# Critique 5 year old mare jumper prospect?



## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

5 years old, 16 hands even. Dad's a reg. Appendix and mama is a grade pinto. 

One blue eye. :? I've heard these tend to get looked down on as hunter/jumpers? Is there a valid reason, ie vision, or just cosmetics of higher level shows (which i would never get to anyways...)

Maybe I'm just getting desperate and soft (who knew it would be so hard to rehome one horse,and find a sound, sane, willing one. oh goodness) in my old age...haha.

What do you think? Her pasturns look okay to meeee, but what does everyone else think? Worth a swing by and look? Or pass it up?

What I want (if I can ever find it) is something that can go hunter/jumper, be quiet enough to go on a few trails, and maybe go to gymkhana every couple months for giggles.


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## Falicity (Jul 13, 2011)

She looks sweet, her topline could use some work but then she is only five so could still be filling out some. From what I see, her hind end looks weak... I could be wrong, I'm no expert. In the first picture she looks like she might be slightly over at the knee, but I'm not sure in the other. Her hind legs seem posty and there is just something about her underside that bothers me. Also a bit butthigh, but that could still change. My girl is six and still filling out in the chest some. Again though, I'm not an expert. I would wait for another opinion. 

I hate these moments, I know what the flaw is called but cant seem to be able bring it to mind  I'll post when I find it. Otherwise, she looks very sweet, I personally would go have a look at her, pictures aren't bad and if she's close by you have nothing to lose. Especially if you only want to have fun and do some lower levels, I think she would do fine.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

Mostly this horse looks immature to me; I having a hard time believing she's 5. 

She also hasn't had good groceries or any exercise, as she lacks any kind of muscle development.

She has a decent shoulder and front leg. Neck is short, set high and underdeveloped. Back is long, and the point of croup is set very far back, making for a short, weak hind end with a very steep croup. A little straight from the hip to hock, very, very cow hocked. 

Her overall impression is of lacking substance. How much of that could corrected with good food and work is hard to say. 

In any case, I am not sure I'd invest the time and training in teaching this sweet, kind girl to jump courses, she might do best as a trail or pleasure horse with some gymkhana thrown in for fun. Depends on your budget and your free time. At the level she'd likely be competing, I don't think the watch eye would be an issue.

You also didn't mention if you were purchasing her, or if she was a rescue or a free to good home. With the abundance of nice horses out there free to good homes, I think you could continue to look for a hunter/jumper prospect.


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## cowgirlup07 (Mar 13, 2008)

she's either been not fed or is only 2-3 years old from the look of her pictures or both. She's a beautiful little girl though!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

maura said:


> Mostly this horse looks immature to me; I having a hard time believing she's 5.
> 
> She also hasn't had good groceries or any exercise, as she lacks any kind of muscle development.
> 
> ...


 
Funny, I was looking at her thinking she had a nice neck, that was long enough to balance out her rather long back.

And, I dont' see cow hocked. There is no view from the back to show if she is cowhocked or not. Do you mean sickle hocked?

Agree with the assessment of the hip and the angles. She is a bit weak in the loin/coupling area . something sometimes called "wasp waisted".

But I do not see over at the knee, in fact her front legs look good to me. She has long legs , for sure. I kind of like her and with mucleing and groceries, I think she'd look awesome in English tack.
AS for speed for gymkhana, well, I wonder about that. But jumping? she might do well at that.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Another thing is that she is going to eventually be entirely white after she is greyed out. So if you are after a pinto in particular, she may be disappointing.


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

tiny, 

Cow hocked means the hocks point in towards each other. It's a fault that usually causes the horse to toe out as well. A small degree of cowhockedness is common, this mare's degree is not. She is cowhocked and toed out enough she will not travel straight behind, robbing her of even more power behind. 

She is the opposite of sickle hocked. Sickle hocked means an exaggerated angle in joints of the hind limb, this mare is too straight (post legged).

As far as her neck, yes, I do think it's too short to be effective making the kind of balancing gestures a jumping horse needs to. If you use the old analysis tool of dividing the horse into thirds, her middle third is much longer than her hindquarter or her head and neck. If you look at the top photo side by side with a photo of a well proportioned horse, it becomes clearer. 










Also, wasp waisted refers to the bottom line, not the top line. She is also weak in her loin coupling (top line). She is tucked up/wasp waisted in her bottom line, but that could bw a result of her immaturity and condition, not a permanent feature of her conformation. 

She appears to be a sweet mare who might give decades of good service as a pleasure horse or light trail companion. She is not a good prospect for uses that require a high degree of athleticism. Whether or not she's a good choice for the OP depends on how important and how serious her competition goals are. If she wants to lark over a few crossrails in a ring and go to gymkhana play days in addition to pleasure riding, this mare is fine. If she wants to do more than that, I think she should keep looking.


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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

Hmm..A lot to think about.

She wouldn't be a free horse..but because she's grade, doesnt have a lot of miles under her belt yet, and will eventually gray out (according to what my vet always says..bigger risk of cancer), and has that blue eye that will need a mask all summer, I could probably get her for cheaper than theyre asking.

and I just found out shes a much further drive than I was originally under the impression. Might pass on this one.


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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

Oh..this is sort of off topic, but because I dont want to explode the forum with threads...

This is the old lady (okay, so she's not that old :wink, back when I got her. How does she look, conformation wise? I've always wanted someone to critique her? :lol:


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## welshrider (Jan 24, 2012)

I like that little mare, but then I'm partial to ponies. She looks well proportioned. Good feet and legs with lots of bone. Head's a little big maybe, but it might be the angle. Cute Pony.


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