Beauty is Just a Bonus

Mark Rashid once said, “A good horse is never a bad color.” It’s true that many horse owners buy bad horses because they’re beautiful. But a good horse who’s also good-looking? Well, somebody’s got to own them, too. I like to think I’m one of the lucky ones.

I’m not the only person to think so. Ransom is developing a fan club at the barn (many of which are nice people who don’t look much past color, I might add). The staff call him “Handsome Ransom,” and visitors to the barn remark on his coloring. In fact, two ladies recently inquired if he was one of the horses “up for adoption” when they came to check out some rehabilitated thoroughbreds looking for new homes. A teenage girl was enamored enough to take pictures of him over the pasture fence. The newest boarder gushed about his beauty as we cleaned adjacent paddocks.

Ransom at the peak of beauty:
After a bath!

I confess, Ransom’s markings had a lot to do with why he was the one for me. Let’s be honest, there are a lot of unattractive appaloosas out there. I wanted a pretty one. But I knew enough to look past his appearance to what really matters – his conformation, his temperament, his training, and his suitability for what I want to do. He has his faults (as those crooked front legs remind me, daily), but he’s good. Beauty is just a bonus.