# Horse i want to buy *Conformation*



## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

Ive been looking for a new horse for awhile and my old instructor is selling a young mare i think she is almost 4. i wanted some critiques on her conformation and what she would be suited for


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Okay...um...wow? Beautiful. Is she a TB? If she ends up sold before you get there, she's not in my barn!


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

By the way, eventing. You'd win on the dressage phase alone.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

I don't event but I would think she is very fine boned for anything too strenuous


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## justjump (Jan 18, 2011)

GORGEOUS. I love this color... I don't know much on confo but she doesn't look bad at all! Very pretty!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## HopalongCassidy (Dec 19, 2010)

I see nothing wrong. My eyes might be playing tricks on me but she's lovely. Also love the color. Greys are my favorite.


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

I used to event now im doing alot of jumping and dressage. She is a dutch warmblood. UB40 is her sire.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Beautiful looking horse with big movement. 

Only things that bother me are the upright pasterns, particularly noticeable in the front and the hind legs are quite straight.


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## Juna (Apr 4, 2010)

She's lovely! I love UB40! I'd would say buy her quick! She looks like a jumper to me.


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

I see light boned, very small feet for her size and the upright pasterns. I also think she's a little post legged behind. 

She is quite flashy with a lot of presence, but I am not as enthusiastic about her movement as some of the others, based on the one photo. She has a fair amount of knee action; and she is nowhere close to tracking up. Also, if you look at the diaganol pair of legs, they're not parellel - she reaches forward more from the front than the back. I wouldn't draw firm conclusions from one photo, I would want to see video or her moving in person. 

She does naturally travel uphill, which is a huge asset for dressage.


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## Horsegears (May 31, 2010)

Appears as more of a jumping type on bone structure. 

The pasterns certainly appear upright considering type, breed and purpose.

Near fore appears to toe out in that photo, the fetlocks are perhaps a touch apple jointed, more so the near rear.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

I have to agree with Maura. 

She is a pretty color though.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

maura said:


> She is quite flashy with a lot of presence, but I am not as enthusiastic about her movement as some of the others, based on the one photo. She has a fair amount of knee action; and she is nowhere close to tracking up. Also, if you look at the diaganol pair of legs, they're not parellel - she reaches forward more from the front than the back. I wouldn't draw firm conclusions from one photo, I would want to see video or her moving in person.


That is a really interesting observation Maura and I can see what you are talking about. Don't take the following as me disagreeing with you however I am curious to know for my own benefit; how much should a horse track up/engage the hind when loose in the pasture?

I had always thought of tracking up as being a function of engagement of the hind end that comes with correct riding and training, to be honest I don't usually assess it when horses are at liberty.

Just wanted to know for future reference :wink:


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

Heres some more pics to judge if you like


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

IMO and IME, a horse with good movement tracks up or overtracks in the pasture, on a lead liine, on a lunge line and walking on loose rein. If the same horse is on the aids, and you ask for more, you should get *more* overtrack, but ideally, the horse has it naturally on their own; you just improve it under saddle. 

I don't want to be too hard on this filly, because the overall impression is lovely. In the new photos the OP posted, she has some natural suspension at the trot, which is also a big plus, along with the uphill movement. I will stand by my original comments, though, and say if I had an unlimited budget and time and was looking for an eventer, I would want something with a little more bone and substance, and a little more freedom of movement and reach which would translate to a longer stride. 

She strikes me as more of a pure dressage type than an eventer.


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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

i think she's lovely and could be great as a dressage horse. not so sure about eventing with her finer bones but that doesn't mean she can't!


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Thanks Maura, like I said I wasn't disagreeing at all, just curious to know more :wink:


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

I already said in the past posts, that im not using her for eventing. I dont do eventing anymore im doing dressage and jumping now


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## jwells84 (Mar 29, 2011)

IMO she looks like she would do every well in dressage, would probably do good jumping, but she does seem to be fine boned. I'm not sure how strenuous the jumping would be on her. It make cause problems later on..but I couldn't say for sure, Im no english expert. with her being 4 she might thicken up some when she matures


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

Sorry, xXEventerXx, I was assuming because of your nickname....

Thanks for the clarification.


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

Her sire is a little fine boned but her mother is much thicker.


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## Seifur (Apr 24, 2010)

I don't see anything seriously wrong with her, I think she's beautiful!


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

There is another horse from the same owner selling another Dutch warmblood mare she is also 4 out of freestyle.


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

1st horse I actualy don't like her movement for dressage. I also think that she is quite upright in her pasturns and straight through her hocks. for a DWB she is quite fine boned and immature for her age. I also have a suspicion that she is bum high and something is not quite right with the way her neck is set on.

2nd horse is better for me, her angles are slightly better. Not one that I personaly would buy but her movement is better than the first horses. However her front and back end dont match up, It is like 2 horses stuck together in the middle.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Interesting, the second horse is also very weak in the hindquarters...


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

xXEventerXx said:


> I already said in the past posts, that im not using her for eventing. I dont do eventing anymore im doing dressage and jumping now


OK, I just have to ask. Sorry. But curiosity is getting the best of me.

You only joined in November of last year. Why did you pick that as a screen name if you do not do eventing?


