# what are your thoughts on this stud



## BekahBear (Jan 16, 2008)

i wanted to start a new thread since my other one was mainly focused on a different stallion and i would like more feedback on this one instead.

what are your thoughts on HBF Catch My Irons?
his sire is HBF Iron Man and his dam is a Thoroughbred named Star Catcher. 
what do you think his strong and weak points are? 
he carries a copy of the frame gene but my mare does not. 

i am mainly wanting a baby that can do some low level hunter type jumping at home (less than 3' courses) and pleasure riding on the trails. at this point i dont have any plans to show but if i ever change my mind down the road it would only be local "fun day" type shows. not any breed related shows or anything like that. 

here is a quick video i found of him that shows his movement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iQqzG8SeaM

and some pictures of him


----------



## BekahBear (Jan 16, 2008)

i would love to hear some opinions about his strengths and weaknesses if anyone has any.
thanks


----------



## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

the last thread already touched base on this guy. he is really straight though the hocks, legs seams a bit too long for his body. he looks like a nice gelding but not stud material and definitely would NOT compliment your mare.


----------



## Goldilocks (Jan 30, 2015)

He is very downward. Very low neck set and slanted shoulders. I don't like him at all i'm sorry..


----------



## Aurora1999 (Dec 4, 2015)

He is beautiful


----------



## Kay Armstrong (Jun 28, 2015)

ok, but he's sure pretty.


----------



## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I'm not a fan.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I think he has the nice confirmation for western pleasure. While he is downhill , he moves pretty handily, and has clean legs to my eye. To what sort if mare would you breed?


----------



## Red Gate Farm (Aug 28, 2011)

Another thing to look for is what he's been bred to and what was the resulting foal? If he's been bred to a mare that is similar to yours, was the foal something you'd want?

Or maybe just buy one of his already on the ground and be a year ahead.


----------



## BekahBear (Jan 16, 2008)

tinyliny said:


> I think he has the nice confirmation for western pleasure. While he is downhill , he moves pretty handily, and has clean legs to my eye. To what sort if mare would you breed?


attached is a picture of my mare (its not great, but its the best confo shot i have of her right now. 

here is her pedigree: Showtime Specialty Paint

i dont show anymore and haven't in several years. at this point i dont plan to show in the future either. i would be doing hunter under saddle and low hunter over fences type work with the baby for the most part. i also do some trail riding through the washes sometimes. i dont need anything that will be perfect and win the blue ribbon at big shows. i just need something that i can enjoy at home.


----------



## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

He is not built downhill. look at the confo shot, where fence line is straight behind him, and not where he is being ridden, going downhill, bareback, as that fence line behind him shows.
Niced slope to shoulder and nice short back
Maybe a tad front end heavy, but nice balance over all
No, he does not have western pl conformation, but has that of aHUS horse


----------



## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

Agreed Smilie.

I like the stud. If you are not showing, I would be prioritizing the mind of the stud above a lot of other things. You will not find a conformationally flawless stud and this forum tends to overplay some things that I would not consider a big deal per se. He is a balanced animal with a nice pedigree, color, solid shape to him. He should produce nicely.


----------



## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Just watched the video. he has HUS movement, as he should, going back to These Irons ARE HOT, and using that TB cross, popular for HUS horses
He is neither western pl bred, not built like a western pl horse, and moves like aHUS horse.
If I was going to fault him, he toes out some from the fetlocks down

Lets give fair confo evaluations! A good slope to shoulder is plus, a short back is a plus, and not call a horse downhill when he is not
If you don't know western pl breeding from HUNTer Under saddle breeding, nor the movement desired by either, or the confo, please don't tell the OP the horse has western pl movement!
Conformation evaluations have to be based on actual conformation, and not preferences
I'm not saying he would be my choice, as I don't bred for HUS horses, and prefer the SKYS BLUE BOY bred HUS horses, but he certainly is stallion material.

THis link shows a western pleasure bred stallion, and in fact, a multi NSBA besides ApHC pleasure champion

About Chocolatey - 5X NSBA Western Pleasure Champion Appaloosa Stallion


----------



## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

I agree with Sorrelhorse. If you are breeding for a pleasure horse, I would put the stud's temperament at the top of my list (aside from any MAJOR conformational defaults). This horse looks nice to me...he looks well balanced and I can't see anything that is glaringly wrong with him. 

I would probably view some of his offspring to see what he produces, as well as their temperament.


----------



## BekahBear (Jan 16, 2008)

i really like him and i think he would give me the baby i am looking for. he looks pretty well balanced to me (he doesn't look real downhill to me like some others have said he is). i like his short back, his long legs, and his sloping shoulder angle. back when i used to show years ago, my trainer always pushed me towards horses who were built like him. i also like his movement and personality. he is level headed but not dead headed. 

i have looked up some of his past foals and i like what i see overall. some of the mares he was crossed to were similar to mine and some were very different than mine, so i had to take that into account when looking at his babies. everything i have read about his babies so far has been good. many of their owners were saying how much they liked their personalities/temperaments, so from what i can tell his babies tend to be nice and level headed too.


----------



## KLJcowgirl (Oct 13, 2015)

The guy riding him should make a calendar... I would buy it... 

To comment on the horse, I really like him! Looks like you do too and may be decided. I think his confirmation is very clean cut and appealing (obviously). I like his short back. I was always told a short back is a strong back (maybe someone can correct me here if it's wrong haha). He is most certainly not downhill, but Smilie touched on that. In my opinion he has a good shoulder, maybe could use a tad bit more slope, but it certainly isn't bad. 

I would just like to add I really like his face. I'm one who tends to get caught up looking at faces and sometimes ignores their bodies.... I think he has a masculine head and very expressive eyes, but also looks calm and cool. He looks like a horse who is constantly thinking, in a good way. I think he looks quite intelligent.

Probably not really a helpful post, but that's what I see. Breeding is quite a process... lots to think about


----------



## Regula (Jan 23, 2012)

I am not sure if it has been mentioned before, but make sure the parents are tested for frame (lethal white). It looks like one or both might be carriers.

Otoh, if you really like the color of your mare and that stallion, chances are goos the baby would be similar - it would be chestnut for sure, and pretty sure both mare and stallion carry splash (and frame?).

The stud is not my favorite. I am not crazy about those loooong legs and his neck ties in so low it makes him look really front heavy. I like a more upright horse (but then I'm mostly a dressage rider). But I think it really depends what YOU want to see, and I don't see any flaws that would e.g. indicate unsoundness.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## BekahBear (Jan 16, 2008)

Regula said:


> I am not sure if it has been mentioned before, but make sure the parents are tested for frame (lethal white). It looks like one or both might be carriers.
> 
> Otoh, if you really like the color of your mare and that stallion, chances are goos the baby would be similar - it would be chestnut for sure, and pretty sure both mare and stallion carry splash (and frame?).
> 
> ...


the stud is frame positive and my mare is frame negative. 
within the 1st week after i got her i sent out hair samples to test her for HYPP (because she goes back to Impressive) and Frame. she came back negative for both 
She tested positive for splash (but that was kind of a given. her 2 blue eyes, tall socks, and face white scream splash to me) and she also carries 1 agouti gene.


----------

