# Critique my mare?



## aclassicalpaint (Feb 11, 2015)

My mare is a 10 y/o and 14.1hh. I have no knowledge of her breeding (we guess Paint for obvious reasons). I'm a little bit biased on her, I think she's absolutely stunning. But I saw this section and got curious as to what others would think of her 
We do Dressage but I am going to start taking her out on the trail soon since she has been having issues and I want her to last.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

well, when you post for a critique, you may hear things that don't jive with your vision of your horse, so be prepared. I am sure it will not change how much you love her, though.

to me, she has a nice long neck, cute head and good shoulder. her back is long, relative to her legs. the thing that really stands out is you've got nice big horse, little bitty leg bones. slightly over at the knee, and modestly upright pasterns.

her front legs just don't look like they have the bone needed to balance with the rest of her. in the top photo , the way she is standing is almost like her front feet hurt, but it might be that she was just pivoting off the front left, it looks sort of turned inward.

in second picture, front hooves are getting long and running the heel under. angel does not match the angel of the pastern.

she is a bit "fluffy". it looks like she might have a hint of a fatty crest.


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## Tracer (Sep 16, 2012)

tinyliny said:


> the thing that really stands out is you've got nice big horse, little bitty leg bones.


That jumped out at me too. As I scrolled down, I went from 'dayum, nice horse!' to 'ooh, but dem legs...'. Of course, it shouldn't be an issue for trail riding or basic dressage.

Other than that, I like her. Her body is solid, she has a nice big butt, and the colour(s) are to die for. (In case you can't tell, I'm not too good at conformation!)


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## aclassicalpaint (Feb 11, 2015)

I fully realize that some people may think she isn't the nicest thing conformation wise. It doesn't bother me, it isn't a shot at her personality. 
Yes, her legs have caused me a lot of trouble (and her hooves were in fact overdue in the last picture). She has foundered, popped a splint in her RF, and recently tore her RF suspensory ligament. Hence why I'm backing off of the higher level Dressage we used to do. Horse first, riding second!


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## Tracer (Sep 16, 2012)

Ouch! Nice to see that you're looking after her, and haven't gotten rid of her after all that! I swear, one day horses will have to get a job to cover their OWN vet bills xD

 I'm sure she'll love trail riding just as much.


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## ButtInTheDirt (Jan 16, 2011)

She has the typical conformation of many halter bred stock horses. Her bone is too light for the body she carries, which would cause some of the problems you refer to her having. Her neck and neck attachment is OK, and decent hip and shoulder. I don't like her head. Personal preference as an ugly head doesn't affect much. Her pasterns are upright, especially in the rear. The closeness of the picture does affect some of what I am seeing, so better stacked pictures farther away where she is not hunched up lame would help.


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## aclassicalpaint (Feb 11, 2015)

Thanks for your input! Yes, her trainer is pretty certain she comes from halter lines, she's an awkward ride too. I'll try and get more pictures that are recent. But good luck getting a picture of this horse when she isn't lame lol


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

Her build looks just like my gelding's he is a qh/paint. He also has those ramrod straight legs, tea-cup feet and downhill build. And enormous butt. We also do/did dressage. I joke about him because he is actually a really nice mover but you wouldn't guess looking at him because for all intents and purposes he is a cripple- we too have had soundness issues due to conformation issues- for him though it has mostly been his feet.
Just out of curiosity up to what level did you take your mare and at what point did you feel that it was too much for her?
I'm just asking so I can get some perspective for mine.


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## Goldilocks (Jan 30, 2015)

Without reading any other posts, hind pasterns are upright, fronts are a little long and the front legs look a little weak or something? Over at the knee on the front but its very slight. nice head/neck. The front hooves are too long, the back to short looking. who trims them?


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## aclassicalpaint (Feb 11, 2015)

We never got to show but we were schooling TL with hopes for 1st and schooling 2nd this season. She definitely has the talent, passion, and movement for it but luck wasn't on our side. Now after everything I wouldn't push her past TL. Depends on your gelding though, good luck


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## aclassicalpaint (Feb 11, 2015)

Yes, she tore her RF suspensory. Her legs worry me on a daily basis. Those pictures were from my old farrier, new guy is letting her grow out her heel and standing get up more in the front. She's had issues with sore heel bulbs in the past.


