Fly Fishing for Elk — Adobe Photoshop or Not — How this relates to purchasing a horse online

“Hey, I took this guy from Texas fishing this week on the Big Thompson outside of Estes Park. I’m in the waders in a couple of pictures. It was his first ever fly-fishing venture. A crowd gathered on the highway to take pictures, including a Denver Post guy. One of the pics is on the front page of the Denver post.” – Quote from original sender. (Unknown person)

So the money question is “Adobe Photoshop or Not?” It has simply blown my mind at how much you can do with Adobe Photoshop these days. If you are reading this right now and wondering what it has to do with horses…..well let me tell you. I can not stress the importance of doing your homework when purchasing a horse online. The internet has opened huge opportunities to us of buying horses from literally all over the world. We can now find weanlings, yearlings, two year olds and older horses for sale that we never knew existed due to the ability of internet marketing. Along with that also comes the problem that a lot of people are purchasing horses site unseen and are quite surprised by the animal that unloads out of the trailer when the shipper arrives as it looks nothing like it did in the photos that they purchased it from.

With that thought in mind you should also be aware of the editing powers that Adobe Photoshop and other software like it offer. It is a great tool to remove a lead line or some unsightly background if you do not have the perfect photo setting but unfortunately there are dishonest people in the horse industry such as in any other industry and the editing softwares can also remove a bad scare, cloudy eye, cricket leg and about anything else that the seller might not want you to see.

So now that you are totally freaking out about purchasing another horse online and site unseen….here are some suggestions for you. For all of us that have been around horses, we KNOW that with a horse the PERFECT photo is almost impossible because….after all….they are animals, with their own mind on top of that.

  1. Look for imperfections, there is nothing wrong with some of them in a photo. Also I can not stress the importance of asking for references.
  2. Talk or email some people that have purchased from your seller before and ask them how their buying experience was. If you do not want to ask the seller themselves for references….do a little research and take a look at the “Sold Page.”
  3. Check with AQHA who purchased the horse on that page and start call. That way you know for a fact that you are not just getting the contacts that the seller wants you to have.
  4. Another good idea is to take a look at who your seller associates with. There is a lot that can be said about reputable people in the horse industry…..you are not going to find them hanging out with people that will damage their reputation. Their business depends on it.
  5. And last but not least, it NEVER hurts to ask for a video. As a seller I know videos can be a pain in the butt especially if you do not have one on hand and the weather is nasty, or your busy, or do not have a camera man….but ultimately we all know how it goes and we ask for a HUGE amount of trust from our buyers when they do not have the opportunity to come and look at the horse they are buying in person. After all….we all have to work for our money and want to be happy with our purchase when it arrives and not in shock.