# Critique my 2 yr old



## RedDunQH (Mar 22, 2017)

I know these arent the most Ideal pictures but its what I have at the time! Critique the best you can! Dont mind his dirtyness in some of these pictures either, the weather hasnt been very nice to us! Shorty is my 2 yr old stud (he will be getting cut soon as I have no intention to breed him AT ALL). I got him last September as an untouched, only had the halter on once, crazy colt! We have mastered ground work to the point where I have ran out of things to do! He will lunge both ways with or without a lunge line. "Whoa" on command. Switch directions when told. Pivot on all fours without a halter on and either to hand pressure or hand signals! Side pass with pressure or hand signals. Back without a halter, with pressure on chest or my hand signals! Side pass over logs without a halter on! Back through an obstical course without a halter on, off of hand signals and/ or pressure! Lower his head on command! Desensitized to tarps, weird objects on the ground or over him, plastic bags. Will cross ditches! I have basically formed him into becoming my ideal horse! He is fantastic for the farrier, worming, will stand tied all day, LOVES to be brushed! I plan to keep this horse! Let me know what you think of him! Thanks guys!!


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## RedDunQH (Mar 22, 2017)

Oh! And dont mind his feet in the september 2016 picture! That was only about a week after I had him and we got his feet done as soon as our farrier could make it out!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I see so much potential....
Aside from how you describe him and what you have accomplished so far with handling....
I see intelligent, expressive ears and eyes. Well set on the head.
I see a clean throatlatch and neck capable of rounding and carrying the head proudly.
I see for me a slightly higher chest tie in but it could be angle of the neck in the pictures to.
I see a wide chest with balanced muscle, legs appear to be set on "the corners" of the body.
I see even, balanced and flat knees with possibly a slight turnout of the left front.
In some pictures he looks long backed, in others he does not....angle taken, IDK...
I see a well shaped wither and joining of neck and back.
I like the shoulder, not to straight nor to sloped.
I like the rump juncture, sacroiliac joint area for the bones melding together.
I like the tail bone set balanced under the dorsal stripe, the angle of the croup.
Shape of the rump is rounded with a balance of hip bones and muscle tone.
Hind legs in some pictures looks fine in others slightly straight leg....
I think he toes out slightly behind but am not sure if it is from his hock or just how he placed his hoof..
Again angle may play tricks but his hocks may be a little higher than great for impulsion.
Is he sickle or cow-hocked?

I like him and how he presents over-all.
He is balanced at this point in near every picture you presented, front to back and side-to-side.
He is a baby and still growing, maturing and much will again change as he "spurts".
What you have though to start a career with allows you to go many directions and have much fun getting there...
*Enjoy your boy. :smile:*
:runninghorse2:....
_jmo..._


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

wow! super nice fellow. he is qh? or a mix?

he's downhill now, but will likely even out in a year. 
nice balanced hrose; great ratio of neck to back to hip. short canons, big knees , shapely hip, lovely shoulder.

he's one nice horse!


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## RedDunQH (Mar 22, 2017)

Thank you guys!  @horselovinguy: Thank you so much! I wouldnt consider him cow hocked and Im not 100% sure how to identify sickle hocked..! Lol, Ive had cutting horses and a lot of mine were EXTREMELY cow hocked, but ive never been able to identify sickle hocked..!! Haha!! He has always been a little weird on that left front.. He never shows pain on it but he just never seems to use it fully like he should.. Maybe its just him growing or maybe something else.. When I have my vet out next I will probably have him take a look at it and see if he is concerned at all about it in the future.. 
@tinyliny: Thank you! He is Full QH! Hancock, Two Eyed Jack, and Blue Valentine bred!  

I plan to have him as my all around horse, mostly working cattle in the future!!


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Nice solid foundation bred AQHA.
Agree that he is a bit down hill, but that is forgivable at his age
I would not call him either cow hocked or sickle hocked from any of those pictures
The way a horse is standing can make a huge difference, far as evaluating true conformation
The horse absolutely must be stood up square, all feet under him, to attempt any conformation of legs from a picture, unless there is a very obvious defect, which can often be guessed at/ extrapolated
What is also often not taken into account, the back feet should point slightly out at hoof level, versus the halter fad of having them point straight ahead, trimmed and shod to be that way.
A horse needs that little bit of turn (not talking about true cow hocks ), to clear abdomen with back legs
He might be slightly cow hocked, but not possible to say absolutely from those pics
Not sure if his left front foot, though, turns slightly out, from the knee on down, or just twisted standing, or bad trim.
Would like to see the legs with the horse truly squared up
Since he is back end high at the moment, also would not judge final hock height


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Ditto smilie. Maybe slightly cow hocked but hard to say. Id say if anything his hind legs are a bit 'posty' rather than sickle. Over all nice looking. 

As for left fore - & cow hocked & other poss body issues, id get a vet chiro to come check him out. Regardless of issues id do this for a new horse, but in one that young still, it should be easy to make 'corrections' if/ where needed.

