# Suitable for county fair halter class?



## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

If your showing in 4-H it is a showmanship class not a conformation class. In other words, he could look like a goat and it wouldn't matter because YOU are the one being judged. You need to learn fitting and showmanship and teach him to square up and stand still.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Really? As in, there's no halter class for 4-H?


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

It's showmanship at halter. The object is the fitting of the horse and the exibitors showmanship rather than the conformation of the horse. It makes it fair to those kids whose parents can't spend alot of money on fancy horses.


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## ShutUpJoe (Nov 10, 2009)

Kevin is right. Are you a 4-h member? They don't judge the horse's confirmation. In 4-h (usually) everyone will have different breeds and some of them you don't even know the breed.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

I'm going to join a 4-H group soon. There's one in particular that I'm looking at because the leader judges horse shows and helps out with dog agility, which I do with my JRT's and lab.

Can I have him critiqued anyway please? And how does his weight look in the third pic? I'm worrying I'm overfeeding him.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Here's another picture from this summer. It shows his muscling a bit better:


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## HorseOfCourse (Jul 20, 2009)

in my 4-H we have showmanship and halter.


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## 1dog3cats17rodents (Dec 7, 2007)

I'm no judge on confo, but he's adorable! He looks like a teddy bear


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## haviris (Sep 16, 2009)

When I was in 4-H we also had halter and showmanship.


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## friafreedom756 (Jul 13, 2009)

in my 4H we had grooming and showmanship (halter) and model mare/model gelding


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## OneCrzyHorse (Feb 5, 2010)

For a proper conformation eval. you need pictures from the front and back that include his legs.


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## brighteyes08 (Jan 20, 2010)

I personally dont think that he would go well for halter, halther horses are generally very muscled and have very "pin" legs. I mean, theres no harm in trying for you. If you were to do showmanship its all based on you, can you get your horse to turn on the forehand and hindend, back up and whatnot easily?


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Yes, I think we'd be good at showmanship with some more practice


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## Curly_Horse_CMT (Jun 8, 2008)

Most county fairs do just showmanship for 4-H, but for open you can enter halter classes specifically on conformation. They usually do this show the saturday before the fair starts in our county.

Showmanship is kinda a pain,but it does show what kind of ground manners your horse has on the ground and whatnot. Most people consider it unecessary, but I think of it as a basic warm up for all of your other classes.

If you want him based on conformation, check out the fair book and see what kind of open classes they offer. And, join a 4-H group! I have been a member for almost nine years and have had lots of fun :wink:


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## OneCrzyHorse (Feb 5, 2010)

brighteyes08 said:


> I personally dont think that he would go well for halter, halther horses are generally very muscled and have very "pin" legs. I mean, theres no harm in trying for you. If you were to do showmanship its all based on you, can you get your horse to turn on the forehand and hindend, back up and whatnot easily?


I believe that you are thinking of Quarter Horse Halter... There are halter classes designed around other breeds too!!!


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## Solo (Jul 16, 2008)

I do not know anything about the 4-H shows but I wanted to say that he is handsome! Good luck with the showing!


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

Thanks guys! I'm really excited; I haven't showed before. Even though the fair is technically not a show, I can't wait for it . I'll probably enter a halter class for the heck of it, depending on the price


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## White Foot (Jun 4, 2009)

He is really out of shape and needs to get correct muscling.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

White Foot said:


> He is really out of shape and needs to get correct muscling.


He's 21 years old....I don't like working him too hard. Out-of-shape as in too large at the girth?


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## White Foot (Jun 4, 2009)

Well the point of a halter class is to rate him on his appearance; muscle, conformation,movement,mane, eta... So if your horse is unable to work for long periods of time then that means he isn't in the best riding shape, which means you won't win. Or have a very low chance of winning. From what it looks like in the picture your horse is overweight and you can tell that he isn't extensively ridden because of the muscling.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

I can't ride that often in winter or fall, as freezing weather sets in early. Once we break this cold spell I can take him on longer canters and ride a lot more often, though. As for his weight....I keep thinking he's overweight, and my mom is freaking out that he's underweight. She has me jacking up his feed and doesn't think I'm right when I say his feed needs to be cut down. He was very underweight from stress last year, though, (stress induced by keeping track of a mare 24/7) and we've gotten his weight back up too much. Still trying to make my mom see reason in that he's heavy.

Here's another pic from summer:


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