# This is a little off the wall.



## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

I show my horse in Foundation Quarter Horse Shows, and I am rrrreally wanting to aim for the versatility saddle next year, and my horse will be 21 and by no means shows it, other than her higher withers. She isn't a fancy built horse, she is built to work on a ranch and do her job. To be able to win the saddle, I need to place really good in halter (along with other classes, but this one tends to be our downfall). This probably sounds super stupid and idiotic, buuut...how can I make my horses head look smaller? Bahahaha XD Her head is HUGE.  It may not look it from the pictures, but it's in no way a nice refined "mare" face.


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## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

And yes, I realise she is standing rather funky in the last picture. I had her standing nice and square, but she decided to move.


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## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

And it doesn't help to much that the Youth Mares halter is all ages horses, so of course the 5 year old mares beat out the older ones.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

I wouldn't worry so much about her head, she has such a sweet face. What I would do is make sure her head/throatlatch is as "clean" as possible, including trimming her hair/ears. The more trim her head is, the smaller and better shaped it will look. CAUTION: don't do this the week before the show, try a couple weeks that way you can fix any clipper mishaps. 

Then, you want to call more attention to her best attributes. Practice with different grooming products to see how you can make the eye go more towards something awesome about her (like that beautiful tail) and less to the head. Get that tail as fluffy and white as you can, this could make all the difference and draw the eye to the opposite end of the horse! For one you want a low key halter, not one that screams "look at me, look at me" like the one you have pictures. It draws the eye right to her head. I would choose something like a nice neutral color that still "pops" on her, like black, or a nice standard leather.

Do some exercises over winter to help keep up her muscle tone (more muscle will also help her head look a little smaller in contrast to her body) and also work on teaching her to stay squared for you. Anything you can possibly fix, fix it. The more perfect your horse is in all other ways, the less the "head" will matter as much, and to be honest I wouldn't worry about her pretty head.

I have to do these things with Cinny as we automatically go in to the dressage ring with points knocked down (he is a horrid teeth grinder). So, we have to make sure we are so perfect on every other aspect that the points knocked down for the grinding don't kill us to much. It's all about showing off your horse's best qualities.


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## ptvintage (Feb 12, 2010)

Plastic surgery

But seriously, don't try to make it look smaller, just make sure your halter is in proportion to the horse's head. Wider leather, in a color that compliments her. I'd suggest a dark leather halter. The yellow isn't doing her any favors.


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## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

Hmm..thanks a lot!! That makes a lot of sense! If only I could paint big purple spots on all of her good points.... I can't believe I never thought of the color of her halter! DUH! I normally try to match with what shirts I have, so maybe I could go with like a silvery grey halter? And she's also got a really nobby pole and round pony ears. So should I trim her ears more and her fluffy forelock less? Thankfully the next show isn't until April, so I have time to build her muscle back up again


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

I completely agree with Cinny.

About her withers, does the saddle you're using really fit her? Like is it wide enough in the wither area with and without a pad? 
The way her withers are reminds me of horses I've seen that have been constantly ridden in a saddle that is too narrow, causing their wither muscles to atrophy. Her withers don't appear to be THAT high, they just stick up a lot because there are no muscles to camouflage them. Hill work and a well-fitting saddle is your friend!


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## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

I'm no saddle fitting expert, but her saddle appeared to look..I dunno how to describe it...it looked like it was sinking into her back? Or like pinching her withers...I've switched pads from my plain 1inch pad to a thicker 1-1/2 stiffer wool pad, and sometimes the original pad with a wither pad. It probably doesn't help much that she is a bit out of shape in her topline.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

I would def work on that topline then, this will also help you in halter classes.

Sometimes changing pads may help a saddle fit better, but usually it can make it worse. If the saddle is already pinching at the withers, a thicker pad will actually add pinching pressure. Think of wearing a pair of pants that are a little too small around the waist. Now think of taking a really THICK sweater and trying to tuck it into those pants, does it make them fit better, or worse? It's somewhat the same concept.


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## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

But the thinner of pad I put, the worse it looks like it's pinching her...
And I've tried a wider saddle, and it REALLY looked like it fit her, but if you can tell from the first pic, she wound up getting some scarring around her withers. GAH.
Is there a forum on here for saddle fit? Lol I'll try to upload some pics soon and have somebody tell me if it looks right or not.


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## ptvintage (Feb 12, 2010)

Well, I don't know if silvery gray would help out either. It's too similar in color to her. The eye would blend her head with the halter and it'd make her head look even bigger. A dark halter that contrasted with her coat would have a slimming effect. 

Don't forget about proportion though. If you get a thinner halter, it'll just highlight how wide the rest of her head is. If you get a halter that isn't flat and bulges out, it would highlight any bulges she potential has (if she does have any, I can't tell). 

Interesting thought as well - if you cover the top half of the picture with your hand to cover the yellow/orange, your mare's coat looks lovely with your blue jeans. If you cover the blue, it's not quite as lovely. I think if you picked a color in the same tone as your blue jeans, that would work out really well. Not just blue, but the darkness - for example, I don't think your fellow competitor's blue shirt looks good with your mare. 

Just my opinion, of course. I think both you and your mare are lovely. Agree also with the conditioning stuff that the others dicussed.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

ptvintage said:


> Interesting thought as well - if you cover the top half of the picture with your hand to cover the yellow/orange, your mare's coat looks lovely with your blue jeans. If you cover the blue, it's not quite as lovely. I think if you picked a color in the same tone as your blue jeans, that would work out really well. Not just blue, but the darkness - for example, I don't think your fellow competitor's blue shirt looks good with your mare.


