# Critique my quarter horse mare



## kalma (Mar 4, 2013)

I got a bit curious and wanted to see what you think of my horse.

She is about 15.1 hh and 9yo. This picture is actually from last summer when I had just gotten her, we have worked on her front hooves and they are trimmed better now, but her front feet are naturally curved so she wasn't standing funny for this particular picture. The basic conformation is still there though, maybe a bit better muscles on the neck's topline these days but I don't have any winter pictures that would be any good for judging conformation. Maybe I'll take better ones one day 










But critique away with this one please


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## Shoebox (Apr 18, 2012)

She's a bit over at the knee in front. 

Something's funky with the back legs, I think... But I am new at this, so I don't know what to call it. Sickle hocked?


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## kalma (Mar 4, 2013)

The front knees are obvious, but having discussed with vets and farriers about the "curled" front feet they have told me that it's not an issue and might actually make the front legs more durable rather than weaker, which was completely new info for me.

Otherwise would like to know what people think, quarter horses are quite rare here where I live so people don't really understand these here and I'm not really one to know too much about conformation or what to look for.


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## kalma (Mar 4, 2013)

Oh and would love it if you could also explain how the things you mention affect the horse, like movement etc. Like for example Shoebox mentioned "sickle hocked", how would that affect the horse? Would love to learn more


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## Shoebox (Apr 18, 2012)

kalma said:


> Oh and would love it if you could also explain how the things you mention affect the horse, like movement etc. Like for example Shoebox mentioned "sickle hocked", how would that affect the horse? Would love to learn more


I apologize - I am incredibly new to conformation. So. I don't feel confident enough to point out anything else I suspect yet... And Sickle Hocks can cause some hoof unevenness in the back, so you should keep an eye on that. Not sure about how the horse moves being affected, though. (sorry... Again, still learning over here)


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

I like this horse. She stands over a lot of ground and appears quite long, but part of that is being stretched out. She is over at the knee and needs a farrier in this photo. Her neck ties in nicely at the wither and her wither carries nicely into her back and the topline looks good.. but she is stretched. 

Her shoulder is well defiend and lays back nicely. Her point of shoulder is a bit low and the angle from point of shoulder to elbow is a bit low. She has good bone all the way round and a nice deep heart girth. Her hocks are large and roomy and well placed. I suspect if she were stood square she would be a little sickle hocked.. but that is a guess from this photo which shows no inclination for that due to the positioning. 

Stood square she MIGHT be a little down hill.. although that does not show in this picture either. 

This is a nice mare from this photo. Would like to see more.


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## GotaDunQH (Feb 13, 2011)

^ agree with Elana. I would definitely get the trimming issue resolved. She has a lot of toe and an underslung heel. That is going to take some time to fix, especially the heel. That being said, I like this mare, but she's a little long in the body in a rectangular shape...I'd like to see a deeper heart girth. I'd also like to see a pic of her squared up.


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## kalma (Mar 4, 2013)

Like I said in the start, the picture was from when I had just got her and we have worked closely with a farrier on her hooves ever since then, which is 9 months. They're still not perfect, but better anyway. They grow very slowly and the front hooves seem to only grow lenght and not up, so it's been a long process. The hooves are overall her biggest weakness but she has been perfectly sound so far. Here are some pictures I took of her last Friday, she usually stands perfectly square if you brush her etc, but when you swing out the camera it's a whole different story 




























Pictures taken inside because there was a blizzard outside.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

To ME, this is the kind of horse that made the breed so popular. She is VERY attractive. She is a bit sickle-hocked (draw a vertical line from rear point of hip down, and if the lower hind leg is outside when it is perpendicular to the ground), but if her back is a bit long, it is compensation for that.


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## kalma (Mar 4, 2013)

Thank you greentree!

Sorry the images are so large!
For some reason I couldn't edit the post, but if someone is having a difficulty viewing them, here are the smaller versions:
Sideview
Front
Back

PS. This is her wintercoat and we live in Finland (= lots of snow)


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

She's pretty and very "typey". In the barn photo, her condition looks good. don't let her get any fatter, though.


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## kalma (Mar 4, 2013)

Thank you tinyliny!

She doesn't get fat easily, on the contrary. Even at this condition you can super easily feel all her ribs and they show when she extends her sides. I intend to keep her at this weight, but don't of course want her to get fat  Due to the winter and slippery arena (we don't have indoor option) she has been on quite easy work but will surely "firm" up when the snow soon melts and we get to truely work.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

The biggest fault I can find is that she is definitely over at the knees. She especially appears to be this way in that barn photo, though she is angled towards the camera which may be causing an optical illusion. Hopefully this is the case.

I do like her though. She isn't the type of Quarter Horse that I see in our area....small, wide, and stocky- but she isn't in any way bad either. I like that she has a feminine, elegant look to her while also having a decent amount of bone. I'm sure she looks phenominal when she's all muscled up.


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## hydnschultz (Jan 7, 2013)

She is a beauty.


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