# Comformation? Endurance prospect?



## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

This is starlight a 6 year old 75% appaloosa and 25% quarter horse. Both parents have great color but she turned out looking like an arab with the attitude of one also. This horse is very hyper but VERY smart to the point where she can open gates with latches or untie herself if she wishes. She can bow and i can ride her bridless. I have trained her everything she knows. 
However she has a major attitude if she is not ridden very hard for hours every day, and she loves being ridden. She can go all day and she has an amazing metabolism. You can feed her 2 flakes of hay twice a day and she stays FAT if she isnt worked often. she is 14.2 hands and im wondering if she would be a nice endurance racer.
Also want to know about her comformation so let me know what you think if you want other pics ill post them.


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

Ps she is standing funny in these pics her front legs arent crooked like they look.


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

She does look more arab like doesn't she I think she would make a good endurance prospect build wise & sounds like she has the get up & go for it:lol:. Doing something like that she would probably enjoy,sounds like she's the type that needs a job to do to keep her mind busy as well:wink:.


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## existentialpony (Dec 4, 2012)

Can you post photos taken from the side so we can have a clear look at how she's put together? (See the sticky thread if you're not sure what I mean!) She is super adorable, and sounds like the endurance world might be fun for her!


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## Cweaver (Jan 23, 2013)

So cute, very solid looking. I like her.. to me it looks like she would be great at it But, I know little about endurance so that's basically just me saying shes cute and looks like an arab haha


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

Honestly, conformation really doesn't play a very large role in whether a horse will be a good endurance prospect. It's all in her mind and metabolics, though it helps that she's not built like a twig or a tank. Beyond that, we really can't tell you much about whether or not she'll be a good endurance prospect - you'll just have to start conditioning her and take her to a few LD's or 50's and see how she does. Some horses are great for the first 20 miles or so, and then absolutely shut down and decide they're done. Others have the will and metabolism, but are total spazzes on the trail and so make it miserable the whole way. You'll really never know until you start riding her like an endurance horse and see how you two work together and if you like her!

I used to be worried about conformation, by the way. Then I saw pictures of all the awful shaped Tevis horses that are successful and my veteran endurance friends said conformation doesn't really count for much (and definitely doesn't discount your horse much!) in the world of endurance.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

Confirmation does matter , so does physical ability, metabolism, nerves , horses ability to take care of itself, etc etc. Would I buy that horse if I was shopping for an endurance mount ? probably not. If I had that horse and wanted to do endurance ? Heck yeh, ride her like you stole her. See what her pulses are, how she eats and drinks on the trail. Try to figure out best way to manage her speeds and how heat affects her. Get some way to accurately measure speed and distance and heartrate to see what you are working with and get her in shape.


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

What I meant is that as long as the horse is healthy and sound, the conformation is usually going to take a back seat to everything else. Yes, conformational issues will affect the same things that it affects in any other type of riding. But if you're not having any problems with what you're already doing, you're likely going to be fine on the trail. On the other hand, the things Joe4d listed are very important and will make or break an endurance horse that would otherwise be perfectly fine doing other types of riding.

If I were looking to buy a horse, no matter what discipline, and buy the best horse I could possibly afford and like, including conformation. For endurance, I would look for an Arab or half Arab, since that gives you the best advantage for what you want to do. And that's exactly what I did do. However, there's no reason to feel like you can't do endurance with the horse you already have, assuming it's sound and healthy. Beyond that, you'll have to listen to what she tells you out on the trail to determine how great of an endurance hors she could be.


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

existentialpony said:


> Can you post photos taken from the side so we can have a clear look at how she's put together? (See the sticky thread if you're not sure what I mean!) She is super adorable, and sounds like the endurance world might be fun for her!


