# How's my colt looking at 10 months?



## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Hi all,

I admit one of my main reasons for posting pictures is just to show him off because I got some good photos today. But I would also love to get your input on how my first ever colt is looking and growing up at almost 10 months of age. Any input (good or bad) would be great. He is about 13.3 hands, 650+ lbs. 

He does have that crooked right rear cannon bone that he was born with. But I think perhaps it is looking a bit better? 

Is every thing else on him looking pretty good? Is he good size for his age? For a while there, I was concerned he wasn't growing, as he was sitting at the same weight on the weight tape (around 625) for 2 months. That was right after I weaned him. I *think* he is on the right track and growing nicely now. I also think that perhaps when he wasn't growing in weight, maybe he was gaining a little height.

Anything you want to add conformationally I would be curious to get your opinion too. And I won't get my feelings hurt. No horse is perfect, well, at least I know mine aren't.  And I have my own ideas of what I think his strong and weak features are, so it would be neat to see if other folks see the same things.


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## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

Awww, hes a cutie...IMO he is pretty big for his age, but then again, I am comparing him to Rodeo. I sticked Rodeo last month or so for his height, and at a year old he was about 13.3hh...he also weighed the same as your guy does lol....what breed is he? Rodeo is a PaintxTB cross, so that could be it as well....also, just to say, he passed his vet check with flying colors, and my vet said he was in excellent weight so...

Anyways, lol....I think he looks good....great pics!!


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## wyominggrandma (Nov 4, 2009)

He looks great. You can see that back leg, but I bet it never bothers him at all.
he has a very sweet look to him.


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## myhorsesonador (Jun 21, 2009)

WOW he is looking hantastic! he is one sexy boy.


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## ilovemyPhillip (Apr 4, 2009)

NHUITJPESBPI;WANG;
He got so cute! Not that he wasn't cute before.. But wow. He's huge.


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

He is one beast of a horse. I love it! It looks like he's gonna end up being a super solidly built adult!
Also, I loooove his color. Are you thinking he's going to gray out?


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Thanks guys! Yes, he is graying out.  It's hard to tell in the pictures, but he does have ample white hair sprinkled throughout his coat. Here is a photo of his tail, with white hairs in the center, and it shows the roaning on his butt. I am pretty excited about him graying out, because I have owned two grays, but they were mostly white by the time I bought them. So it will be neat to see his color change.

He is a Missouri Fox Trotter/ QH cross (not my doing- his mom was pregnant when I bought her). But he looks like he will be a nice cross. 

Every time my vet sees him, he always says "that's going to be a big horse." :lol: I finally asked him how big he thought he would get, and he said about 16.1. That jives with the string test I did, which said around 16.2! He will be by far the biggest horse I owned. I just hope he will have the bone substance too, because I am kind of heavy, but so far he looks well proportioned with his legs/feet.

The crooked leg doesn't seem to bother him at all (knock on wood). When I pony him out trail riding he will run and play for hours. :roll: So right now at least, I'm not overly worried about it. Actually, my biggest problem with him has been respect issues. 

Okay, just for fun, this is what I think his conformational strengths are:

Quality head (shaped just like his momma), quality neck, good front legs, butt decent. He doesn't have as massive a butt as a purebred QH, but he has a nicer butt than his momma. Overall size and balance is good, not built as downhill as many youngsters are.

Conformational weaknesses: 

Crooked right hind cannon bone (a biggie, but I can't do anything about it), withers- they are okay, but they could be a bit more prominent. He is built overall kind of like a TB, not as chunky as I like, but he is still young so he should fill out more with a little luck.


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## Cat (Jul 26, 2008)

He is a big gorgeous boy!


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## Zimalia (May 8, 2011)

I wouldnt' worry about his withers. They'll become more prominent with age.

Nice colt! I agree with you, he's going to be a pretty fair size horse.


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## CecilliaB (Jan 21, 2010)

He's huge! Your worried about him not being big enough??? Sonata is 2 and she's just hit a solid 14hh lol!

I am such a Zane fan. Absolutely adore this boy and think he is maturing very very nicely. He looks so proportional and refined and his legs do look nice and solid


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Holy schmoley, Zane is a stunner!! Really, I quite like his conformation, especially for such a young guy. I think the only thing that I would consider bad is that one leg but if it doesn't bother him, then it's no big deal at all. He is going to be rather large, I think that Rafe was 14.1 at around his age and he's half draft :lol:.

In all honesty, he already has better over all conformation and a better appearance than many of the registered QHs I see. He is going to be one HELL of a good looking guy when he's grown (not that he isn't already).

He's refined where he needs to be (head and neck) and solid and sturdy everywhere else.

I agree with Zimalia, don't worry about his withers just yet. Rafe didn't have any at all until he was about 18 months old.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

You guys are very kind.

Here is Zane's daddy. I went out to meet him, because, well, I wanted to meet Zane's daddy. :lol: Not the most flattering photo, but it's the best one I have. He is supposed to be a reg. QH and the guy was supposed to make me a copy of his papers but he never called me back. So I really don't know much about his daddy. I don't even know his registered name. They were using him to pony out his 2 yr old offspring. 

