# Taking proper conformation photos



## QHriderKE (Aug 3, 2011)

Oh dear. that neck!!!!!
She might fill out to be an ok looking horse, so be honest.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE STICKY THIS THREAD TO THE TOP?


----------



## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

Like********

I think there was another thread about how to as well but it faded away so I second the sticky idea


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

LOL, QHrider, yep, she's....unfortunate looking. Should be easy for a beginning critiquer to find the faults because they are _very_ obvious and there's nothing _slight_ about them :wink:.


----------



## Casey02 (Sep 20, 2011)

Yes please sticky this one... Im so sick of reading.. "I know they aren't good pictures... BUT critique them anyway" :shock:

I started a thread "kind of rant about this " :lol:


----------



## Kayella (Feb 11, 2012)

I think our babies are related to giraffes LOL. Henny's had that awful looking ewe neck going on. Now that he's filled in after his last growth spurt, his neck looks actually decent now. She's got a lot of "baby" things going on. Malnutrition and age and can play a huge part in conformation. Give her 3-4 months and she will look like a completely different horse.

Not to hijack your thread or anything, but I just compared Henny's profile with his sire's when he was young. They both look pretty dang awkward, but his sire has turned out to be gorgeous. 

Here's Henny a couple weeks ago at 10 months(His neck has gotten better looking since then, but it's almost a decent confo shot): 









And here's his daddy around 10-12 months I guess. 









Here's his sire now. He is one purdy boy.(Definitely not a confo shot)









Babies go through stages where you just want to stuff them in a box so no one can see their fuglies. Your girl is gorgeous, although a little gangly, but she will definitely grow out of that.


----------



## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Maybe the foal has a nice personality


----------



## Kayella (Feb 11, 2012)

Just to show the difference, here's Henny's neck at 5 months. :lol:


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

^^That she does. IMHO, that's her redeeming feature. She's got an amazing mind.


----------



## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

She may grow into herself very nicely smrobs. Lol she may just surprise you


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I seriously doubt she'll ever be considered "pretty", but if she's functional, that's all that matters.


----------



## QHriderKE (Aug 3, 2011)

I have to share a funny baby comparison.
1 year, 6 months:









2 years:









WHERES MY UGLY FUR BALL AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER? lol


----------



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I've started skipping over threads asking for a critique of young horses (under three-years-old) and that contain the phrase "I know these aren't the best pics..." If you know they aren't good pics to critique from, why waste the time putting them up?

As for Talyn, I honestly think given proper food and time to grow, she'll turn into a lovely mare. I know Aires has had his "quick-stuff-him-in-a-box" phases, but now, as a coming 4yo, he's really coming into his own. He still has that same ridiculously huge head of his, but he's really turning out quite nicely.

If you had told me two years ago when I bought him that this (taken the day I bought him):








Would turn into this (taken last summer and the best pic I've got until he sheds out lol):









I would have said you had just earned yourself a one-way ticket to the funny farm.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

just to give a basic idea of how a horse can change in a year while young, my appy filly. she also has an amazing mind, but i sure thought she was ugly when I got her. First is one year old, second almost exactly a year later.


----------



## QHriderKE (Aug 3, 2011)

I wish I had more youngster pics of Squiggy....
But here's like... a months difference.

Conformational nightmare:









Pretty:


----------



## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

At least you guy's horses are going through fugly stages as yearlings or so. My gelding is in the middle of one right now. He's three and a half. 

He was looking pretty nice last spring/early summer but it's been downhill since then. LOL. I hope he comes out of it soon!

As a yearling.









Last spring. Looking good, right? 









And right now. Not so nice...


----------



## Cweaver (Jan 23, 2013)

OK here I go! Critiquing the first filly. I am BY NO MEANS a conformation expert or even amateur. Trying to learn so correct me if Im wrong. I wont catch everything but this is what I see. Also I realize shes young and these things could change.
Obvious ewe neck.
Neck ties in pretty high (not sure if good or bad?)
very... strange withers (not sure how to name those..)
Not bad back length but pretty sure this has to do with strange withers
steep croup angle
club foot back left? could just be picture
Not bad length of cannons
pasterns could be a tad shorter?
is camped out
cowhocked

Okay that's all Ive got.. don't go to harsh on me, Im learning  input is appreciated
Also, if I put a ?, that means Im not 100%


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Cweaver said:


> OK here I go! Critiquing the first filly. I am BY NO MEANS a conformation expert or even amateur. Trying to learn so correct me if Im wrong. I wont catch everything but this is what I see. Also I realize shes young and these things could change.
> Obvious ewe neck.
> Neck ties in pretty high (not sure if good or bad?)
> very... strange withers (not sure how to name those..)
> ...


Very good .

You are correct except for the club foot, that must have just been the picture. I was wondering if anyone would spot the strangeness of her withers. I don't know what to call that either as I've never seen it before...that they run so far back into her back. I hope saddle fitting on her isn't a nightmare.

