# New Horse Conformation! :)



## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

Meet my new boy Cowboy! I got him on July 5th 2013, so I have only had him for a few days. He is a wonderful wonderful horse! Kid safe as they come, calm, and pretty to boot. He is going to be mine and my younger brothers horse (Something for him to play with and learn from), and something for me to gain my confidence back with.

Cowboy is a 16 yr old gelding. Not sure what breed. He is gaited, so if anyone wants to take a shot at his breed, feel free. He is heavy boned, so I'm thinking he may be a mix of something. Who knows.

He was running loose on a 500 acre farm and he never had his feet trimmed, they just stayed trimmed from his constant moving over such a large field. They don't look awful (or do they?), but the farrier is coming out sometime next week.

He has been rode every day up until the last 2 months where he was just out in a pasture. He is a very spoiled boy as he got not only the whole 500 acres of pasture, but also sweet feed, watermelons, and whatever else they decided to give him.

He has been vet checked and is sound and healthy. I was just wanting to know how he looked conformation wise. He is older, and he is sound now. I just want to know if he is going to be sound for the next few years. He is just going to be a trail horse around the house, and possibly go to a couple shows later this summer. Nothing too strenuous.

Sorry for the novel. 

















Thanks again!


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

That head is making me thing standardbred, but I'm really not sure. Gaited horses are not my expertise. I won't comment on his confo because I'm not used to dealing with his body type. What is normal for gaited or even considered 'good' is a major flaw in the Quarter Horses that I'm used to! lol

His feet definitely need some work but they aren't terrible. He has too much heel on his back hooves from the looks of it, and maybe not enough toe (telling me he probably moves short strided in the back, more up and down movement than 'floating' right?) and he has underrun heels in fromt as well as too much toe. All fixable things and I'd say he looks decent for having never been trimmed before. Start working on handling his feet now!


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

Thanks for the comment! I never thought about standard bred, but I can see what you mean from his head. 

He actually picks up his feet and handles the very well. He likes to lea on you come when you pick them up, but that can be fixed. So he shouldn't be too much trouble when the farrier comes out. 

thanks again!


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Good to hear that he probably won't give you much trouble then! He sure is a good looking guy and I don't see why he wouldn't be sound for trail riding as long as you keep him conditioned well. How tall is he?


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

I haven't taped him myself, but the people that had him said about 15 hands. He is pretty tall. My dad thinks he is a mix of some kind of draft breed, just because he is so heavy built. His legs are very heavy boned.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Was he a local horse? (remember, I don't live too far from you) He is quite handsome! He does look Standardbred. Does he do a lateral two-beat pace, or a 4-beat like a Tennessee Walker? 

Looks like a wise choice!

Nancy


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## tlkng1 (Dec 14, 2011)

I can't take a stab at the breed, or mix thereof, on this one but his overall conformation looks pretty good. The farrier can deal with the hoof trimming and what others are seeing are correctable with proper trimming.

I have to say I wouldn't lean towards a draft cross though...the neck is too narrow for a draft. He may be large boned but even Thoroughbreds can have slightly heavier bones (I prefer that in a TB..those toothpick legs just make me cringe) and if I am not mistaken, quarterhorses are also built a little more solid.


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

Greentree - He fairly local. I found him on craigslist. I had to go to Tennessee to get him. about an hour and a half ride down there. I found him by accident. If the lady hadn't held him for me, he would have been gone. He was very popular.

I am not really sure on his gait if it is 2 or 4 beat. I have only seen him go faster than a walk once, and that was when I was chasing my dog away from the goats and he got excited. He only went about 5 steps before he went back into a walk. I want to say it was a 2 beat pace, but I'm not sure. lol

tlkng1 - I wasn't thinking a daft cross either but my dad swears by it (he really isn't the most knowledgeable on horses in the first place). I don't really care what breed he is in the long run, I just need something to call him. When people ask what breed he is, the answer 'Horse' doesn't really cut it, lol.


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## tlkng1 (Dec 14, 2011)

Grin...the best response I can think of..."he knows what he is but he ain't a talkin'"


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

tlkng1 - lol, goofy horse 

Can anyone give me a good workup on his conformation? I would like to know what his faults are so I can keep an eye out as he gets older.


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## nickers103 (Aug 10, 2010)

He looks to me to either be a Quarter Horse or a Quarter Horse cross. Does he have any brand marks on him? I've seen quite a few what we call "Mexican Quarter Horses" (mustangs mainly) that look similar to him.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

I don't see draft either. Qh X would be my guess.


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

No brands on him, I made sure to look. If he is a QH crossed with a gaited horse, he could still end up gaited, right? Because I was walking him today and I thought that he looked more like a QH.

Maybe a QH and Tennessee Walking Horse cross? 

Any comments on his conformation? He seems to be a bit camped out behind, but if he has Tennessee Walker in him, that's normal, right?


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

He is a well built horse. Reminds me of Traveller, Robert E. Lee's famous horse


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

awe! Tinylily, they do look alike! He is a good boy, I just he holds out on me with his age.


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

Well, to anyone who is interested, I think I am pretty sure what breed Cowboy is. Pretty sure he is a QH/TWH cross! I rode him for the first time today after getting him home after the vet said it was okay, and he has that fanciest, prettiest, head bobbing gait I have ever seen (Maybe I am a bit biased... lol). Very long strides like a TWH, but he is thick built like a QH. Either way, that's what I am going to call him, haha!


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## Barrelracingllamalover (May 16, 2013)

Too long and thin a neck, and too small a hind quarters..... It at least that's what I'd tell you if he was quarter horse! Lol. Not a bad looking on the whole. His head does look standard bred to me.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

Maybe he is a QH, Standard mix... lol. I'm not too worried about what he is - He is a good horse, and thats all that matters.


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## Ponies (Aug 18, 2012)

He looks just like a walker. Though he does have that 'clunky' standy head.. 
Possibly a mix of the two? Im leaning more towards walker.


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## caglover (Jun 3, 2013)

He looks like a STB..no tattoo on the neck?
check the lip. He could still be a STB without the tattoo, as there are a lot of folks in the South who breed STB for speed racking and never get the registered with the USTA

Does the hip bone seem to protrude? One of the characteristics of one of the gray STB blood lines is protruding hip bones.


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

I haven't looked at him lip, but there is no tattoo on the neck or anything like that. I will check his lip tomorrow before we go for a ride. I wouldn't call his hip bones 'protruding' but he does seem to have a prominent hip bone. I will try to get better pictures of him so maybe you can take a look at him yourself and see what you think.

When he walkes, he has a very long stride. So much that when I ride him, my hips move very much. More than any horse I have ever rode. And he has a more of a pace gait than a 4 beat TWH gait. I will try to get a video too for you to take a look at. He isn't very good at staying in his gait, but we are working on that.


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

To me he looks like a TWH cross. TWH don't have the most elegant heads either:lol: The TWH 's I've seen are also pretty thick/bigger bodied ,have good bone & similiar hock set.


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## RiverBelle (Dec 11, 2012)

I have tried to get a video of him going in his gait for people to see, but he doesn't stay in his gait for very long, and it's so hard to ride his pacey gait, I look like a bouncing mess on his back. I haven't figured out the right movement yet... but I'm really not that worried about his breed. The vet came out and did his shots and etc, and said he looked like a QH TWH cross. But eh. whatever! XD


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