# Thoroughbred Critique!!



## LoveMyDrummerBoy (Nov 5, 2009)

Holy croup high.

I really hope that he evens out, but that is more than likely due to the age.

Also, it appears he has an ewe neck, but I am not sure if this has the ability to change over time. I think that a critique is hard at this age, because a lot of horses change a lot during their time as a yearling. At least the ones that I have seen have.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

He is sure in the awkward stage, but I like the back half, and dislike the front half. He has a weak shoulder, chest, neck, but a real nice face. Front legs look fine, back end, croup, gaskin, all nice, nice. His back legs are okay as well. Hopefully this is just a ***** stage and he is out of it soon. Overall, he looks well taken care of.


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

too young to critiquwe. I can say in this condition he would not get a second look at a yearling sale. He is.. common looking. Bone is light, joints not large and he is tied in at the knee. 

That being said, yearlings going to a sale are conditioned.. hand walking and daily grooming etc. 

This is no age to judge a horse either. He is too young and there is a saying, "Tops may come but bottoms never." This means that the legs he has are the legs he has but the body will change and, perhaps, dramatically. 

What is his breeding?


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

He has lots of time to grow. he looks like he just got through with a growth spurt. at age 2 you may get a better ideal of how he may grow. he looks like he should get to about 16 h, my guess. Looks like he needs a groom and in pic he looks thin, but not so bad in the other.


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## trackstar (Mar 10, 2013)

Elana said:


> too young to critiquwe. I can say in this condition he would not get a second look at a yearling sale. He is.. common looking. Bone is light, joints not large and he is tied in at the knee.
> 
> That being said, yearlings going to a sale are conditioned.. hand walking and daily grooming etc.
> 
> ...


Hey, people I said critique not criticize lol. He still has a bit of a winter coat, so he obviously doesn't look his best at the moment. I rescued him so he has some weight to put on but is definitely not underweight. I have no information on his breeding.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Have you dewormed him yet? Looks like he might be a little wormy with that belly.


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## trackstar (Mar 10, 2013)

Speed Racer said:


> Have you dewormed him yet? Looks like he might be a little wormy with that belly.


A few people have been saying that. Maybe its the angle of the pic? When I first got him, he was full of worms. I have him on a really good worming routine now. He is completely clear, maybe a few but that is normal.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## TheLastUnicorn (Jun 11, 2010)

This is a horrible age to do a critique from, especially with a colt who has seen hard times.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

trackstar said:


> A few people have been saying that. Maybe its the angle of the pic? When I first got him, he was full of worms. I have him on a really good worming routine now. He is completely clear, maybe a few but that is normal.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Have you had a fecal count done? Also did you do a panacur power pack when he was really wormy? Or just a regular wormer? I suspect there are worms there, and no that is not normal.


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## texasgal (Jul 25, 2008)

LOL ... I just love'm when they are all outta whack!


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## oh vair oh (Mar 27, 2012)

Looks like a typical hay belly to me?

He looks like a typical weedy yearling.

A little thin for my liking, but I'm comparing him to my yearling.


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## trackstar (Mar 10, 2013)

TheLastUnicorn said:


> This is a horrible age to do a critique from, especially with a colt who has seen hard times.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


.......


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

Oh and I do have to say, I love when they are at this stage of all legs and bum high lol. He is very cute.


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## texasgal (Jul 25, 2008)

critique ... critical ..

that's kinda what the forum implies honey!

Don't get your feelings hurt .. it's just not a good age to critique..


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

trackstar said:


> I just wanted to see what people thought. Didn't think everyone would be so critical.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


When you ask for a critique, you will get honesty. We don't hold back on the truth and are not going to pet you on the head and say he is perfect looking when he isn't.

You should see what I say about my own horse. I love her to death and she is very athletic and talented. But far from perfect. She is a bit toed out in the front, very narrow in the chest and lateral at the canter. I could go on. But my point is, I am not silly enough to think there is nothing wrong.


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## trackstar (Mar 10, 2013)

NBEventer said:


> Have you had a fecal count done? Also did you do a panacur power pack when he was really wormy? Or just a regular wormer? I suspect there are worms there, and no that is not normal.


I can tell you for sure he is in the clear. I have even had a vet come out. The horses in my barn have the lowest egg counts in my area.


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## trackstar (Mar 10, 2013)

oh vair oh said:


> Looks like a typical hay belly to me?
> 
> He looks like a typical weedy yearling.
> 
> A little thin for my liking, but I'm comparing him to my yearling.



How much does your yearling weigh? My gelding is 550 lbs, I've been following a growth chart. It must not be too accurate since I have had a few people say he looks thin


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

NBEventer said:


> When you ask for a critique, you will get honesty. We don't hold back on the truth and are not going to pet you on the head and say he is perfect looking when he isn't.


