# Honest opinions needed



## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

Short story: Do you guys think this mare would hold up for low level endurance, obstacle, maybe some low level dressage, and just a basic all rounder?

As you guys know my Arabian gelding Ty passed away, and I'm not looking, but if the right one happened along, well I could be persuaded. 

Rebel, was suppose to be Ty's replacement, but the more I work him the more I think he's not for me. I love him but he's not fun and we've never quite been on the same page. I really think he'd do better with someone with more experience. 

I'm not selling him, but I can't see him as my horse for the next 20 years.

I'm one who keeps a horse for life if possible. So I want a horse that can do what I want to do and hopefully not break down and not be awful. 

My grandfather owns Star, a coming 6 year old mare. Dam is a purebred Arab, sire is unknown. 

She's a trainwreck of a horse, but I love her to death, trained her myself, and we've always clicked well.

But his health is declining and he isn't able to ride her like she needs to be ridden, and he says if I want, he'd sign her over to me. 

Do you guys think she could handle endurance, and being a general all rounder. 

My heart is saying yes, but I want to make sure my head is going to say so too.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I bet she can do a lot. first of all, she is VERY overweight, and so, it would take gradual strengthening to get her able to do the long distance work of endurance. I bet she'd really look nice after losing a lot of weight and muscling up. she has the butt pillow fat and cresty neck of a possible IR horse, so you might want to check on that. I think there are blood tests that can check for that.


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## Kyro (Apr 15, 2012)

It's been a long time since I've done this so my eye could be a little off..

She is butthigh, downhill..which means she could be harder to 'collect' in dressage and might travel on the forehand easily. But it's not a set rule. 
She stands a bit under herself both in the back and front - could also just be because of the picture (is that her natural stance?). Her legs seem to be a bit tiny/light boned for her body.. I'm not sure if this could affect soundness in the future (will leave that to the pros to decide).
I like that she seems to have nice hindquarters, her back isn't overly long, pasterns seem good. What is her personality like, do you think she has enough 'spark' for the endurance? I think she might be fine for what you have in mind.. perhaps not a top level athlete, but a fair girl who could easily do some low level stuff


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## gigem88 (May 10, 2011)

I would rather have a horse that I click with instead of the most athletic one around! Unless she has some lameness issue, she should be able to do what you want, in my opinion. Looks like she needs some conditioning.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Why not start riding her and see. It's not like you are going out and buying her. By the photo she does look a bit downhill. I would not call her very overweight. She could lose most of that in a day. My mares weight fluctuates greatly if at a show or hot out.


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## ponyroll (Feb 15, 2015)

It's a shame that Rebel isn't clicking with you. I had the same problem with a gelding a while back and ended up finding him a nice home. I'm the type that keeps them their whole life as well, so it was really hard on me. But, I am much happier now with my new roan gelding, and I believe that the gelding I sold is in a very good place; the people really adore him.

Now, looking at this mare's conformation: Her hip is slightly higher than her wither; this may lead to her having trouble engaging the hindquarter in some activities. She is standing a bit underneath herself in the front and may be a little straight through the leg in the back. She also appears to have some fatty deposits on her croup and around the tailhead. I like this girl's pasterns and feet; She also has a nice face. This girl should be able to do what you want. There's nothing that I can see in her conformation that would severely hinder her in any way.


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

I would sell Rebel. If you are not happy he is not happy and it will never work. You do not need to keep a horse for life and both your lives will be happier with him elsewhere. The next person may like him and click.

That said, this horse would be a lot better with weight off her. She is not bad at all.. just needs to be worked, hard and cut back on groceries. 

Take her and work her.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

churumbeque said:


> Why not start riding her and see. It's not like you are going out and buying her. By the photo she does look a bit downhill. I would not call her very overweight. She could lose most of that in a day. My mares weight fluctuates greatly if at a show or hot out.



that horse will not lose that fat in a day. the area around her tail has what looks like long term deposits of fat. and the way she has "ridges" along her mane line, indicate the hard fat deposits that have been there awhile.

she IS fat. 

there are so many fat horses nowadays that people do not even recognize a fat horse when they see one. 

the horse I ride is fat. he was a "sausage" when I started riding, and is not just a bit tubby. he had spent most of his life overweight, and is Andalusian and tends to this sort of tissue genetically. i understand that some horses will be smooth sided when they are at optimal weight. but, even a half arab should not be that "round".