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

> We never got to show but we were schooling TL with hopes for 1st and schooling 2nd this season. She definitely has the talent, passion, and movement for it but luck wasn't on our side. Now after everything I wouldn't push her past TL. Depends on your gelding though, good luck


Thanks! We showed training level last year and another rider will take him first this coming year. Don't give up on your dressage dreams! I read another post of yours about her being a rescue and searching for show names and I wonder if it's possible that she is just needing some time to recover- who knows what was in her past. Anyhow I don't know I've never met your horse and I'm certainly not your vet. But it would be very sad if neither of you get to do what you love.


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## aclassicalpaint (Feb 11, 2015)

*Current pic*

I took this one today. 
And we aren't giving up, she just needs time. Once she can be turned out and be free to gallop & buck we'll see what we can do


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

aclassicalpaint said:


> My mare is a 10 y/o and 14.1hh. I have no knowledge of her breeding (we guess Paint for obvious reasons). I'm a little bit biased on her, I think she's absolutely stunning. But I saw this section and got curious as to what others would think of her
> We do Dressage but I am going to start taking her out on the trail soon since she has been having issues and I want her to last.


A conformation critique doesn't mean the horse is good or bad pretty or ugly and definitely not whether the horse is likeable. Don't take it for more than it is.

Don't get me wrong, it IS very important for all things functional but for the average pleasure horse and the average pleasure rider not a big deal. Some of the prettiest most likeable horses have bad conformation and vice versa. One is a fact the other is an opinion. (And the "facts" of conformation can be blurry, what is desired in say a draft horse is not the same as what is desired in a TB) It definitely shouldn't make you like your horse less or make you think others don't like her.

I love your mare's color and she looks sweet.

I don't think her conformation is ideal for dressage if you are looking to be competitive and as you advance it will be difficult for her (NOT saying not to do it, just that she's not naturally suited. I believe basic dressage is good for pretty much all horses). Don't expect her to be easy to collect.

She's very upright. I suspect she has some halter breeding somewhere. (Even aside from her color Paint doesn't seem like an unreasonable breed guess)

Front pasterns are long and weak and I don't like the way her feet are trimmed. Very light bone in legs. Which pic is more recent? She is fat in the bottom one too.

Neither pic is ideal (first one would be good but she is sleeping and "droopy") and together don't match well. Something about those front legs is "off" to me and while her conformation is a part I am thinking it's more of a farrier thing.

I suspect she is slightly sickle hocked though less so than the first picture suggests. Upright behind

Agree her legs are her weak point. Despite her issues I think her feet could look better and would really recommend posting critique pictures in the hoof section, there are some very educated people there (close ups of her feet not these) Honestly I am not surprised you've had issues, she just doesn't look right or comfortable in any of the pics and that jumped out at me.

She is super cute though, I like her.


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## aclassicalpaint (Feb 11, 2015)

Of course, I realize this. I'm just genuinely curious to hear what people [who have a better eye for conformation flaws than I do] think of her and what they think could be issues in the future. 
As for her feet, she is currently in the midst of corrective shoeing. Old farrier that worked with her for over a year just was not cutting it. She had no heel and her bulbs were basically touching the ground. She's only had the new farrier out twice. 
Yes, I don't expect her to do high level anything. I'm not concerned with it, I'm just trying to give her a good, long life. 
Thank you!


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Sounds like she's very loved and cared for so that's what matters 

I would still recommend critique pictures of her feet. Even with a new farrier it won't hurt and may give you some ideas. I know I like to do research myself even though I trust my vet and farrier and they are the ones who do the actual work, I just like to know what's going on and be able to make informed decisions.


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## Goldilocks (Jan 30, 2015)

That photo looks MUCH better  She still looks as dozey as ever..what a lovely mare.


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