On our 50,000-acre working dude ranch, one thing we always need are good ranch horses.
My definition of a good horse may not fit the show ring model.
Out here, "pretty is as pretty does.
" A really ugly horse looks darn good when he carries you safely through brush, along cliffs, and up and down steep canyons.
Our criteria in order of importance:

1. Good sense.
   A spooky horse in this country is a recipe for disaster.
   Plus, no one is here to help you if you should get bucked off.
   I ride alone 90% of the time.
   No one would miss me 'til dark and then it would be too late to hunt for me 'til daybreak.
   
2. Surefootedness is essential.
   You are just as hurt if a horse stumbles and falls as if he dumped you.
   We ride rough country.
   No stumblers or toe draggers here.
   A horse needs to watch for holes, rocks, cactus, you name it, and he needs the coordination to move around them.
   
3. Good conformation.
   That doesn't mean a halter horse.
   It means a horse with good withers so your saddle doesn't run up his neck going down a slope.
   It means strong legs with good bone to hold up to pounding rocky ground.
   It means hooves big enough to carry him and preferably hard, black hooves.
   It means a strong topline with strength to carry a rider 14 hours if needed.
   We prefer medium size.
   A big, tall horse can't get through timber and brush like a smaller one can.
   
4. Smooth gaits sure come in handy on long days.
   A hard trotting horse wears you out quickly.
   
5. Geldings for this ranch.
   We don't have time and are too shorthanded to be starting colts.
   Plus with all the predators, an awful lot can happen to a colt way before he can be ridden.
   Since we aren't raising colts, we don't need mares and stallions.
   Geldings and mares together cause a lot more problems than either by themselves.
   

Things we don't worry about - color - with two exceptions.
We don't want white around our horses' eyes.
It is too hard on eyesight in this sunny country.
We prefer to have no or very little white with pink skin on our horses.
A gray/white horse with dark skin is fine, but a pink skin horse is more susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer.
Speed doesn't matter to us.
A rope horse that can't run fast enough to win money may do fine here.
We work slow and steady with the goal of getting everything done with no injuries.
Our horses are money in the bank to us.
We take care of them and vice versa.
Good looks and pretty heads, flowing tails, all the show horse beauty means nothing here.
Sure, I would choose a good looking horse over a homely one - if all other attributes were identical.
But a plain, dependable horse is worth a dozen fancy, untrustworthy mounts to me.