That's why I tried to keep my comments to asking about his belly. 

I find him very_ unfortunate_ looking at the moment.


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## texasgal (Jul 25, 2008)

Speed Racer said:


> That's why I tried to keep my comments to asking about his belly.
> 
> *I find him very unfortunate looking at the moment*.


Don't know why, but that made me laugh!! lol ... out loud .. 

Bwess him widdle heart .. he's just an awkward teenager right now .. soon to be a beautiuful swan...


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I think it's great to see a manageable colt!!
Agreed--HORRIBLE age to assess. Why don't you give him the summer and take pictures around Thanksgiving?


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## trackstar (Mar 10, 2013)

Speed Racer said:


> That's why I tried to keep my comments to asking about his belly.
> 
> I find him very_ unfortunate_ looking at the moment.



I'm sorry if I may sound a little upset, but the comments just make it sound like I'm not doing all I can do to keep him healthy.
If everyone would have seen him when I first brought him home they would think otherwise. He has come a long way.

And if you don't mind explaining, how does he look unfortunate?


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## texasgal (Jul 25, 2008)

Honey, we aren't saying anything about what you are doing. He's just at a awkward age .. most of them are at that age ...

He'll look like a different colt next year .. just keep doing what you're doing and give him time .. 

It's much more important that he is calm and managable at this point.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

texasgal said:


> Don't know why, but that made me laugh!! lol ... out loud ..


That's the polite, southern way of saying I think he's fugly right now. :wink:

Kind of along the same lines as telling someone, 'Well _bless_ your heart!' when you really want to say something else not at all polite _or _southern! :twisted:

OP, he's at a very awkward stage right now, so it's not fair to try and critique him. Give him another year of proper food and care, and I'll bet he looks completely different.


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## texasgal (Jul 25, 2008)

trackstar .. I'm interested in the progress of your colt. Please continue to take pictures of him and post them in a thread in the Horse Pictures part of the forum. That way there will be no critique and we can see him as he blooms into a beautiful long yearling ..

You will look at these pics in a couple years and not believe it's the same horse. He's going to be beautiful .. he's just at that really funny awkward age right now. No reflection on you.


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## oh vair oh (Mar 27, 2012)

trackstar said:


> How much does your yearling weigh? My gelding is 550 lbs, I've been following a growth chart. It must not be too accurate since I have had a few people say he looks thin


It's okay! It's better to have a thinner yearling than a big fat yearling, it's easier on their legs. He doesn't look like he's starving, but a little extra food couldn't hurt.

My 11 month old is 14hh and 14.2 at the hip, but I don't have a weight on her currently. I can go check later on.










See how she's just a little more filled out and robust looking? That's all I'm looking at. Since your baby is a TB he is probably just more naturally thin. 

I also don't post a critique of my yearling because I know people will say "she's butt high and awkward" xD. But we still love them nonetheless.


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## TheLastUnicorn (Jun 11, 2010)

trackstar said:


> .......


Bah, ok, it didn't also quote my original post... But I will explain further.

Yearlings rarely resemble their final look... But yearlings which have been under nourished during any point will almost always look about twice as bad as they normally would... In some cases it can be as bad as so fugly "hide that thing around back so nobody sees him, ever!" - the end result often is radically different. 

I have rehabbed a few, and raised some well cared for yearlings of similar bloodlines, so I am speaking of personal experiences.

I had one which had been so wormy, so malnurished and so under developed physically he had people seriously questioning what I had seen that made me think he was a quality horse. In the end nobody questioned it, and anyone who didn't know him back then would never know he had a rough start to look it him as a 7yr old. 

I don't want to offer a critique on him because it would be unfair to him... And to you. He is really unbalanced right now, and on top of that he just isn't that fit - it's to be expected if you got him in rough shape, but it won't get many glowing reviews in a conformation critique at this point since we can only critique what we can see. 

Give him another year, spend some time hand walking him, especially up and down hills, and if possible offer him as much turnout as you can, and post him again as a two year old... I bet you will get more positive results.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Trackstar, if it makes you feel any better I *wish* our little TB filly was as butt high as your boy is at the moment, because it means they're growing! Poor little gal is 12.2hh with no signs of verticle growth yet, about 390-395 lbs and she's over seven months older than your boy is!

Just keep feeding good food and letting him exercise as much as he wants. He's probably just a touch thin because he's growing. I know how hard it is to keep weight on growing yearlings, and him being a TB might just make it that much harder. I just love his coloring and I'm sure that he'll turn out much better looking than he is right now. Almost all of his conformation faults are VERY typical for yearlings his age, and dissapear or at least become less noticable.


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