# Is he western pleasure?



## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

I'd say he looks pretty good so far. I like that he actually has foward rear driving movement, unlike some of the horses in the video. The one thing I hate about the WP industry is that it often rewards the horses who aren't even working off of their hind ends, but are moving so slow that it comprimises them.


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## NittanyEquestrian (Mar 3, 2009)

Yes I commend you on not killing his naturally nice movement. If you want to slow him down you can slow your hip movement a little bit but I would not compromise his movement. He has WP potential but I definitely think he could do the all-arounds as well very easily. Good luck with him and good job!


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## ClassicalRomantic (Jun 2, 2009)

I think you guys look really good together and for only owning him 3 months and being green broke you are doing great with him! everything will fall into place more with time! like the transitions and his speed! he uses himself well just need to slow down a tad! I think he carried himself better than the other horses from what I could see from the video!

What type of class was this? I notice he is probably a Jr. horse since you are riding in a snaffle and two handed and the other riders were riding with a shanked bit..just curious


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## GottaRide (Dec 10, 2007)

NittanyEquestrian said:


> Yes I commend you on not killing his naturally nice movement. If you want to slow him down you can slow your hip movement a little bit but I would not compromise his movement. He has WP potential but I definitely think he could do the all-arounds as well very easily. Good luck with him and good job!


He's only 14.3 so he'll look pretty silly in the huntseat classes for all-around competition. If I can get over the silly picture we create under english tack, I may do a few equitations classes. We've tried some trail classes, but he'd rather not pick up his feet going over those ground poles. We'll continue to work on that, along with showmanship & horsemanship, and eventually add in some western riding.


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## GottaRide (Dec 10, 2007)

ClassicalRomantic said:


> I think you guys look really good together and for only owning him 3 months and being green broke you are doing great with him! everything will fall into place more with time! like the transitions and his speed! he uses himself well just need to slow down a tad! I think he carried himself better than the other horses from what I could see from the video!
> 
> What type of class was this? I notice he is probably a Jr. horse since you are riding in a snaffle and two handed and the other riders were riding with a shanked bit..just curious


He's a 5 yr old so I felt like I could cheat a bit using the snaffle. This class was open to all age horses, the riders needed to be in the "Sr." age group. All my training at this point is now done in a spoon bit so we can transition to showing one-handed next year. :wink:

I do like his movement & the way he carries himself better than the other horses in the video. The big black mare won the class (rider with white shirt). I think my major downfall in this class was the consistency. The black mare is so spot on anytime you look at her, she's hard to beat because of it even though she is not a superior mover. So I hope that I have a consistent & superior mover when I'm finished with my horse!


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## shesinthebarn (Aug 1, 2009)

I think he has megga potential! He will find more of a frame and slow down as he gets stronger. He is a lovely natural mover. He needs to learn to show and poop, though! Have you thought about a bosal for him? He seems like it would suit him - not just his looks, but haow he is in general. His head bobbing in transitions should go away too, with time and strength.
You two are lovely together! How did you fare in this class?


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## GottaRide (Dec 10, 2007)

shesinthebarn said:


> I think he has megga potential! He will find more of a frame and slow down as he gets stronger. He is a lovely natural mover. He needs to learn to show and poop, though! Have you thought about a bosal for him? He seems like it would suit him - not just his looks, but haow he is in general. His head bobbing in transitions should go away too, with time and strength.
> You two are lovely together! How did you fare in this class?


We were 3rd in the class. This was the open show championship for qualified exhibitors from across the state. 

He needs to move into a shank bit because he'll be 6 next year...gotta go one-handed. He's got the steering for one-handed riding, but the transitions and head bobbing are still there. I just had a lesson with my trainer this weekend so we know what we need to do to fix that & he's getting the idea after only two training sessions.


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## Honeysuga (Sep 1, 2009)

You guys looked great and I give a hundred praises for not training a "peanut roller" like I saw with a few horses behind you, I understand the slow-n-low but the top line is supposed to be level for Pete's Sake, lol! Your posture was really nice and straight yet relaxed and your horse also had great collection with out looking forced and stiff, you guys still looked alive!!
Looks like you 2 are on your way to some titles! I wish you all the best!


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## triplembwp (Dec 16, 2010)

I think he has a lot of potential. He does need to slow his gaits down for AQHA shows, but that's not the most important thing right now for him. Keep working on your consistency as well, with his head tucked and just slightly lower than level and his gaits at the same pace. 
Good luck and have fun!


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

He looks great already! What a lovely mover. He's driving from behind and carrying himself so much nicer than most of the other horses at the jog (my computer won't load anything past the jog so I couldn't see the lope) and IMO does not need to slow down much there (again I couldn't see the lope so maybe that's where the comments on slowing down are coming from).

As for the comment on the bosal, I'm just curious as to why you would show in a bosal if he was sound of mouth and worked well in a bit? I was under the impression that bosals/hacks could only be used for classes judged on speed, but maybe there's a catch I haven't hear of.

You two look great, keep it up!!


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