# critique my baby boy!thanks!!



## katieandduke (Apr 13, 2008)

okay, anybody want to take a shot and critique my baby.. i dont care how harsh you are on him or me. if you can even be harsh to me.lol... okay some background about duke: he is a quarter horse, he is 12-18 yrs of age( we are unsure about it).. he can do anything from trails to jumping( if you need to know that)... you make also critique my photos from a photographer standpoint but mainly please critique him and what i need to work on. he is not in his best shape that he was in, we had to take a break due to his health and my injuries i had. also please critique how the saddles fit on him(especially the english saddle)but here he is....

thanks again for the help!!!


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## SonnyWimps (Feb 22, 2008)

I like him!
Not in a critiquing mood, but just wanted to add that his hooves look reallly long!


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## katieandduke (Apr 13, 2008)

SonnyWimps said:


> I like him!
> Not in a critiquing mood, but just wanted to add that his hooves look reallly long!


thanks. yeah it is actually how his conformation is.. he has something i forgot the name of but he has a little heel which makes his hooves long and his withers more dominant..


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## SonnyWimps (Feb 22, 2008)

I've never heard anything conformation wise to have his feet look like that.
As for his withers..he just needs a topline


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## katieandduke (Apr 13, 2008)

yeah i cant remember what it is called. but i think i said that wrong. i mean that he has like no heel which makes him walk more on his heel which makes him use all his muscle and energy on his leg and chest and all his muscles drop down .. that is one reason he doesnt have a good topline.. how do you obtain topline?? what can i do? thanks for the help!


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## SonnyWimps (Feb 22, 2008)

to get a topline you got to teach him to properly carry himself when you ride. Reaching under himself and rounding his back


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## katieandduke (Apr 13, 2008)

okay i read one post you did about topline and collection. this weekend i will try some of those techniques under saddle.. sonny reminds me of duke the way his topline is. see duke has the huge butt thing down pat its just the topline. can you show me some photos of a good topline? thanks


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## SonnyWimps (Feb 22, 2008)

http://www.stalleuropa.com/images/horse3.JPG
http://www.canadianwarmbloods.com/2006news/images06/2006BC_vonBurggraaf.jpg
Those are some pictures of horses with fairly good toplines


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## equineangel91 (Oct 8, 2008)

his front right foot doesn tlook to good...his toe is extremely long. A very nice back i will admit. His eyes seem kind of tired =/ 

lol i love the cat on him!!!!! =)


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## Andi (Aug 20, 2008)

Also a non - conformation related point. You stirrups are too short for a dressage saddle. It looks okay on but really I can't tell you anything unless i was there to see it.


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## SallyRC123 (Aug 22, 2008)

Just wondering... what is a topline? :shock:


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## highlander (Oct 26, 2008)

for his hooves is there a corrective farrier nearby to look at them? i agree about the topline. got nice rear tho, and a nice shaped back.


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## Painted Ride (Jun 30, 2008)

he looks very broke...good ole boy. hes cute.


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## kickshaw (May 7, 2008)

justin is that color in the summer 

very cute! No critique from me


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## servinator (Oct 13, 2008)

Just curious - does he have flat feet and low heels?


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## katieandduke (Apr 13, 2008)

okay i decided to do one reply then to reply individually to all... so here it goes....lol....


equineangel91: he does have long shoes as of right now because he is due for a trim.. and thanks duke didnt care bout the cat but the cat didnt like it too much. 


Andi: the reason my stirrups are so short was bcuz we were jumping and the only saddle available was the dressage saddle... and thanks for the try on the new saddle..


SallyRC123: a topline is i think his back like from the withers to his butt bone that is up on top of his butt.lol....but i am not sure...


highlander: i actually do have a corrective shoer.  his hoofs were way worse than how they are now! he has made a huge improvment in the months i have had this farrier..


tbenitez: oh he is.. he is the best dang horse there is. he is as broke as they get, but its not like he is young, he has been around the ranch a time and two..lol.. i think i said that right..lol

kickshaw: thanks.. yeah i hate how he bleaches out durin the summer then during the winter he is like practically black!lol!


servinator: duke has low heels... he is in ongoing corrective shoeing which has improved his movement and conformation alot. thanks to highlander for thinking of the word i couldnt think of(corrective shoeing)


anyone else just ask me a question bout him or still keep critiqing him!


