# Are any of my horses good Halter Class prospects?



## shortysmalls (Jul 27, 2011)

I've been wanting to get into horse shows... I have a horse I can use in a speed event (barrels) and I was wanting to try out Halter... Well I dont know very much but judges grade you on how you present your horse and your horse's conformation right? Well I have 4 horses and I was wondering which one you think would do best in this event... None of them were bred for this .. I know the main idea is to have fun which I most definitely will !!  Pictures by rachelsue10 - Photobucket
That link has different pictures of the four horses..
1st is a bay colored 10 y/o OTTB gelding named Jake  he's the one I'm using for barrels so if I could use him for Halter it would be one less horse to haul !  
2nd is a bay roan 5 y/o QH mare named Misty
3rd is a dapple grey 12 y/o AQHA mare named Silver 
4th is a 9 y/o paint mare named Sierra 

Yes I already posted this but I couldnt figure out how to edit it to put in the right link so Im sorry !!
And please! Any other advice about shows related in any way at all please share  I'm really nervous about getting started in this... And I dont really have a trainer to ask all these questions too... I dont plan on getting one not many people around here use them anyways.. But thanks for any help and please not real rude comments on the horses... Dont call them ugly or anything... All horses are beautiful.  And I love mine. 
Thank you so much& God bless <3


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## TheMadHatter (Feb 26, 2007)

They are all pretty and look well cared for but I don't think they'd place high in Halter classes. Halter horses are typically very very BIG either with muscle or sometimes just plain F-A-T. I would suggest Googling AQHA and APHA World Halter winners and taking notes from them. If you really want to show in Halter and place well, then you're horses need to go on a specialized diet and exercise routine to help build needed fat and tone up bulging muscles. Now if you're just looking to have fun with your babies then by all means, go right ahead, its entirely up to you!  Its totally up to you and what you want to do, its all about making you and your horses happy!


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## shortysmalls (Jul 27, 2011)

Thank you a lot ! I'll do that


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## AmazinCaucasian (Dec 10, 2010)

TheMadHatter said:


> They are all pretty and look well cared for but I don't think they'd place high in Halter classes. Halter horses are typically very very BIG either with muscle or sometimes just plain F-A-T. I would suggest Googling AQHA and APHA World Halter winners and taking notes from them. If you really want to show in Halter and place well, then you're horses need to go on a specialized diet and exercise routine to help build needed fat and tone up bulging muscles. Now if you're just looking to have fun with your babies then by all means, go right ahead, its entirely up to you!  Its totally up to you and what you want to do, its all about making you and your horses happy!


 

Yep I think that'll be the general consensus here. To do well in an AQHA show, they will have to be bred to be a halter horse to be competitive. If we lived back in the 60s when they actually rode halter horses,(which they should) they might do ok. And you may do good in a local show, especially with the bay


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## shortysmalls (Jul 27, 2011)

The bay is the one Im planning on doing a speed event with so that would be good ! Except hes a TB not QH ... Does that make much of a difference?


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## TheMadHatter (Feb 26, 2007)

I do ride my Halter horses  nothing like muscles toned with undersaddle exercises!

Some show tips I have are:
HAVE FUN!! 
Find a veteran Halter shower who's nice and ask for advice. Usually, they're very helpful. I've had so much help through the years while showing both Gaited and Western halter.
Start a grooming routine and stick to it religiously! Use a rubber curry on them 2-3 times a day and then a soft bristled finishing brush to lift away any dust and finish it off with a conditioning coat spray. You want their coats as short and smooth as possible.
Use a microfiber shammy to polish them with after applying the spray, it'll make them shine like glass!!
Make sure their hooves are in perfect condition.
Really practice practice practice with them on setting up square. I would watch a few halter classes either online or at a show and really observe the horses and their handlers, take notes. 

Good luck! If I think of any more tips hint or suggestions, I'll let you know! 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Well, it really depends on what kind of shows they are. If they are smaller open shows, then, normally, the horse that is well fit, well conformed, and well turned out will beat out the beef cattle horses any day. It is usually the breed shows with the AQHA and APHA where you see those nasty, peg-legged, Schwarzenegger looking horses.

That being said, your best bet would be the bay (with some proper work to muscle him up a bit in all the right places) or the paint. They seem to have the best confo out of the bunch.


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## shortysmalls (Jul 27, 2011)

Thanks TheMadHatter you are giving a lot of helpful hints ! 

and thanks! So Im taking all this as his being a TB doesnt matter... Haha! So to muscle him up... I am about to get him started on barrels again .. (We had a break for a few months cause a big tornado came through we've been really busy) would the training for that be enough to muscle him up or do I need to do something extra?? Also he's a TB and hard to keep weight on... Any suggestions there? We have recently put quite a bit of weight on him but hes about to start getting worked daily again and Im not sure if what hes on will be enough. I have him on 3 cans of senior feed mixed with rice bran.. Farnum weight builder supplement, red cell, a can of 12% livestock, and about 2 cans of soaked beet pulp... all that TWICE A DAY. So double what I just told you as his daily feed. And hes on turnout all day... So he gets a lot of forage in his diet. Anything that has worked for anyone exceptionally?


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## TheMadHatter (Feb 26, 2007)

As a weight supplement I love love LOVE Nutrena Empower Boost. It put weight on my Cisco and never made him hot or jittery once. I heart that stuff lol its $30 for a 50lb bag at my local Tractor Supply and 1 bag usually lasts me a month.

