and tidily, and clearly had the scope to go higher. I really enjoyed watching the video of this horse - he looked like a super fun ride. But pictures of his legs revealed a splint the size of a golf ball in a very bad location, and an old bowed tendon. A conversation with his owner - where she talked about him getting 2 scoops of senior 2x/day, plus free choice hay, and him still being a hard keeper - screamed ULCERS in a big way. Pity, he's a lovely boy.
• A farm in north Texas had several 4-5 y.o. QH geldings for sale, bred for HUS and whatever passes for jumping in AQHA shows. All of them were attractive boys, but they were all downhill and sort of heaved themselves over the fences. One of them had hind cannons that were literally TWICE as long as the front ones. Yikes!
• Another 5 y.o. OTTB (one I actually went to look at) was reasonably put together, seemed quiet and steady, if green. I confidently WTC him both ways, and things were really looking good. Then I went to trot him over a tiny X. He stopped dead about 10 feet away, and it took several kicks to get him over it. We came back again with the same result. The next two tries were worse, if anything, and on the 5th try, he took the jump apart. I decided that he didn't really want to be a jumper and politely told the owner he wasn't what I was looking for. 
• A completely adorable 4 y.o. palomino pinto half-arab, green and at 15.1 hh a bit smaller than I wanted, but with lovely gaits and almost clearing the 5' standards on a 2'6 jump. He was sold to someone else two days after I contacted the owner. Bummer.
• A super-cute 4 y.o. BLM mustang gelding who had to be half draft. He'd had extensive ground work and about 10 rides, seemed very level-headed. I had a very pleasant ride on him and hubby even took him for a tiny 5 minute trail ride where he went through a creek. He free-jumped very nicely and we both really liked him. Unfortunately, the combination of an upright shoulder, short neck, and toeing out pretty badly, saner heads prevailed (y'all know who you are!) and I passed on him. 
• An athletic 4 y.o. Trakhener gelding who looked like a cross-country machine in the videos. However, his gaits were only just OK, and the confo shots showed why. Long back, long pasterns, upright shoulder, and no hind end. He was above my price range anyway, which I suppose is good.
• An adorable 8 y.o. Paint gelding who has showed 2nd level and has jumped some. Unfortunately, he's got a looong back and cannot really get under himself because of it. In the videos of him being ridden, his extended trot is really only happening in the front end - the hind end just trails behind. He looks like he's gotten super-good training, but he's just not built for what he's being asked to do. I'm also not sure how he would do jumping long-term, as he's about as round as a snausage and probably weighs as much as Oberon, even though he's shorter.

I've looked at OTTBs in other states (ermahGAWD there are some FUUUUGLY horses out there!), horses WAY out of my price range, 2 year olds, 10 year olds, and everything in between. What I've come away with is that unless you are willing to spend upwards of 30-50K, it is very, very hard to find a well-conformed horse of any breed, with a short back, good neck and shoulder, and decent legs. How some of y'all ended up with the lovely horses you have is completely beyond me!

But there is ONE...