One of the girls at my stable has a very similar looking grey (grey paint but he's so faded you can't see his spots anymore) who is in his 20's and for 4H she always dressed in blues or blacks and he looked just SMASHING. In his stall however, he does seem a bit more awkward in some ways. She always places really high with him and gets a lot of Champ and high point awards.

Next time I see her I'll pick her brain for her grooming tips for light colored horses


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## Faceman (Nov 29, 2007)

You should use a black halter. If black can make your butt look smaller, it should be able to make a horse head look smaller...:rofl:


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## Roberto (Dec 17, 2009)

I would put a rubber band (white) in her forelock. Practice either putting all of her forelock in one or dividing her forelock in half, upper and lower. Put a rubber band in the top half, about halfway down, then bring it down straight and put a rubber band around the top portion and the bottom portion you set aside. Does this make since? Her head does not look too big, she's just loosing her facial muscle tone with age. I would also trim out her ears and clip along the outside, following the ear around, get rid of the fluffies. 
Maybe practice with someone else observing different levels of her holding her neck/head. I think if she had her head a little higher than it is in the pic, not straight up, but just a little more raised, she wouldn't appear droopy. 
Does she like pepper mints? If not then you could use pieces of carrot or apple, but use the crinkly paper from a mint to signal to her that she is going to get a piece of carrot, her ears should come up - alert, then give her the treat. Do this several times, then just crinkle the wrapper and when she puts her ears up just give her a good pet and tell her she's a good girl. So, when you are in the ring and the judge comes by to look at her, the big one last glance at your horse profile look, crinkle the wrapper and she will have a very pleasant animated look, but no petting or treats in the arena. My horse falls asleep in halter, we need this trick to pull it off. Here's a pic of her from our last show.


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## Ace80908 (Apr 21, 2011)

I would go with a thick dark brown leather halter and lead. Professional and tidy. When you fit it on her, put it up high on her nose, it will cut her face in half and make it look shorter from eye to muzzle (which is what you want). 

Make sure to look at the rules, some foundation classes are specific in what the horse can wear and if they can be clipped... 

Midwest Foundation Quarter Horse rulebook says:
Rules prohibit extravagant displays; no silver tack, banding, braiding, clipping. Just come with a competent horse.

So make sure... and to fit I would do lots of trotting and hills if you have them, and practice practice practice setting her up so she doesn't move on you in the ring...

Good luck, I think her head looks cute in the second pic - she's cute


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

Okay, here is my friend's grooming tips for light grays when showing halter (she's a 4H coach). She uses a high whitening shampoo, especially on the tail. In the winter she keeps the tail wrapped to help keep it from getting stained. In the summer she keeps it down and uses "Mane and Tail" detangler daily. She keeps mane trimmed the appropriate length and says for halter classes NOT to black the hooves (it looks too fake). Instead use super shiny hairspray because it doesn't dry out the hooves so bad, looks natural and yet gives them a shine and washes off easily. Dark color halter. On show day she also sprays Champion Peppy (sorry for the spelling) into the tail while fluffing it to make it look full and shiny, hair gel on the mane to make it look more "set" yet natural.

Hope this helps.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

Biggest thing is to make sure no matter what halter you decide on that it fits well. A sloppy fitting halter will only draw more attention to her head. 

I show foundation shows with my youngsters and had to get new show halters because of the no silver rule, ended up having some made w/ buck stitching on them. They turned out pretty sharp, well made & reasonably priced. 

As others have said, if you have the access, hill work would help quite a bit.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

This may seem like a dumb question....

If you are showing in Foundation Quarter Horse Shows and talking about versatility, do you mean Ranch Versatility?

If your showing in Ranch Versatility the halter class is supposed to be judged as correct conformation for ability to do ranch work, therefor the size of her head wouldn't matter a whole lot...unless it is so big you can't see around it


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## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

Cowchick. Exactly. Buuut a lot of the judges go for the finer built, more "femine" mares.
And it's not really called ranch versatility, but everything (except the speed events) are based on how well that horse preforms doing ranch tasks. If you ask me, if my horses head is just sliiightly bigger than it should, I highly doubt it will make her fail at pulling a log or chasing a cow.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Annnie31 (May 26, 2011)

Im curious...did you ever approach a judge to find out what they think of your horse and why she placed a bit lower? I think for 21 she looks fantastic but I do see a couple of other holes in her confirmation that have nothing to do with her head size. Personally I dont think her head will hurt her that much, she has a kind eye, ears forward, and overall looks like she is enjoying herself. 
I think you should talk to one of the judges when you are done showing and ask them what you can do to improve> JMO


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## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

One of my friends mom is a judge for the Foundation Quarter Horse Registry.
She does have a rather sweet face, I think she is flat adorable, but from the side she has the profile shape of a belgian lol.
If you don't mind, please elaborate what you mean on her conformation?


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## MangoRoX87 (Oct 19, 2009)

Would lunging her with draw reins help build her topline? I have a hill but its short and very slippery.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sahara (Jul 23, 2010)

Trotting over poles will help her topline more than side reins will. Going over poles will make her contract her abdominal muscles and lift her back.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

I wouldn't lunge with draw reins or even side reins. Sometimes they can make matters worse by making the neck build muscle in the wrong places or break the natural arch of the neck, especially when applied incorrectly.


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