Exercise wise, I would lunge him on a flat piece of ground that has a small incline to it. Not enough for him to strain or fall down, just a little hump in the dirt so he'll have to pull his weight up it with his front legs. Think of it as a pull-up bar. To get his rump nice and round, back him a lot from the ground. When you lunge, only trot him as loping will burn too much fat. ALSO! A grooming tip: make sure you trim his bridle path, the whiskers on his nose and above/under his eyes (try not to clip the actual eyelashes) and trim evenly around his hooves and hocks. That's one of the first thing a judge looks at! They can see chin stubble a mile away!! Lol if you want to see a gooooorgeous halter horse who is very natural then go to Facebook and search for KH Moneyman. He's a beautiful buckskin stallion with huge promise and his owner is so super nice. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## TheMadHatter (Feb 26, 2007)

Also in my opinion, I think your best bet for a good halter horse will be the roan followed by the grey. Both already have some bulk and nicely set muscle structures. Plus, their toplines are smoother than the bay gelding or paint mare. The grey could use more tone in the shoulder area for me but the roan looks like she'd need the least amount of work to really turn her out. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## shortysmalls (Jul 27, 2011)

Haha I know you need to trim but I was wondering how close do you have to trim it cause I dont want my horse to move his head and I hit him in the eye !!! D:
How do I work with getting a horse squared up and when I do do I make them stand there or what? Haha ! 
And the bay roan is under 14hh the grey is 14.3hh is that too small? The bay is 15.3-16hh


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## TheMadHatter (Feb 26, 2007)

The height shouldn't be a problem when showing locally. Cisco is 15.3 and I show him against two others who are around 14.3 and 15hh and both usually beat us lol but both are extremely obese and fat wins around here sadly enough. One actually has cellulite :/ I'm not going to do that to my horse. I want an a UFC fighter not a sumo wrestler. Lol

Squaring up is easy to do as long as your horse will pick up its feet when asked and knows the meaning of "whoah". They'll score a horse lower who is moving around than they will one that's a little off with his foot position. Both my gaited halter horse and western halter horse were trained to setup by first backing up a few steps to get their back feet aligned and then I step around to their shoulder andf tap their hock with my boot until they lift it up, then I keep my boot in the curve f their hock and set the foot down where I want. When they setup correctly, praise them heavily!!! Work with them everyday at that and at different places too so they learn to setup and stay still with different stimuli happening around them. After they get the idea of it, it will become automatic. Both my boys now will back up 1 step to square their back feet and all I have to do now is step to their right shoulder and they'll line up both front feet on their own.  make sure their front hooves aren't too close together or too far apart when they setup!

With trimming around the eyes, use a small human face trimmer and just trim as smoothly as possible and you should be fine. I've never poked mine in the eye.....I've cut a few eyelashes hahaha but never poked an eye  as long as they're used to electric trimmers then they should be fine
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Just to kind of let you know why I discounted the gray so quickly. Though he does appear to have nice muscle, he has a pretty pronounced ewe neck and his front legs are really crooked. Not a problem for a saddle horse so long as he stays sound but that would really knock him down in a halter class.


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## TheMadHatter (Feb 26, 2007)

I personally don't see the pronounced ewe neck and really croooked legs. Her legs look very clean and her neck could use just a touch of sweating to thin it out a bit. I still think that the roan has the highest amount of potential. She has a good "starter" chest to her and with proper fitting, she could be a good little Halter horse. If you want them both or even all 3 of your non-event horses to be in halter, then work with them all. The grey could do showmanship halter classes if she's mindful and obedient on the ground and inhand.
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## shortysmalls (Jul 27, 2011)

Well the grey and the roan are actually my green broke horses... So Im not sure exactly how they have muscles ... Haha. They are lazy and eat all day! But they have good manners on the ground... The roan is fatter than she looks.. I guess you cant tell in the pictures but the grey was actually pregnant... The vet palpated her and said she was 4-5 mo. and i said impossible she was bred last year and she said oh she must have lost it... which makes no sense to me... but she has a weird looking stomach... Not in a fat horse kind of way but not in a pregnant horse kinda way... Its normal and then at the bottom it just bulges out and it looks horrible looking at her from the front... Not much of any bags or anything... But her ribs show and then her belly sticks out at the bottom so I dont understand how that works... But she is fat. Both of them are. Oh and I am taking her to get an ultrasound here soon to make sure she isnt pregnant and to make sure there isnt a dead fetus in her or whatever could be causing her stomach to do that. Thanks for the ideas though.. and if that threw you off about the grey then who do you think would be best? Its just local... I dont plan on going to regionals.. Just give me a little something to do with my horses besides doing trails.. Thanks


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## JustLopeIt (Jul 31, 2011)

They all look well cared for. If you braided their manes, brushed their tales out, bathed them, and made sure the white is super white, you have a good chance of placing. You have to have fun and be confident. Even if you don't place, think of it as a good expirience. When I did my first halter, I tripped in the middle of the arena, and had a hard time. But i still won third place! It's all about trying and having fun! ( I think you could place well with the dapple gray or paint)


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## JustLopeIt (Jul 31, 2011)

also, to square up, You move the very top of the tail back and forth. its a little trick my trainer told me  also, The judges won't care if your horse is off on its foot position a little. Just have your horse stand nicely and still and you could easily win with any of your horses.


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## shortysmalls (Jul 27, 2011)

Thank you!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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