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## highlander (Oct 26, 2008)

ok i have to ask what does broke mean in this case?


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## Curly_Horse_CMT (Jun 8, 2008)

highlander said:


> ok i have to ask what does broke mean in this case?


Well trained, bomb proof. Used for everything and can be used for anything. :wink:


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

The pictures aren't good enough to really tell much (head turned to camera) but something is really odd with that right hoof. I'd definitely get a different farrier to get a second opinion on the situation. I agree with the topline comments.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

Mostly what other people said. 
-Lengthen your stirrups
-Corrective Farrier Work. His feet should not be that long. If you get a good farrier, they should be able to help him. 
-No topline (Teach him to carry himself) 
-He has the absolute cutest nose ever. 

Other than his feet, I like him. I think he could be really cute with proper conditioning and getting a topline on him.


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

Oh wow. I just posted and there were like twelve before me... Sorry I repeated things


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## katieandduke (Apr 13, 2008)

okay since everybody will not quit takling abou this feet.lol..this is how they are suppose to look.. he hadnt had his hoofs done in two months.... i got slacky on that part but he got his hoof down today and they look great.. oh and in the last pic his right front hoos looks so weird cuz it was in the sand sinking so it looked longer than it actually was... but here is a pic of it now he does have a corrective farrier. i feel like the best in the business and he is helping duke!


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## ohmyitschelle (Aug 23, 2008)

His feet remind me of a friend's horse. He too has the same problem. It's called splayed feet, they grow out and long, and all the weight is placed on the heel... what I don't get about your farrier, is why his feet are not being correctly trimmed and then his feet put in shoes to help even out the condition and encourage his feet to stop growing nearly as fast. If the feet are left to their own agenda, the pressure will continue on the heel, and allow the growth of the foot to increase at a quicker rate. With the aid of front shoes (I noticed he was shod), and his feet trimmed correctly, this can be fixed. I understand that fixing feet problems can take sometime (my old mare had a foot condition that took nearly 6mths to fix, but it was worth it!), but tbh I'd hate to know what his feet were like before the correction began. 

Not trying to sound awful or nothing! Cute horse otherwise, with a topline he'll be very lovely!
x


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## katieandduke (Apr 13, 2008)

what exactly do you mean my farrier is not correctly trimming him? just wondering cuz im confused. oh and if i teach duke to carry himself if i can, how will i know if he has a top line or not.. i think he might used have in some old pics i got of him from a summer or two ago but i am not sure


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## jeddah31 (Jun 11, 2008)

OK, topline runs from the poll, all the way through the top of the back rump and down the back of the thighs.

His feet do lok a lot better in that recent pic you posted. My mare had almost no heels, and would grow very long in the toe too. My new farrier trims he slightly too short, and put the shoe on somehow and now her feet are a lot more even and she has good sized heels. 

It looks as though he stands with his hinds tucked underneath him.

He could do with some long and low stretching work, he looks a little tense over his back in the shot of him jumping. 

Put a tiny bit more weight on him, get him working properly and I think he'll fill out nicely!


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## jazzyrider (Sep 16, 2007)

firstly, these arent the best pics to critique. there is a sticky i did at the top of the critique section that outlines what photos we are looking for to critique. its very important that we get the right kind of shots otherwise some things can look a little different because of angling etc

therefore im not going to do a huge critique on him. i will say that he looks just lovely and the main thing im picking out are his feet and his topline as already mentioned. with regards to his feet though your farrier or new farrier if you need will sort that out.

his topline is your territory  when a horse lacks topline there is no muscle along the area from the poll to the top of the tail. the area would normally be covered with a nice layer of muscle which builds the 'topline' of the body. this is built by working in a correct frame eg; on the bit, collecting, however you want to put it lol also hills, trotting and jumping help build topline.


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

I showed this to a farrier friend - just by the pictures and not seeing the foot completely, those feet _could_ be dealt with by corrective means, so you really should get another opinion by another farrier.