Everything else was spot on. Also, one thing that many folks may not realize (I just started really thinking about it recently) is that camped out on the back and sickle hocks can often be the result of the same fault, depending on how the horse is standing. So, if I had posted different pictures, you could have called her sickle hocked instead of camped out and still been correct about the base fault. In her case, it is a long gaskin coupled with a steeply angled, short croup.

Just for an example, this is how she stands at other times...


----------



## Kayella (Feb 11, 2012)

I think her withers are exactly where they need to be.  I think it's lack of conditioning in the top of her neck. If you look back on all the youngins posted in this thread, they all have the same problem, but not to your girl's degree. Henny has it but it's a bit difficult to see with the coloring and braid. It just looks like the neck doesn't tie in to the withers well enough, but it should come around and look normal once they grow and fill out.

If you look past the neck and malnutrition, I think she's actually rather well balanced. Her neck ties in a little too low on her chest. She's got a good back length and nice big shoulder, even if it is maybe a bit too steep. She's got nice thick, strong looking legs. Her pasterns might be a touch long, NOW, but babies always seem to have loooong pasterns and then grow into them as they age. She is a little sickle hocked in the back and toed out, but as she fills out she may straighten up. I really like her.  I'd love to see her again slicked out in the summer with more condition on. She'd look great then.


----------



## Cweaver (Jan 23, 2013)

smrobs said:


> Very good .
> 
> You are correct except for the club foot, that must have just been the picture. I was wondering if anyone would spot the strangeness of her withers. I don't know what to call that either as I've never seen it before...that they run so far back into her back. I hope saddle fitting on her isn't a nightmare.
> 
> ...


Yay thank you!  I've been trying to get better! And yeah I now see the sickle hocks, but I didn't know about that relationship between the two, very interesting. Thank you for that


----------



## Cweaver (Jan 23, 2013)

Kayella said:


> If you look past the neck and malnutrition, I think she's actually rather well balanced. *Her neck ties in a little too low on her chest*. She's got a good back length and nice big shoulder, even if it is maybe a bit too steep. She's got nice thick, strong looking legs. Her pasterns might be a touch long, NOW, but babies always seem to have loooong pasterns and then grow into them as they age. She is a little sickle hocked in the back and toed out, but as she fills out she may straighten up. I really like her.  I'd love to see her again slicked out in the summer with more condition on. She'd look great then.


Hi Kayella, quick question! I'm only asking this because I'm very new to conformation evaluating and I'm not trying to sass or tell you you're wrong, but Itd be great if you could clear this up for me. To me, I thought it looked like her neck tied in higher rather than lower? If you would, could you point out what tells you that her neck ties in lower? To me, a neck that ties in lower would be more like the second picture (when he was about 2 years) of the bay on page two. I cant remember posters name.. Thanks!


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Just bumping this back up to the top.


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Bumping it up again


----------



## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

And AGAIN! 

*sigh*


----------



## GotaDunQH (Feb 13, 2011)

Kayella said:


> I think her withers are exactly where they need to be.  I think it's lack of conditioning in the top of her neck. If you look back on all the youngins posted in this thread, they all have the same problem, but not to your girl's degree. Henny has it but it's a bit difficult to see with the coloring and braid. It just looks like the neck doesn't tie in to the withers well enough, but it should come around and look normal once they grow and fill out.
> 
> If you look past the neck and malnutrition, I think she's actually rather well balanced. Her neck ties in a little too low on her chest. She's got a good back length and nice big shoulder, even if it is maybe a bit too steep. She's got nice thick, strong looking legs. Her pasterns might be a touch long, NOW, but babies always seem to have loooong pasterns and then grow into them as they age. She is a little sickle hocked in the back and toed out, but as she fills out she may straighten up. I really like her.  I'd love to see her again slicked out in the summer with more condition on. She'd look great then.


Now see, I don't see a low neck/chest tie it at all. I actually see a really nice tie in, especially given where her withers are set further into her back. This is the perfect combination for a nice "break at the wither" when she starts under saddle. The neck....that topline will fill in once she is in a work program. The back length...might be just a smidge short, but I personally like a shorter back. The hind end...hmmm....gooserumped and I hope she levels out. Right now I don't see a ton of substance in her hip, she will always be gooserumped....but with work her hip will build up some to look not as shallow.

I'll have to go back to look at the pics again to talk about her legs.


----------



## Kayella (Feb 11, 2012)

I see a low neck tie-in in the future haha. Once she fills out, I think her neck may tie in a little lower than desired. You never know, though. I could be totally wrong. :wink: I think, right now, it looks like it ties in well. But seeing the way that her chest "pushes out" as it meets with her neck makes me think it ties in low. Or I could just be crazy LOL. I know the basics of conformation so anything I say should definitely be taken with a grain of salt.


----------



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Just bumping this back up again .


----------

