# Please Critique this Stallion



## paint_girl08 (Sep 15, 2008)

Wow what a looker!!! I don't know too much about walker confo so I'll leave this one to the experts  but boy is he pretty and look at all the hair!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## HAFWalkers (Jan 2, 2012)

Thanks! His mane can reach his knees now, his forelocks can reach his mouth and his tail drags the ground lol he also goes back to Roy Rogers horse Trigger JR. He also had quite a few wgc on papers too. He is a Cremello and has an agouti gene tested by UC Davis. I just love him, but I wanted to see what other ppl think of him too.


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## TheMadHatter (Feb 26, 2007)

Man, I'm a sucker for a long mane and tail. I wouldn't mind seeing this guy in my barn! 
Pros: He's gorgeous and reminds me of Fabio lol
Cons: He's a little top heavy. Very nice shoulders, neck and forelimbs but just a tad small in the back, but then again, if you look at my appy you'll see I like a big hip  
Watch him about cancer though! All that pink skin is a melanoma magnet!


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

I'm certainly not an expert on TWH conformation, But I do see a nice looking boy compared to alot of TWH i've seen.


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## SRCM16 (Oct 7, 2011)

I agree with PaintedPastures; although my Tennessee Walker looks like a QH. LOL.


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## goneriding (Jun 6, 2011)

Calf kneed.... I can't see his shoulder under his gorgeous mane.


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## settergal83 (Jan 6, 2012)

I have seen the horse in person. He's not Calf kneed it's just the picture making him look so. He's not used to 'parking out" and wasn't pulled up but rocking back on his haunch more that what he should be.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

It's not the best picture for a critique. I don't think the ground is level and he's not real parked out. Looks like a nice looking horse, he does look funny in the front legs in these photos... He is a looker though.


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

I know nothing about walkers, but just wanted to comment on what a beautiful horse he is.


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## HAFWalkers (Jan 2, 2012)

Yeah I def need to get some better pics of him, and plan to do so in the spring. If anyone wants to see a few other pics of him (which still arent the best lol) And more info on him you can go to A Gamblers Dream | Facebook and check it out. And if you "like" his page it will be easier to update anyone who wants to see new pics when I get them. So feel free to check it out and let me know what you think. And thanks so far to every1 who has posted.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

settergal83 said:


> I have seen the horse in person. He's not Calf kneed it's just the picture making him look so. He's not used to 'parking out" and wasn't pulled up but rocking back on his haunch more that what he should be.


The other photos confirm that he is significantly calf-kneed. Tied in behind the knee, as well, and fined boned (and looks like he might turn out / be crooked there?), with overall structurally very weak front legs. The rest of him is nice and appealing, to my uneducated-in-gaited-horses eyes, but those front legs alone would preclude me from ever considering him as a breeding animal or even a serious performance prospect....too much of a risk for lameness issues due to overstressing the tendons.


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## Nuala (Jan 2, 2012)

He is quite nice on the eyes. His conformation looks to be intact and correct. The only thing I would point out is that he drops his fetlocks which some like to see that in twh's. Some good bloodlines as well!


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## Nuala (Jan 2, 2012)

bubba13 said:


> The other photos confirm that he is significantly calf-kneed. Tied in behind the knee, as well, and fined boned (and looks like he might turn out / be crooked there?), with overall structurally very weak front legs. The rest of him is nice and appealing, to my uneducated-in-gaited-horses eyes, but those front legs alone would preclude me from ever considering him as a breeding animal or even a serious performance prospect....too much of a risk for lameness issues due to overstressing the tendons.


Yes he is does look fine boned on the front side however Arabians are know for their thin refined look and are among the top endurance and competition horses. On the ranch were my horse is kept we have a QH/Arab that is calf-kneed and thin that is a top cutting and endurance trail horse. When considering such horses for breeding you need to look at their history of work as well as conformation. 

To be perfectly honest I wouldn't mind see what the foal between him and the solid sorrel mare I'm trying to get would look like.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

He seems to be of the "newer" model of TWHs. I had the older style which was massive in size (only about 16 hands) but wider then a mac truck and muscular as all get out. My new mare is of the finer bone structure. Her front legs are straighter but her overal body structure is close to this gentleman. My vet really liked her confirmation so my assumption would be, other then the slight calf-knee, he's a nice looking horse.