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## ohmyitschelle (Aug 23, 2008)

katieandduke said:


> what exactly do you mean my farrier is not correctly trimming him? just wondering cuz im confused. oh and if i teach duke to carry himself if i can, how will i know if he has a top line or not.. i think he might used have in some old pics i got of him from a summer or two ago but i am not sure


Someone else has said it, they need to cut a bit more off than usual, ie make them shorter and then put the shoes on... it encourages the correct amount of growth in the right amount of time frame.
x


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## katieandduke (Apr 13, 2008)

ok guys thanks... about once a month i may stop in and post some more pictures.. ill start doing alot more trotting and hill work.. thanks for all the help. as for the hoofs, since slick is the only farrier i can find around here that will come to another stables and i walk my horse to that stable, im sticking with him. he is very intelligent and knows what he is talking about. in a year i think i will see a really big diff. in his hoofs...


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

Or you might see it worsening. I think you got some good advice about the shape of the hooves. I think it's a good idea to find a farrier that could give you a second opinion. Doesn't mean you have to go with them, but it will confirm that your farrier is doing everything right, or they will give you a new direction that will only benefit the state that the horse is in hoof-wise.

Or you can go to the farrier site - horseshoes.com - and get some input -but be prepared, they do not hold back, but they give really good advice.

The Farrier & Hoofcare Resource Center Forums - Powered by vBulletin


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Hi!

Realise this is a bit old now, but just wanted to comment on the saddle fit, as you didn't seem to get much on that.

The dressage saddle looks to fit him really nicely, the pommel and cantle are balanced/even, and the saddle is sitting nice and evenly. The stirrups are short, but hey i've jumped in a dressage saddle too :]

The ap/jumping saddle however looks to be tipping back, too high at the wither, and i'm sure if we saw you sitting in it your weight would be pushed back. Possibly the saddle is just sitting too far forward. When I was taught how to ride i was told the saddle should sit forward on their wither. It was a huge revalation to me when I learnt that the wither has nothing to do with the position of the saddle, it's the shoulder! So maybe make sure that the saddle is clearing his shoulder blades either side, and if not shift it back a little.

Apart from that, he's really cute! Looks very spunky, like he'd have a go at anything, and they're the best ponies of all!


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## katieandduke (Apr 13, 2008)

wild_spot said:


> Hi!
> 
> Realise this is a bit old now, but just wanted to comment on the saddle fit, as you didn't seem to get much on that.
> 
> ...


 
omg!omg!omg! thank you so much! that is the question and i flaw i have noticed about the ap saddle! it is a close contact saddle i think. so you dont have to have the saddle sitting on their wither!yay! see i always thought i had to. and when it is at that position it just leans backwards. ill show you some more pics that may help a little better. i had to buy that saddle because i needed one and well, i cant afford another and i just have to try to fix the problem that one has.... and thanks about duke being cute. he will do anything i ask of him and thats what makes him priceless..lol...have a good weekend!!

the first pics are when i first got the saddle. and the rest are pics that have a back lift pad under the saddle...


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Ok. From those pictures... Without the riser it is definately tipping back. It's hard to tell without a shot from the front of the pommel, but it definately looks to me like the gullet is too narrow for him. With the riser, the balance of the saddle is much better, but it could be putting pressure either side of his wither. This is because with the back lifted, you will be putting more wieght on the front of the saddle, and if the gullet is too narrow (which is also exaggerated by the extra thickness of the riser) it will be putting a lot of pressure on the wrong points of his back. You get me?

If the saddle is an easy change gullet type saddle, I would go for a wider gullet. This will lower the front, and also spread the pressure points lower and wider either side of his wither. 

I know what you mean about the position of the saddle, I thought that for years! Now I have two saddle for my horse, and one sits in a fairly centred position, an ap, but my stock saddle (asustralian saddle) is a different shape, and sits waaay far back. 

If you are unsure as to were the saddle should sit, have a look at your horses back. You know those pockets either side of his wither, behind his shoulder? This is where the front of the underside of your saddle should sit. It lets the horses shoulder move with a lot more freedom.


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