The second photo is of the 2 yr olds sired by this stallion. I am guessing Zane will look similar to them only gray. They aren't fancy, but they look like solid using horses. 

Last photo of Zane's dam, Sundust Suzanna J. (I call her Isabelle/Izzy). She's a Missouri Fox Trotter.

Dam is 15.1 and the sire is similar, maybe even a bit shorter. I remember him being of average height at best. So I don't know were Zane is getting the tall genes from!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Oh, yeah. Daddy may not be the prettiest horse but he certainly looks like a nice, strong using horse that most ranch hands would be proud to swing a leg over. It also appears that he passes on his sturdiness to his foals, those are some strong looking colts.

It looks to me like Zane got the best of both worlds .


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## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

trailhorserider said:


> Thanks guys! Yes, he is graying out.  It's hard to tell in the pictures, but he does have ample white hair sprinkled throughout his coat. Here is a photo of his tail, with white hairs in the center, and it shows the roaning on his butt. I am pretty excited about him graying out, because I have owned two grays, but they were mostly white by the time I bought them. So it will be neat to see his color change.
> 
> He is a Missouri Fox Trotter/ QH cross (not my doing- his mom was pregnant when I bought her). But he looks like he will be a nice cross.
> 
> ...



Ill have to go and take some pics of Rodeo today for a critique....but compared to my guy, he is very, very level along his topline!!! Rodeo is very downhill right now!!! I think hes a great looking guy!!! Especially for only being 10 months!!

But then again, Rodeo did just hit the fugly yearling stage  Sounds like Zane is going to be a good size!!


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Thanks guys! 

*csimkunas6*, I would love to see Rodeo.


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## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

trailhorserider said:


> Thanks guys!
> 
> *csimkunas6*, I would love to see Rodeo.



Okay  I will take some confo pics tomorrow. Meant to today, but got to the barn, and remembered my camera at home, lol, so didnt get a chance to get confo pics....


they have completely different conformation, IMO....Rodeo is a PaintxTB. I love how even your guy's topline...lol, IM super jealous about that!! Rodeo is very butt high, but Im pretty sure that he is going to level up as he gets older, I was lucky enough to be able to meet, and see his full brother, and he leveled out nicely


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I think "butt high" is pretty normal at their age. I have a friend with really well bred QH's, and they are usually butt high as yearlings. Actually, I'm not sure at what point they actually level out, but I know they grow up into very nice horses. So wouldn't worry at this stage of the game.  Zane is a little butt high too.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

What's worse about Zane, and I forgot to mention it, is that because that one hind leg is warped, it is shorter than the other hind leg. So his hips aren't really level. You can kind of see it in the photos where he is facing to the right, even though the ground isn't level. The short leg is on the high side, so if anything they should appear level, but they don't even there. 

I mentioned it to my vet but he seemed more curious about how I measured the legs than concerned that the hips weren't level. :roll: (I measured the legs from the ergot to the point of hock and determined that there is a one inch disparity). Luckily they have been growing at the same ratio, so the disparity isn't getting larger at least. 

Hey, we all have our flaws, don't we. I suppose when he becomes a riding horse a farrier could do something to level out the legs with a pad on the one foot, but at this stage in the game, I want to give him a chance to see how he develops on his own. I certainly don't think I want him shod with a pad as a yearling.


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## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

^ I was told that if young horses have any confo issues, or faults/flaws, the best thing to do is let them finish growing before doing a whole lot about it(unless its severe, or they know it would straighten out, ect, ect)

And then when they are done growing to start to "fix" the problem. That was what I was told, not sure if there is any truth to it or not. That reminds me tho, a friend of mine had a horse that had uneven legs, but it was his fronts, not his hinds....and that is exactly what her farrier did!! He put a pad on the one to make it even with the other, as far as I know, it worked great!!


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## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

He's a really nice looking boy! Really the only thing that sticks out to me is that cannon. Look forward to more pics.


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## Magaidh (Apr 13, 2011)

He's gorgeous! And he's going to be a big guy. How tall are his parents?


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## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

I got too many pics to post here, so here is the thread I started....keep in mind(please) LOL, that Rodeo is going through his goofy yearling stage!!!


Here is the link...
http://www.horseforum.com/horse-riding-critique/critique-rodeo-d-86239/


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## StormvaleQHStud (Dec 16, 2010)

Definitely don't be too worried about his withers yet and being bum high. My little fella has been slightly bum high for 6 months and is now just over 18mo and is starting to get to his REALLY bum high stage which looks ridiculous of course. He is 14.1 and a half hh at present. I measure him once a month for length height and weight. He was currently almost 400kg last weight tape but has been shooting up so doesn't gain weight belly wise coz he goes up. When he gets tubbier he usually isn't going through any growth spurts then the next month he looks slimmer but measures taller. He is supposed to get 15hh so will fill out nicely. He has peptos stylish oak and extreme colors lines so he is very well bred without the horrible hypp genes and is already winning. I'm in love with your little guy and definitely agree that he scored the better looks of both his worlds. Though his dam is gorgeous too. Congrats. It is ery exciting yet also frustrating at times having babies around especially as they get mouthy and irritating for colts. Training is key. But it is the best rewarding thing ever! Definitely update us with pictures for sure!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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