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

tinyliny said:


> that horse will not lose that fat in a day. the area around her tail has what looks like long term deposits of fat. and the way she has "ridges" along her mane line, indicate the hard fat deposits that have been there awhile.
> 
> she IS fat.
> 
> ...


 the horse could lose a lot of weight and still have a fat pocket. Many horses can be ideal and have a fat pad.
I would not put that horse on a diet just working it would shape it up.
Certain breeds and metabolism plays a part also.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

but you said she' lose the fat in a day, and that's just not likely to happen. and, if she is really overweight, and has been a pasture puff for years, to start working her hard all of a sudden would be unfair. I think an examination of her diet is in order, AND, excersize. especially if she's been living on unecessary grains.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I think she can stand to lose some weight but she's far from being obese. She could have some IR problem but that's not a huge deal as long as you restrict her grazing and feed her correctly
If she's stood about for a while you can bring her slowly back into work and she'll soon look trim again - better to start the working season slightly over weight than underweight 
I really like the look of her myself
Its easy to get too nitpicky about minor conformation flaws - you aren't after a show horse or a top level dressage prospect after all


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

tinyliny said:


> but you said she' lose the fat in a day, and that's just not likely to happen. and, if she is really overweight, and has been a pasture puff for years, to start working her hard all of a sudden would be unfair. I think an examination of her diet is in order, AND, excersize. especially if she's been living on unecessary grains.


I meant to say lose weight in a day. Relax.


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## Tryst (Feb 8, 2012)

She looks very straight through the hocks.


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## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

Rebel is going to stick around until I can get the money to send him to a trainer. My methods don't seem to work well with him but maybe after some time with a trainer he'd be a bit better. We just seem to butt heads a lot. 

Star is a bit fat, cresty necked but her ribs are easy to feel? She's got no muscle though, her workload for the last 8 months has been a 30 minute ride, walking around the yard maybe once a month. She just sits around munching on a round bale. 

I broke her myself, and I do love her. She's forward moving, sensitive, and willing. 

My main concerns with her is if she could hold up to endurance, and her one vice, she is a kicker when a horse rides to close to her tail. Normally not an issue, but you'd be surprised how dumb some people can be. 

I rode her Sunday and OMG she's so fun. We did about 4 miles of a slow walk and maybe 5 minutes of trotting and she was so out of breath after her trotting, but the walk didn't seem to bother her at all, she handled it easily, even taking the lead from my friend who was riding Harley, and being the first past a scary monster bush. 

My other concern is she isn't a huge fan of me. She is a big puppy for my grandfather, coming when he whistles, following him everywhere, but with me she mostly ignores me, but some treats and some time should fix that.


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## WSArabians (Apr 14, 2008)

Are you Tevis cup serious about endurance or is it more of a fun thing?


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## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

Fun for sure. I'm in Florida and would probably only race during winter, I just love distant trail riding and an excuse to do it? Yes!

I did a 25 mile youth LD on Ty and I loved it. If he'd been younger I would have kept up on it. 

Right now I'm searching for a saddle for her. My wintec fits decently but I want better. Be ready for saddle fit pics guys!


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Conformation wise she is fine. Not anything special but solid and a good "all rounder", temperament wise, you will need to figure that out on your own.

I agree to sell Rebel. No reason to keep a horse for the sake of it. If you really wanted to keep him as a pasture pet for whatever reason fine, but keeping him simply to keep him...not fair to either of you.


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## Captain Evil (Apr 18, 2012)

I like her. She looks a tad posty behind, but nothing that I would stress about, and from the one picture we see and the information you gave us, I think she could do all of the things you will ask her for. She is young, she is cute, she is fun to ride and be around, and you know her well. I would go with my heart on this one.


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## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

I'm going to get more recent pictures tomorrow or Saturday. The one I posted is about 6 months old. She's gotten fatter, but I'm taking over her feed now. Bye bye Strategy. I know when I broke her in she was very fat and with consistent work she slimmed right down so I don't think its metabolically. More like she's munching on a round bale and getting 4lbs of Strategy. 

I'm going to ride her for a few weeks/months and really get a feel for her. I don't have a time table to take her, so its nice.


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

I agree that she is fat and also down hill
Back is a nice length, but rear legs appear posty
I think her conformation would affect her ability to move collected


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