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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

maura said:


> Sorry, xXEventerXx, I was assuming because of your nickname....
> 
> Thanks for the clarification.


haha - sorry i had the same thought! i do think she's lovely and i'm sure she'll fill in some more in the next year or two. i personally think she'll make a lovely dressage horse and i don't see why she couldn't be a jumper as well if she shows an aptitude for it.


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

Alwaysbehind said:


> OK, I just have to ask. Sorry. But curiosity is getting the best of me.
> 
> You only joined in November of last year. Why did you pick that as a screen name if you do not do eventing?


Because my email address is eventer, so it makes it easy to remember names. Why does it matter what my screen name is?


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

actualy on second glance I'm not fussed on either horses movement from those photos.
I'd prefer something with a freer stride that moves from its shoulder rather than its knee. To me both horses are "Stuffy" in thier front end movement and need to move more from the shoulder as the front le does not match the back leg at all.


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## Horsegears (May 31, 2010)

The second horse has a seriously lean hind, dressage suits best.

I would be slightly wary of this seller based on these horses.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

For me, I would not look at either of these horses for a dressage prospect, especially not for an amatuer. Perhaps for a professional as a train and sell.

Along with what others have pointed out about the conformation issues, I am also not a fan of the movement (from the pictures, a video would be nice) but also the breeding does not make these horses very amatuer friendly. I am not very inclined to recommend most Dutch lines to amatuer dressage riders (myself included) because they do tend to be hot especially in the younger years for an non-professional rider as they are also usually not very forgiving.

Good luck in your horse search!


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

xXEventerXx said:


> Because my email address is eventer, so it makes it easy to remember names. Why does it matter what my screen name is?


It does not matter.
It was just a curious question since you seemed very offended that people thought you were wanting to do eventing I was curious why you had a screen name that implied you did eventing when it was not something you did.


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

No i wasnt offended i was letting people know i dont do eventing anymore and im doing more jumping and dressage so the horse ill be looking for will be for that use


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## HopalongCassidy (Dec 19, 2010)

^^ do you need help looking or are you deciding on one of these two gals?


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## GeminiJumper (Jun 12, 2008)

Although they are both beautiful, I prefer the second horse. She's seems to have bigger bones and has much more "reach" in her movements. I don't care for her hind end but it might develop more with training and asking her to move from her hindquarters.


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

HopalongCassidy said:


> ^^ do you need help looking or are you deciding on one of these two gals?


 ive been looking for awhile for breeders in alberta, im looking for a warmblood under 15,000 . Conformation good for jumping. Height over 16.0h . I want a grey but if i find a really nice horse that isnt its ok lol


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## ArabGirl (Mar 30, 2011)

IMHP-The first horse has far better conformation than the second. No question.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

xXEventerXx said:


> ive been looking for awhile for breeders in alberta, im looking for a warmblood under 15,000 . Conformation good for jumping. Height over 16.0h . I want a grey but if i find a really nice horse that isnt its ok lol


 Age?
Training?

You're going to be hard pressed to find anything well bred and trained with some talent in that price range in that area. The economic downturn didn't affect oil that badly...

I know Carousel Ridge has nice stock.. not too familiar with other breeders there.

Good luck!


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> Age?
> Training?
> 
> You're going to be hard pressed to find anything well bred and trained with some talent in that price range in that area. The economic downturn didn't affect oil that badly...
> ...


What does oil have to do with horses?


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## blush (Feb 10, 2007)

She's just saying that Alberta didn't get hit by the recession nearly as bad as other provinces and the USA because we have our oil. Therefor, our economy is still doing well and our horses will be crazy expensive compared to anywhere else. Especially since many other places you can get a nice horse for a couple grand, while in AB your paying $10,000 for something barely broke.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

But just because we live in alberta does not mean were rich, if you work in the oil industry you can buy a 40,000 horse. But not everyone does work in the oil industry. wages in alberta dropped majorly in the last 3 years.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

That is not what she was saying at all.

Geez.

She was saying that the cost of horses in that area never tanked like they did in so many places. Nothing was implied or said about your ability to afford anything.


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## Hali (Jun 17, 2009)

But horse prices have remained the same regardless of employment and wages dips. There are a lot of well priced horses if you know where to look but also really really overpriced horses. I.E. OTTB who was 19 years old but was capped at jumping 2'9" had arthritis and needed hock injections - $7000.

Good horses at good prices are out there, but you have too look really hard and realize that there are very subpar horses in Alberta for stupid prices. And the sellers charge these prices because they can.

You're just going to have to be very cautious when looking at lower priced warmbloods. They are out there, but they seem to be few and far between. You just have to know where to look and take your time.

I say this as a WB owner living in Calgary.


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## blush (Feb 10, 2007)

^^ I agree. 
I own a dutch warmblood and had to do a lot of searching for him. I couldn't spend anything over $15,000 and this was before the economy downturned. So I found that importing horses overseas, and buying horses from BC or the USA were my best options to keep the cost down but the quality of horse high. I imported Robbie from Holland, to BC, to AB for a great price of $13,500. Now he's worth about $60,000. 
So you may have to look outside of alberta to find a good horse for a reasonable price.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

How much is it to import horses? i was interested in doing that but wasnt sure how much it would cost


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