Buying a prospect because he came up to you and nuzzled you, or because you feel sorry for him because he is smaller than the others, or because his left front leg turns south, and you don't think anyone else will treat him right and protect that leg, is a recipe for disaster.  You wouldn't buy a car with a bad transmission or a blown engine, would you?  No!!!  It won't serve your purposes.  It won't get you there.  You will choose the best vehicle your money can buy.

I like to buy prospects late in their yearling year, or early in their two-year old year.  This gives them a chance to grow and develop for as long as possible before I make a decision.  Hopefully, they have gotten through the awkward stages and can give me an indication of the horse they will become.  If I try to save money by buying a coming yearling, they invariably change, and I can only guess at whether those changes will be good or bad.  Buying as late as possible gives me the opportunity to reduce my percentage of mistakes.

Physically, I am looking for overall balance and a pleasant head and neck.  If you haven't read the "trapezoid theory" in Bob Loomis' book, I would recommend that you do so.  It clearly explains how the correct proportions make the horse more functional.  If he is put together correctly, it is easier for him to perform the maneuvers and avoid the risk of injury.  He can't be talented if it is difficult to do his job.

A couple of things that I am death on.   A prospect must have short cannon bones.  This increases the quickness of his front feet and provides greater overall strength to avoid injury in his front end.  Horses that are down hill (withers lower than the hip) have a much more difficult time stopping.  Not only that, they are uncomfortable to ride.  This horse is out of balance (see previous paragraph), and I will usually reject him for that reason.

Of course, I want all the legs pointed the same direction, and I want them to set squarely beneath him.  I won't reject a horse that toes out a little bit in front if all the other things fit together. But, any conformation fault cannot be severe.  It should be slight.  No horse is absolutely perfect ... if there is one, I haven't seen him yet.

A prospect should move flat and smooth.  I would like to see his feet just kiss the ground at the lope as if there is no effort in his movement.  I want him to step deep with his hocks naturally.  This gives me an indication that he will collect and round easily.  The easier things are for him, the more productive his training program will be.

There is a physical arrogance that some colts manifest.  You can see it in the way they walk and lope, but you can also see it in the way they just stand in the stall.  Physically, things are easy for them (much like an world class athlete), and if you look closely, they will tell you.

When I'm looking at a prospect, I will try to get a chance to handle him a little bit.  I will try to put him in some kind of a bind, and see how he responds.  Maybe I will walk him over a 4x4 or through a mud puddle.  I want to see how he responds to adversity.  If he just blows up, I may reject him.  If he just acts like a dead head, I will reject him.  But, if he approaches the problem and tries to let me help him find a solution, I think he might have a pretty good mind.  He has told me that he won't blow up in a pressure situation, but that he can learn, and will try to learn if I approach him in the right way.

Pretty. This colt had better be pretty.  If my customer is planning on making a commitment to this horse, we will all be making a big investment in him ... financially, emotionally ... and in time.  I want my customer to be able to realize success, and whether it is financial, or just personal gratification, it is a lot easier to do this with a pretty horse.

Size. The best horse I ever rode was about 13 1/2 hands.  My father had a full brother to Diamonds Sparkle.  He was the second best horse I ever rode.  He was 15 1/2 hands.

Bloodlines. There are a lot of nice horses out there.  I like to stay with the Reining and Cutting horse bloodlines.  The Dunnits, Smart Chics, Topsail Whiz's, Grays Starlites, Roosters are all nice horses.  They have proven themselves capable of producing winners.  If you can afford to play in that game, that is great.  But, there are a lot of other nice horses who can produce winners, and they might not cost as much to play, and the end result might be just as good.  In the end, if you want to get big money out of your horse, you may have to spend the money up front and buy a name brand.  On the other hand, you might just be saddled with a failure.  The big names produce failures just like the lesser known sires.

We have a couple of breeders who produce nice colts with good breeding who aren't in the "high dollar name brand" category.  These colts have tons of ability, but have not had much opportunity to get out and become well known.  We would be happy to take a look for you.