# Critique my saddlebred/thoroughbred cross



## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

All I can say is I'm glad you got her and are feeding her/ pampering her. 

Okay, so lets see, I'll keep in mind her breeding.

Her back is long and a bit low/ swayed. (Saddlebreds are prone to sway back genetically.

I don't know if it's the photo angle, but it looks like she might be a tiny bit ewe necked, again, not 100% on this one.

Her right front leg looks rotated outward a bit, it could be the way she's standing though, but still.

Her hocks are high, and her gaskins aren't well developed.

Her form over the jump in the first picture shows her knees pointing downward, and she's a bit crooked, a big no-no in a hunter show. The second pic is better 

Good points include that her forearm, cannon, fetlock ratios are good.
Her girth is adequate, not deep, but it'll do.

She looks like she's got a sweet side to her.

She has flea-bites! A purely cosmetic thing, but I do like flea-bites on a grey! (What can I say, I'm a bit of a sucker,LOL.)

All in all, not the greatest conformation, but certainly not the worst I've seen,


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

Flea bitten grey. She appears to have saddlebred in there.. might even be pure from her build. She has lordosis (sway back) showing as a large dip behind her withers. It is not as extreme as the attached photo, but it is a genetic issue and no amount of feed or riding will fix it. It is what it is. Be VERY VERY careful fitting a saddle. You might have to get something custom made. 

Along with the lordosis, she also has a long weak coupling that ties into a high peak of croup that is overly flat to a high tail set. Again, a Saddlehorse thing and may be the result of breeding for a high tail set and to look better when they are "parked" for in hand classes. 

She has adequate bone. She is a little straight through the hocks. She is also slightly back at the knee. Her neck placement is high (again, saddlebred) and her shoulder is adequate. the reason she drops her knees over the fence is her lordosis with a long weak coupling and not her shoulder. 

I do not think this horse is at all Thoroughbred. I think she is a Saddlebred all the way and no Thoroughbred. 

I am not sure I would jump this horse at all. She has lordosis which will make her jump awkwardly (and these photos show it). She will require a custom saddle. Most horses with lordosis are not unsound (unless the saddle makes them that way). However, saddle fit is a large part of the equation so beware of that and be very careful.


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## SeaBreezy (Jun 29, 2012)

Pros: Her neck ties in high, but otherwise it seems to fit her body type. She has a decent heart girth and decent bone. Even with her flaws, I think she is still fairly well built. 

Cons: She has a bit of an upright shoulder, some muscle atrophy going on behind the withers, weak loins, and a goose rump. The lordosis is pretty common in Saddlebreds from what I've seen. She also looks slightly toed out in the front, but I could be wrong. Her croup is pretty short, but I also think that's a definite Saddlebred trait.

In my opinion, she looks 100% Saddlebred to me. Of course, you never know, some mixes will take on most of the traits of just one of their parents.


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## KodasSlvrWings (Feb 5, 2014)

Thank you SaeBreazy for adding some positive things too I was beginning to think she had no redeeming qualities at all. As for her back and saddle fit she does well in a full quarter bar western saddle and a medium tree English as long as I have enough padding in the right places. I knew that she had some what of a sway back and definitely muscle atrophy all along her top line and hind end but it actually has gotten a million times better with the massage therapy/red light, ground poles, hill work, and some stretches. Obviously her back will never be 100% but it has gotten better. And jumping, she LOVES it! As soon as jumps come out she starts dancing around. I've never made her do it, I discovered she loved it when someone else was getting a lesson and she kept trying to go towards the jumps. She's the kind of horse that you just hold on for the ride and she will do the rest, it's so effortless feeling. I don't jump her any crazy heights. The most we have done is 2.3 and I never plan on showing any serious shows with her.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

my friend has a Nat. Show horse (Saddlebred/Arab), and this mare has the same bit of sway in her back. hard to fit. but, that mare LOVES jumping! she gets very strong when pointed at a jump, or a log in the trail.

your horse looks happy and healthy and looks attuned to you as the rider going over those jumps. a hrose that is at ease with his rider has a certain look; no gapping of the mouth, no tension in the jaw and a soft eye. many people have the best conformed horses around, and they ride them and the hrose's look like they hate every minute of it. not you and your horse.


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## KodasSlvrWings (Feb 5, 2014)

Thank you so much Tinyliny! This is what I work for with any if my horses. And this mare specifically. In anything I ask of her she gives me 100%. We might not be the best at it, but she gives it her all! I feel it's hard to find that in a horse that's just so willing to do things for you.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Elana--Holy crap, that picture o,o Is lordosis something that gets worse over time?


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## cb06 (Dec 30, 2012)

The grey mare is NOT swaybacked...she is long and has a prominent wither and no topline muscling. 

