# Condition (before and after) critique



## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Surely SOMEONE has something to say?  come on now, I don't mind harsh critique.


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## SpottedDraftRider (Jun 26, 2011)

I have to say that Old Man Noah now has quite a bit of muscle in his neck. His hind quarters and his chest doesn't have as much muscle as I expected. Hills are wonderful for building up chest and hind quarter muscles. Even if you just walk up and down the hill it has done wonders for my horses. I would also like to see him have a bit more fat. I don't like to see my horse's ribs as much as I can see Noah's, and for all I know he could still be racing lean. It is always a plus if you can get any horse to gain a little bit of weight before winter. Good job, I know it can be hard to re-train an ex-race horse. I have helped re-train a few of those horses, and it is NOT easy.


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## MicKey73 (Dec 26, 2010)

Sorry, no critique from me. Do want to say thank you for helping to make his life better. He has a sweet look about him, like he appreciates your effort and has formed a bond with you. A bond is probably all new to him! Anyway, I can definitely see an improvement and the start of his topline. Nice job!


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

SpottedDraftRider- thankyou for the critique. Yes, you're absolutely correct. He should have more muscle in his hindquarters than he does, and I think that probably has a lot to do with the fact that it's really hard to get him to engage his hindquarters. He'll do it, but if you're not constantly reminding him, he'll go flat again. I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to get him off of his forehand (he still tends to lean that way sometimes, unfortunately) and get that butt of his big so he can compete with our QH booties! We dont really have access to any hills, but I'll see if we can't fine _somewhere_ for him to go, maybe once or twice a week. As for his weight...that's probably the most annoying thing about him. He's such a picky eater, and he tends to eat very slowly. We've actually had to start penning him by himself to eat (he was in a group of ten before) and we were reccomended to start him on senior feed since it tends to have a bit more substance to it. He could easily take on another hundred pounds and be fine, with as large as he is. (17.3hh) 

MicKey73- We're absolutely in love with his easy temperment and gentle nature, even with the kids. It's him, not us- that is the blessing. He's such a sweet boy, even if he didn't make it very far on the track. And to think that he spent so many years ungelded but acts like a gentleman astounds me. 

We definately still have a lot of work ahead of us, that's for certain, but I really couldn't ask more of him. Now just to get that butt engaged and some groceries on those bones!


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## SpottedDraftRider (Jun 26, 2011)

Getting a horse to go off of his/her hindquarters can be extremely hard if they haven't been doing their job this way for a while. I remember re-training a horse that was used to just flat out running and didn't use his hindquarters. I used to practice transitions with collections and extensions. After he got good at this, I would place two ground poles at the opposite sides of the circles I would have him do. I would ask him to collect for an entire circle so he would have to engage his hindquarters (especially over the poles). Then as a reward I would let him go his preferred pace (an extended canter) around a circle. I did this walk, trot, and canter. I don't know if this will work with Noah, but it worked with my old gelding. This may also help him muscle up in the chest, and will definitely help with flexibility if he has any problems with that. As for his weight, I used to use a supplement called Rice Bran with some of the ex-racehorses I had (I did ex-racehorse foster care for a while). All it does is increase the fat content and doesn't give the horses any extra energy. All the horses my friends and I used this on liked it. Including the extremely picky ones. As for eating slowly, does he have any issues with his teeth?
Sorry for the novel-like post


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Thank you so much for the suggestions! He really just doesn't understand how to use his hindquarters, yet- I suppose. I'll definately try what you've said, and hope that it helps him. 

Rice Bran...yes, I think I've seen that at the feed store. I'll try to pick some up next time I go in for an installment. 

He does have some minor teeth issues, as well as a shallow pallette (which makes it hard to fit him for a bit, but the broken rubber snaffle I'm using right now seems to be pretty good for him.) so we're having him routinely floated every three months. It doesn't seem hard for him to eat as long as we stay on top of that, he just tends to get distracted, and dispite his size- he's a big pushover. He would just stand and wait while our miniature yearling ate his fill, not even bothering to challenge the others for his meal. It's a pain, but we figure that eating alone or with just one other non-agressive horse is the best plan for him.


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## atomic (Aug 15, 2011)

No critique but he is such a cutie  what a nice looking old guy. I do notice an improvement in his musculature, good job! It's hard to get a horse to use himself properly when they're not used to it, just keep at it and he will come around.


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## SpottedDraftRider (Jun 26, 2011)

Your welcome! I find it rather funny that he lets a miniature yearling eat his food. Good luck with the further training! Also could you post more pictures of him in the near future? I would love to see how is doing. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

haha, yep. He's just a big pushover. Observe.

