# Is he good enough for showing?



## Dreamcatcher5 (May 15, 2012)

I'm thinking of showing my SB gelding Luca in-hand. I trained standing still with him and here's one of the pics. Can someone thoroughly describe his conformation and say whether he's good enough for the show ring or not? He seems to have a slight 'ewe neck' but I'm doing some exercises to fix that. So...is he good enough? I think he's a nice looking horsey but what about you guys? What do you think? 

http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r498/fuphotob/be78129439f41049e551845a3418ba94_zps76b3f761.jpg 

http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r498/fuphotob/6c2773af0695a33c440230a71298440b_zpsc185851b.jpg

And here he is from behind (he's kinda standing on a weird angle though)
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/r498/fuphotob/212aea4473f7a09864fab178cf8a7c1e_zpsab5c3c1a.jpg


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## Dreamcatcher5 (May 15, 2012)

Oops that's 3 pics :lol:


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

It would depend on the competition but I would say if he is well broke then I would gear more towards riding classes than halter. Besides his neck he has quite a large head. I wasn't sure if SB was saddle bred or something else? But local fun shows would be fine for halter


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## Dreamcatcher5 (May 15, 2012)

SB for Standardbred....
So his head is too big, you say? 
Oh well...
He is still a bit skinny and he needs a lot more muscle...
And no he's not well broke, I've just started him under the saddle.
:-(

Can I somehow improve his appearance? 
He's only 6 by the way and he used to be a pacer


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

What kind of showing would you like to do? If you're wanting to do flat classes in a discipline, I cant imagine why he couldn't do a few classes once you've gotten him better broke and get some weight/muscle on him. He has the classic standardbred head but a fairly well built body with a nice shouder. Take your time with him and let him do lots of long and low work, hill work, etc before moving on to anything. I'll bet he will look great once he's conditioned and he has such a sweet face!

Dont worry about his appearance too much, many people arent a fan of standardbreds because of their 'clunky' look but he can still be a sucessful show horse! 

By the way, the correct abbreviation for standardbreds is generally STB, so that everyone knows the breed that you are talking about


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## Lexiie (Nov 14, 2011)

I have a Standy too 
born a pacer, but never raced.

He definitely had that STB build! He's a cutie, nice color!!

Since you just started him under saddle, I understand that lacking topline

If you want to show him in hand, go ahead. (though some judges also go on the horse's looks so our Standies don't get too much praise)


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## Lexiie (Nov 14, 2011)

This is my mare, we just went to a few shows this summer.

Idk about your boy, but in hand would be difficult for us because of her enormous stride (makes me look like I'm leaping with her)


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## Dreamcatcher5 (May 15, 2012)

Oh I forgot to say at the show that I want to enter him in, there's special classes JUST for STB's! So yeah, he'll have a better chance


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Well then by all means, enter him! If not for winning, for the experience. Showing can give young horses tons of stimuli to encounter and can be very rewarding experiences. Just dont take him before you know that his ground manners are impeccable, just to be on the safe side. Maybe even just take him to the show ground to watch for a day, to acclimate him to the sounds and stuff!


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## Dreamcatcher5 (May 15, 2012)

Oh and I've trained him to walk right next to me, with his head next to my shoulder and he has good ground manners


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## Dreamcatcher5 (May 15, 2012)

So you mean I should just take him to a horse show to watch? Hmmm...he gets excited when there's other horses but he's still controllable. I'll take him with a bridle because he's very easy to control then. And then, I'll enter him...if he feels comfortable out there


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Yes, at least the first time  just take him, tie him where he can see the commotion, and maybe take him for a walk around the grounds. Show grounds are a lot of stimulus for any horse, but especially a young one. There are scents, sounds, feelings, and slights that are new to them, all in one. If the show is a two or three day event, you could possibly even take him the first day to watch and compete in a small class the next day!

Being an ex pacer he does have an advantage in that he might already be used to some of this, but I'd still be careful


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## Bluebird (Jul 20, 2011)

You can always improve his condition if you think he's on the skinny side. As for showing in hand, what have you got to lose. You need to match him to the breed standard or whatever benchmark the judges use. The best advice I could ever give for showing be it your horse, dog cat or anything else is not to take it too seriously. By all means have him look the best he can be but take nothing personally. He may win with one judge and not with another. Above all, enjoy it.


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