 Ya ill post a bunch today


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

Ya she is a really wonderful horse her only problem is she is very spooky but it seems like if i ride her everyeday for long amounts of time she isnt as spooky and calms down. 
Ya we always thought her mom was half arab but turns out she is quarter horse lol.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

does the dame have verifieable papers ? Quite common for people to call pretty much any unknown non gaited horse without any distinguishing characteristics a Quarter horse. 
Spooky is another issue you just have to work through, wet saddle pads will help. Do you ride her in strange places ? MY horse Bo is th eopposite of what you expect. Ive done 25 to 50 mile rides on him at at a place he hasnt been and he never spooks, take him to the local park where he has been a hundred times and he spooks at every out of place leaf. 
Get out and ride for a few months picking up a basic trot or jog for an hour or so, increase the time, hold the speed down then pick an LD ride you can attend. Learn the game, see if it is something you want to continue and at what level, and go from there.


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

Here is some pics from today she isnt in shape right now i havent ridden her much this winter. Tell me what you think


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)




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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)




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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

Joe4d said:


> does the dame have verifieable papers ? Quite common for people to call pretty much any unknown non gaited horse without any distinguishing characteristics a Quarter horse.
> Spooky is another issue you just have to work through, wet saddle pads will help. Do you ride her in strange places ? MY horse Bo is th eopposite of what you expect. Ive done 25 to 50 mile rides on him at at a place he hasnt been and he never spooks, take him to the local park where he has been a hundred times and he spooks at every out of place leaf.
> Get out and ride for a few months picking up a basic trot or jog for an hour or so, increase the time, hold the speed down then pick an LD ride you can attend. Learn the game, see if it is something you want to continue and at what level, and go from there.


We ride in the hills mostly. And her dams father was a pure bred quarter horse preformance stallion who broke loose and got a pure bred appaloosa barrel mare pregnant. I saw the papers for the quarter horse stud and it wasm impressive but i ended up not getting the mares papers because she wanted 500 dollars for them. Ill post a picture of the girls mother.


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)




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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

here is her mother


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

Joe4d said:


> does the dame have verifieable papers ? Quite common for people to call pretty much any unknown non gaited horse without any distinguishing characteristics a Quarter horse.
> Spooky is another issue you just have to work through, wet saddle pads will help. Do you ride her in strange places ? MY horse Bo is th eopposite of what you expect. Ive done 25 to 50 mile rides on him at at a place he hasnt been and he never spooks, take him to the local park where he has been a hundred times and he spooks at every out of place leaf.
> Get out and ride for a few months picking up a basic trot or jog for an hour or so, increase the time, hold the speed down then pick an LD ride you can attend. Learn the game, see if it is something you want to continue and at what level, and go from there.


Ok ya we are working on spookyness but i had a spill on her a while back this lady that drives a school bus honked at me and spooked her, i was about 15 feet from the bus and she came from behind my horse. I called the school to complain and the lady came to my house and flipped out on me saying "my horses would NEVER do something like that!' It made me really mad and im like well they arent your horses. Then she tried to say that i was to far away for the horse to spook. She was mad because she thought i was going to sue her.


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

Ik she is a bit fat and she needs her front hooves brought back at the toe but the farrier hasnt been here for 3 months so i trimmed them back a little myself.


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

here is her raring up she hasnt been worked with in a while and was feeling her oats. She calmed down after a few minutes.


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## Faceman (Nov 29, 2007)

Animallover707 said:


> We ride in the hills mostly. And her dams father was a pure bred quarter horse preformance stallion who broke loose and got a pure bred appaloosa barrel mare pregnant. I saw the papers for the quarter horse stud and it wasm impressive but i ended up not getting the mares papers because she wanted 500 dollars for them. Ill post a picture of the girls mother.


She should do well in hilly terrain. However, unlike what Jilly said, conformation does make a huge difference in endurance - particularly when it comes to muscle composition. She should do OK, but her muscle composition is a bit high on the fast twitch side to really excel at endurance, unless she is competing against strictly Quarterhorses and Appys. But endurance is mainly for fun anyway, and she should do just fine...