The chestnut IS swaybacked. To learn more about actual swayback (genetic), see here:
The Truth About Swaybacks | EquiSearch

Additional confo thoughts, she is a bit straight shouldered, has that short croup, and is camped out behind (hocks set to far back). But she had a pleasant expression and appears very willing and looks like good clean legs. If you could get a few hundred more pounds on her and some muscling, she'd look 100% better. Have fun with her!


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

cute flea bitten grey. she looks to be more arab x saddlebred than TB x saddlebred.
I would say sway backed , but not severe . I have seen long backed horses with a high wither but the back does not have the bowed look. 
Besides that She looks to be willing and happy and that is the best thing to have in a horse !
She should be able to some hunter type of classes, but the judges may not place her in the ribbons because of how she hold her legs. She is lucky you found her. Good luck and hope she gains a bunch of weight soon. Would love to see a pick of her after her weight is up , bet she will be a cutie pie .


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## KodasSlvrWings (Feb 5, 2014)

She has gained sooo much wait since I got her!! I'll have to post pictures of when I first found her. She literally looked like a skeleton with fur draped over. It was so sad  I just went and got my triple crown senior today and just finished weighing it all out. 2 hours and 100lbs of feed later I've got her feed all measured out to start her transition tomorrow. We are going from 5lbs of SafeChoice Senior, 2lbs of beet pulp pellets and alfalfa pellets, 4oz of cocosoya oil and all the free choice hay and grass she can eat 24/7. To 8lbs of Triple Crown Senior, 1lb of beet pulp pellets, 4oz of cocosoya oil and of course continuing her free choice hay and grazing 24/7.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Thoroughbredlover33 (Mar 19, 2014)

Ah! She is beautiful. She has a bit of a sway back, but I'm not super duper great with describing conformation. I can pick out a horse with a good conformation, but can't describe what makes it good or bad. She looks almost exactly like my stallion. He has the same flea bites and mane and tail color.


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## Lovely Little Lady (Sep 4, 2014)

She is cute I'm no good with horse conformation I'm trying to learn a thing or two from reading these but she looks extremely confident in herself and you.


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## KodasSlvrWings (Feb 5, 2014)

So Lakota has been on the Triple Crown for a few weeks now, same amount as the SafeChoice, and I am absolutely amazed! Not only did the company send me a little measuring cup that has all of their products on it but they sent me 2 free bag coupons! People around the barn kept telling me she has really filled out but I just wasn't seeing it.... until today when she met me at the gate, I mistook her for a different horse! Here are some pictures from this afternoon that I took on our property. What do you guys think?


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

she looks great! very elegant, with her long face.


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## BreezylBeezyl (Mar 25, 2014)

tinyliny said:


> my friend has a Nat. Show horse (Saddlebred/Arab), and this mare has the same bit of sway in her back. hard to fit. but, that mare LOVES jumping! she gets very strong when pointed at a jump, or a log in the trail.
> 
> your horse looks happy and healthy and looks attuned to you as the rider going over those jumps. a hrose that is at ease with his rider has a certain look; no gapping of the mouth, no tension in the jaw and a soft eye. many people have the best conformed horses around, and they ride them and the hrose's look like they hate every minute of it. not you and your horse.


My NSH has the same back as well. It's a combination of the prominent withers and long back of the ASB, the breed seems to suffer from topline issues. As such, I DON'T think this horse has swayback, just a really poor topline even for ASB standards. It gets worse with age and less regular work. I remember freaking out when I first got my mare - I feared swayback.

I agree with the others as well, I am not see Thoroughbred in this mare. She looks all ASB to me.

I think you guys are fine to jump! But I would also do LOTS of long and low work with her. It's kind of hard work for an ASB, but even if you can get her to lower her head at the trot you should be able to stretch those muscles and get her back rounded. Proper riding is very important for this breed.

And can I say WOW? Those more recent pictures make her look LOVELY! And her topline is really coming in too. She's cute!


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## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

I adore her face and ears. And those eyes. I'm done when I see a horse with nice soft eyes.

Oh, and she looks so much better. What a great job you are doing!

I love Triple Crown products.


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## KodasSlvrWings (Feb 5, 2014)

She has very expressive eyes, when she is relaxed and confident her eyes are soft, if she's the slightest bit nervous they get HUGE! She tagged along with us to my sister's team penning event last weekend and when she saw the cows for the first time her eyes almost bulged out! 

She currently is worked 7 days a week: 2 days lunging with side reins, at most 2 days jumping, and the other 3-4 doing just basic flat work, extended and working trots, ground polls, ect. The massage therapist, who is also my trainer, showed me yesterday some techniques and exercises to help loosen up (she was very tense on her top line) and strengthen her back.

I am currently building her up to 8lbs of TC senior a day and 2lbs of soaked beet pulp a day. She gets free choice hay at night in her stall and grass turn out during the day. With all of the extra feed and new excersices I'm hoping to have her up to par before winter hits!


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## IquitosARG10 (Aug 27, 2011)

What a transformation! She is a beauty!


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