17.3hh gelding versus 22 inch miniature. aha.









mini (clyd) says 'what are YOU?' and noah says 'what are _YOU?_'









I can definately see why he didn't get anywhere as a racehorse :lol: he has that 'OH. you wanted to pass me? All you had to do is ask!' attitiude. I see some potential in him though, not only as our lesson horse but also as a lower level competition horse. Dispite his quirks that we're still working out, he has a lovely, floaty gait that I dont see often in thoroughbreds, and a rather nice circle and turn. Perhaps once we have him working off of his booty we'll try a bit of dressage or something ^^

And absolutely! I'll try to post some more pictures in the next few weeks as we get him in better condition ^^


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## SpottedDraftRider (Jun 26, 2011)

Oh my gosh that is too cute! He does strike me as extremely sweet and curious. As my mother always says when we train horses "As long as there is something up there you can always teach them something." Every horse has their quirks, but it always goes back to the fact on how they handle them. For instance, a horse at my barn is terrified of weedwhackers. All he did was spin on his haunches and canter 2 strides. Another horse is scared of cats and bucks, rears, and bolts usually getting the rider off. As long as he can handle his quirks and he has a good mind (I know he does/have both), I bet you can do a lot with Noah. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

No critique here. I can see progress in muscle tone. Look forward to seeing him down the road. 

Do you have access to any hills? Hill work can do wonders for muscle development.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Unfortunately I don't, unless I trailer him. Living in Texas, everything is extremely flat unless you consider the manure pile a 'hill' xD


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

Endiku said:


> Unfortunately I don't, unless I trailer him. Living in Texas, everything is extremely flat unless you consider the manure pile a 'hill' xD


Lol! I can relate, it's really flat around here too but we have one lonely hill in our woods.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Endiku,

(always wondered what that meant?)

I think he looks quite a bit better. Neck and back and chest look loads better. And he looks happier, too.

One thing I think I see is a pretty stiff neck, especially just behind the poll. It looks like he can flex vertically some, but what about lateral flexion? Can you get him to flex at the poll wherein he kind of "twirls" his head left or right, tucking his jowl into his throat a bit and keeping his long face vertical?

More work that causes him to step under himself , I mean with the inside leg stepping across the outside hind and under himself, will help build his abdomin, and thus back, and work on loosening that rather stiff looking neck

Does that sound realistic?


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

He looks loved. He can have all the muscles in the world but he feels the best when he is loved.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Tinylily-

THAT is a long story xD It started with a bit of an obsession with greek mythology. I admit that I'm rather fond of reading it, even if it makes no sense. It's kind of like fairytales, I guess. Not true, but interesting. I was searching greek gods one day and came upon one named 'endiku' or, as it is translated in a few other ways, 'enkidu' or 'ekindu'. He was a man raised by animals, who supposively roamed with cattle and protected animals from the oppressive hands of the people. He was sort of the 'protector.' He would take down traps, and set captive animals free. (read story here?x) I thought it was an interesting story and started using the name 'endiku' for things. Eventually just just sortof became a pet name of mine that I used for just about all of my usernames on any given site, so that I could be recognized wherever I went, including here. Unfortunately, the site I read about him on didn't give his whole story. It turns out that he abandoned the animals for a harlot!  Eventually he was 'domesticated' and became the protector of humans instead, slaying beast and yadayada. He ended up as a greek god. Knowing that now, my names a bit weird xD but I still enjoyed the story and I can't change names so...I'm stuck with it ^^. Moral of the story? _READ THE WHOLE THING BEFORE YOU LIKE IT._ :lol:


ANYWAYS. Sorry, got a bit sidetracked there...

Yes, that actually makes a lot of sense. I've always thought something was off with the way he carried himself, an d I think you've just nabbed it. I'll try some of those exercises with him, for sure. I do a lot of yielding to pressure (I'm sure you know that, I tend to preach religiously on yielding and flexations) but I didn't think to do it so much with him while _on _him, silly me. 

I think one of his problems is that his conformation is less than ideal. He's got an extreme shark-finn wither which makes saddle fitting fun (as you can see, he's gone through four or five saddles in the past few months as we try to get the best fit for him) and it seems to limit how he flexes and rounds out. We've gotten past a lot of the original stiff, jerkiness- but it's going to take a while to get him as supple as I'd like. Darned TBs and their odd bodies!


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

Everything I want to say has been covered  So I'm just going to say good luck because he lookes a lot better, I was glad to see in the pictures that his neck is getting more muscle. That's what peeves me about some tbs, their necks are so scrawny. -shifty eyes at her OTTB-


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