# Double bred Dash for Cash critique



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

what's with his right knee?
kind of odd bumps there.


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## sammiejo10 (Jun 23, 2012)

i believe its an injury from the mini he used to live with.. That sucker was mean i watched him kick the hell out of one of the horses in pasutre with him and this horse was his personal kicking bag.. it feels to just be fluid.. ill find out more when we get him to the vet..

Also this picture was taken right when i got him.. the swelling has went down that bump is hardly there anymore..


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## Klassic Superstar (Nov 30, 2009)

I agree with Tiny, that knee looks...odd.
Here is what I see but you will get better responses from pictures where the horse is squared up and on a flat surface.

But high, needs more weight and muscle, thing neck, kind of a long back? could be these photos. His neck is tied in pretty low.

What are you plans for him? Age, breed and height. He looks pretty young and still got some growing and filling out to do.
He is very cute  and has a sweet kind eye.
I like his hind end for some reason


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## Kayella (Feb 11, 2012)

Um, okay. Well, the first thing that stood out to me was his awful neck. He is definitely in need of conditioning once he gets up to a healthy weight. His shoulder has too much of an angle, I'd like to steepen the shoulder angle just a tad bit more. Those pasterns! They're long, which can make them weak. He's got a long coupling, which can make for a weak back. His croup is also a bit steep. He would look a MILLION times better properly conditioned, but there is nothing you can do to avoid those long pasterns. The only thing I can see hindering him, once he's at a healthy weight, would be his pasterns. Very cute boy.


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

He is, as you note, underweight. Weight will help him a lot. He is ewe necked and his neck is set low which will make him difficult to collect and get working off his hind quarters. He has an injured right knee. It may be a blemish or not. If he is currently lame, it is not a blemish. If he is sound, and he works and stays sound, it is just a blemish. 

His humerus lies a bit flat and his point of shoulder angle is a bit closed. He will not be a good jumper and will likely hang his knees. This may also contribute to him being heavy on his front end. 

He has a nice, short back and a pretty nice, smooth coupling. Hind legs appear correct with his hocks and knees set nice and low. he also is NOT butt high.. his ewe neck makes him look that way. Nice withers. Not a bad horse at all. 

Give him groceries, a good worming, and have a vet check that bad knee for soundness. Many a horse has a big knee and is perfectly fine for flat riding, trails and pleasure work.


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## sammiejo10 (Jun 23, 2012)

Thanks guys.. heres a little on him.. Until i get his papers from the guy out of Amarillo, I dont know his exact age. He is 2.5-3 y/o, Appendix.. His back is actually short my saddle pad doesnt fit him its way to long and the saddle fits right on his back its a 15 in synthetic saddle.. 

I wanted to barrel race on him when he is older. Is it a good Idea? I got him because of his temperment, he is so sweet and kind.. 

Questions! how do i steepen the shoulder angle? by the picture? and how do i condition his neck?


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## sammiejo10 (Jun 23, 2012)

Elana said:


> He is, as you note, underweight. Weight will help him a lot. He is ewe necked and his neck is set low which will make him difficult to collect and get working off his hind quarters. He has an injured right knee. It may be a blemish or not. If he is currently lame, it is not a blemish. If he is sound, and he works and stays sound, it is just a blemish.
> 
> His humerus lies a bit flat and his point of shoulder angle is a bit closed. He will not be a good jumper and will likely hang his knees. This may also contribute to him being heavy on his front end.
> 
> ...


He has no problem with the Knee. He does not limp, show any signs of pain, and the knee is not hot at all.. everyday i go out and rub it and put pressure on it to see if he will pull away he just stands there. After working him as soon as we let him go he runs to my other horse and moves perfect on it.


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

You cannot change his shoulder angle. He is what he is. His neck is what it is. You can HELP him with working to get him to build his stomach muscles and stretch his top line. 

Have a vet come and look at that knee to ascertain the reason for the swelling before even thinking about barrels. He may be fine. OTOH he may have bone chips floating around there that will cause trouble under the stress of barrels. That you really want to find out about NOW, not later. Shame to work your butt off and his training for barrels only to end up with that knee putting a stop on it in competition. 

Meanwhile, learn all you can and get a good solid foundation on him. Walking and trotting, trotting up hills, learning to do smooth balanced transitions both in a gait and between gaits both increasing and, especially, decreasing speed. Walk to stop, walk to trot, trot to walk, stand to trot (no walk steps and this only when he is advanced enough). Eventually add the lope. Lope to trot.. smooth and balanced, stand to lope (no walk or trot steps). All this with figure 8's, serpentines, circles (and spirals in and out).. and so forth.

This foundation stuff will take you a year to get going well at this age.


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