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

Faceman said:


> She should do well in hilly terrain. However, unlike what Jilly said, conformation does make a huge difference in endurance - particularly when it comes to muscle composition. She should do OK, but her muscle composition is a bit high on the fast twitch side to really excel at endurance, unless she is competing against strictly Quarterhorses and Appys. But endurance is mainly for fun anyway, and she should do just fine...


 Ya she isnt very fast, when she runs all she does is a light lope, and barely increases the speed when encouraged. She is very good at controling her speed.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

faceman isnt talking about horse speed, he is talking muscle type. Fast twitch muscles refer to strength, lots of power quick.. not a small amount of power over distance. Look at the builds of a sprinter vs a marathon runner. 
Nice controlled slow lope, and trot are perfect for endurance. Keep in mind your doing this for 50 plus miles once you are into it, how far can you sprint ? vs how far can you do a controlled jog. The controlled jog is what you are going for. Yor gonna have to ride and figure out her gaits. See what works best.
I have two walkers, neither ideal but its what i have in the field, so thats what I ride,
Walker A, high stepping rack, butter smooth lope. His most efficient is to alternate lopes with walking, while maintaining about a 6-7 mph average. 
Walker B, has a nice flat run walk gate but bouncy canter. When I tried that walk canter stuff with her, her heart rate spiked and stayed up. She does much better just getting into a flat runwalk and holding a constant 8 mph the whole way. 

So what all that means is you gotta learn your horse. You might find she does good loping, then walking. Or at a constant trot. ANd there in lies the part of learning the game , yourself and your horse. And that really is what endurance is all about. Welcome abourd hope you do great things. Have you been to AERC websight and ride calander ? Find a ride 3 or 4 months from now that offers an LD, focus on training for that. While doing that find a ride 2 months from now and contact the RM and tell them youd like to help out at base camp.


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## Animallover707 (Jan 23, 2013)

Joe4d said:


> faceman isnt talking about horse speed, he is talking muscle type. Fast twitch muscles refer to strength, lots of power quick.. not a small amount of power over distance. Look at the builds of a sprinter vs a marathon runner.
> Nice controlled slow lope, and trot are perfect for endurance. Keep in mind your doing this for 50 plus miles once you are into it, how far can you sprint ? vs how far can you do a controlled jog. The controlled jog is what you are going for. Yor gonna have to ride and figure out her gaits. See what works best.
> I have two walkers, neither ideal but its what i have in the field, so thats what I ride,
> Walker A, high stepping rack, butter smooth lope. His most efficient is to alternate lopes with walking, while maintaining about a 6-7 mph average.
> ...


 Ok will do! I cant find any rides in the area, it is to dangerous to go riding around here because of marajuana growers, i am afraid to ride off my property because i have been shot at.


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## 2SCHorses (Jun 18, 2011)

I second that conformation is very important. Not only for muscles, but for the assessment of injury over time. A horse with a slightly long back or slightly long pasterns may do well initially, but time wears down ALL things, and those small flaws get bigger the more distance you complete. Also, while a QH/Appy might not be "ideal", I've seen worse do endurance and wash out OK. As Joe stated, pick an LD and really train for it and make your assessment after the race. Did she do awesome and looked like she was ready for more? Great, go for a 50. Did she do OK but get some attitude the last 5 miles? LD might be just where she needs to be at this time. Did she just shut down after 18 miles? Get another mount if endurance is your goal. Your first race will let you know exactly what you have and how she will do at least until she matures more - sometimes more maturity equals more success (and sometimes less).

But you really have to train, and not just on your property. Find a safe place for riding and trailer your horse in, even if it's only once a week! You must work on trail riding. The *only* way to sack out a horse for trails is to actually RIDE on them. Otherwise, you are asking for spook city, and that is unsafe for you, your horse, and other horse/rider teams at the event.


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