I was going to say what good feets, considering he was untouched. But good going to you n farrier to get him good enough to be done soon after! He looks like a calm, sensible type. His hooves appear overlong, with longish looking heels - maybe overdue, maybe work in progress, they worse than looked to begin with... id just get them done more frequently for a few trims at least, to get them into shape. Maybe 4 weekly for a few goes. Of course cant tell much about his hooves from these pics tho. You can see whats needed for hoof critique shots in the link in my signature & post them to hoofcare section if you like.


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## RedDunQH (Mar 22, 2017)

Yep! He is about due for a trim! When I got him his feet were terrible.. long, cracked, just one and a half years of never being touched.. He did come along pretty well and it took a lot of work and messing with him to get him to come along quickly! You shouldve seen trying to load an untouched, unhalter broke, crazy *** yearling into a trailer for the first time.. It was crazy but he loads great now!! Haha!! Im thankful to have a nice calm, relaxed farrier who knows young horses and is patient!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

you've done a good job. it will be fun to hear about how he progresses. he seems to have a ton of potential.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Well said by others.


I wouldn't let go of that handsome kid for anything!!!!!!!


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

He looks quite a bit like my quarter horse, except Otis is way older, however they could be twins.


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## RedDunQH (Mar 22, 2017)

Thank you so much guys!! I will keep you updated on his progress! He is most likely loosing his manhood (Sorry bud..) On wednesday and getting my vets opinion on his front, left leg..! Thank you so much though!!


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

Handsome boy!


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## RedDunQH (Mar 22, 2017)

Thank you!


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## RedDunQH (Mar 22, 2017)

He got gelded yesterday! Everything went great! Vet said that his knee was just part of his conformation and as long as he isnt looking sore on it that I shouldnt worry about it! He is most likely coming out next month again to do his teeth along with two of our other horses!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Hi, Good news it sounds! 

But what was the vet talking about when he said 'the knee is just part of his conformation'? That his foreleg, esp left fore appear slightly turned out? As said, this could be just pic angle, but to me they could be slightly, not from the knee, but up higher. If there is a limb deviation - eg. his foreleg turns out from the knee, this will be an unchangeable thing. But commonly, horses are tight through the elbows & shoulders, be that from early injury or whatever(birthing trauma commonly causes various issues). A good bodyworker can often free up the horse to be able to stand squarely. Keep in mind, that much of 'conformation' is not unchangeable, doesn't necessarily just have to be accepted, but just 'a moment in time'.

Or perhaps, as was more concerning to me, he was talking about the 'over at the knee'? Again, could be pic angle & he's not standing square, but in virtually every picture, his knee(s) appear buckled forward slightly. This can be a body issue('contracted tendons' or such) but is commonly a hoof issue. (More likely in this case as his hooves have been neglected). High heels, &/or sensitive, weak heels he doesn't want to bear weight on for eg. It is almost always able to be improved greatly, if not fixed. Not something to just accept. When a horse can't 'lock' his legs straight, he cannot rest properly without muscular effort to stand up. Fatigue and muscle soreness can result. When they can't use/land on/weight their heels correctly, a myriad of problems can come from that. Therefore I'd do some more research on all the hoof stuff(see thread link below) and work towards getting his hooves strong & healthy and functioning well. If you want a hoof critique, you can see the other link in my signature & post some hoof pics to the hoofcare section if you like.


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## RedDunQH (Mar 22, 2017)

I think most of them are just picture angles.. His leg isnt turned out.. I think that was just the way he was standing when the picture was taken.. Sometimes its straight, sometimes its turned out, sometimes its turned in.. He was talking the over at the knees part, Again I think its the pictures because in real life he isnt that far over, just enough you can tell if you really look at it.. He applies all of his weight on it and doesnt act like it bothers him any.. he is on a constant farrier schedule with a really knowledgeable farrier.. I just need to get better and more correct pictures.. The vet will be out next month, I will ask him about his knees again and get a definite answer from him!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

RedDunQH said:


> I think most of them are just picture angles.. His leg isnt turned out..


That's good then. But this really bugs me...



> He was talking the over at the knees part, Again I think its the pictures because in real life he isnt that far over, just enough you can tell if you really look at it..


That a vet would say that, about something that's NOT 'conformational' - at least until the knees eventually ossify from being like that all the time! Yes, I appreciate it's 'not that bad' but it is present, and should be addressed, *before* it becomes 'anything'. Of course, don't take my anonymous word for it, esp over the vet, but I suggest you don't just blindly take the vet's word for it either, but learn about it yourself, so you can make more informed decisions about it. 



> he is on a constant farrier schedule with a really knowledgeable farrier.. I will ask him about his knees again and get a definite answer from him!


Sounds like you've already got the 'knowledge' your vet has to give on the subject, but your farrier, if he is really knowledgeable, should have more to say. It's often due to bad farriery - leaving heels chronically high for eg - but not always & considering the background, your farrier may well be doing an excellent job of 'catch up' but there are likely a few chronic probs he can't address in just a trim or 2, and if the horse has tender, weak heels from the previous neglect, he may also not want to weight them fully, even if trim is 'perfect'.


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