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## palominolover (Apr 28, 2010)

Wow. He is STUNNING =) I certainly would not mind having one of his foals. I'll leave the conformation to the experts, but he REALLY caught my eye.


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## New_image (Oct 27, 2007)

What a looker! And all that hair, wow! 

He looks difficult to keep clean 

Agreed with Bubba, after seeing the additional photos posted he does appear calf-kneed & tied in behind the knee which would keep me from using him as a serious breeding animal as well. His "fine features" do not bother me at all and I think the rest of him is very lovely (with my very limited knowledge of the gaited horse)


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## settergal83 (Jan 6, 2012)

i wonder too if a proper trim wouldn't help too. and to be honest, pictures may say 1000 words but seeing is believing. Another thing to consider, if you have ever tried to photograph an animal you know it's not as easy as it looks. This would appear not to be professionally taken.. Camera angle can have alot to do with how an animal appears. As I stated i have seen this Stallion in real life and never noticed him being "calf-kneed" before. Either way check his feet to be sure he's trimmed correctly.


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## settergal83 (Jan 6, 2012)

I would also question how much everyone knows about the TWH as a breed. They aren't built quite the same as your typical stock breeds. Just throwing it out there...not trying to start anything. however you can't "judge" a breed of horse the same as another. It's like comparing a Shetland to a Shire..just a thought.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

I could forgive one photo. But when multiple photos in multiple stances from multiple angles show the same fault, you can be pretty certain it actually exists. You can't see his hooves very well in the photos, but they certainly don't look excessively long or imbalanced.

Calf knees are calf knees are calf knees....in Tennessee Walkers, Foxtrotters, Thoroughbreds, Clydesdales, and, well, calves. Excessive strain is placed on the supporting tendons and structures in every case (save for cattle, of course, with are naturally built that way), and those soft tissues are then prone to stress and tearing during even normal movement due to hyperextension. There's a reason that "back at the knee" is considered one of the worst conformation flaws when it comes to impacting soundness.

In fact, read this from a TWH website:

*The opposite condition to buck-knees is "back at the knees" or calf kneed (Figure 8). This conformation fault is extremely serious and many calf-kneed horses do not stay sound. This condition positions knees that are set behind or back in the horse's leg. Calf-knees allow the knees to bend backwards (hyperextend) and predispose the horse to unsoundness.FULL ARTICLE*


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## HAFWalkers (Jan 2, 2012)

I do know that he needs trimmed, and if trimmed properly he should stand correctly. I will get him trimmed and take some different pictures and try to get him to park out better and will see if it makes any difference. All of the foals he has thrown have not been calf kneed and they are big boned and have natural gaits.


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## ScharmLily (Nov 23, 2009)

Nuala said:


> Yes he is does look fine boned on the front side however Arabians are know for their thin refined look and are among the top endurance and competition horses.


What a lot of people do not realize is that for their size, a well-bred arab actually has high bone mass. Look at the cannon circumference on a 14.2 hand arab and compare it to many 16 plus hand thoroughbreds or even quarter horses and you will likely see they are the same size; therefore, the arab has the better bone in relation to body mass.

Now, I do realize that people now seem to be breeding the sturdiness out of arabs for show, but these are certainly not the horses that are winning in endurance.


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## Cruiser (Aug 28, 2011)

I don't know much about conformation but his front legs look weak and bent out of shape, and his knees stick up behind (I am guessing that is calf kneed). In all of the pictures, even his back legs don't look strong.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

To me he looks really really short in the canon bone, is that a characteristic of the breed?


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## FeatheredFeet (Jan 27, 2010)

Are there pics somewhere, of all his foals? To me, he is not stallion quality, given his rather major problem. If I were looking at a stud, he would not be my choice. Could be some breed to him, because of his colour though. Not the wisest thing to do. There are way too many really nice stallions out there in the breed, to consider breeding to this boy - pretty though he is.

JMHO

Lizzie


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## goneriding (Jun 6, 2011)

I took a horse on a 250 mile ten day ride who had moderate (mid grade) calf knees. But she had very large non tied in tendons which helped. Even so, at the end of the ride she developed small swellings behind her knees, no doubt due to her being calf kneed. I chose even though her endurance was amazing, not to ride her in that type of ride again. It is a bad fault but it also depends on how bad the fault is within itself and what the horse is being used for.


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