# 6 Year Old Mustang Gelding



## LoveHaflingers (Feb 11, 2012)

Alright, so I am not really an expert at all with conformation, but here's my two cents:

He looks like he may be a bit posty-legged in the back, and his shoulder looks a bit upright. I think his neck is a bit thick and lowset too.

He's a red dun, right? It's weird, except for his head, he looks _exactly_ like my mom's red dun PB Icelandic gelding. Well, Broddi's fluffier, but the resemblance is amazing. He's not gaited by any chance, is he?


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I think he is much better looking than most mustangs. He has a much nicer head than most.

His hind legs and short, steep croup are very typical. They are strong and never go lame or have stifle or hock problems. He has the typical good bone and feet and a good back. They can carry much more weight than the average horse of that size. 

We used to run them and catch them to break out and sell. that was one of my first summer projects back in the 60s (when it was still legal to catch them off of Federal Land). They are tough -- "you would have to cut one's head off and hide to to hurt him."

How big is he? The ones we ran in western Colorado were mostly only 13.2 to 14.2 in size. The ones we ran near the Northern Ute Reservation in Utah were up to 15.2 or 15.3. They had a lot of TB blood mixed in when the Government gave the Indians their remount stallions back when they disbanded the Cavalry. Was he adopted from one of the BLM facilities? Did he go through one of the prison programs? The big BLM facility at Pauls Valley, OK is only about 30 miles from us.


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

Nice balanced horse with a few faults. 

Steep shoulder, straight thru the hocks and his hocks are pretty high off the ground. Neck is a bit thick and drafty where it ties to the chest. 

Really sturdy looking "doing" horse.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I second everything that Cherie said.

He's the spitting image of my Dobe, just in a different color...and with a more refined head.

Does he ride smooth at the trot and lope?


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

> Nice balanced horse with a few faults.


This is what is wrong with horse breeding and why we have such 'fragile horses' that are born just looking for a place to die or a reason to become crippled.

We have bred horses for the kind of conformation we want or need for the purpose we want to 'use' them for. 'Mother Nature' has bred them to survive. So, everything we find 'wrong' with them is usually exactly what is 'right' for a horse to remain healthy and sound and survive under extreme conditions. They just do not 'fit' the mold we have made for the horses we want to ride.

We have bred horses that are waaay too refined and 'pretty', waaay too fast and waaaay too fragile. Then we stick them in stalls or little pens and feed them waaay too much. [Probably the worst fault I see in this mustang is that he is over-fed and too fat.] We are now paying the price for such fragility and over-feeding with high Vet bills and a high mortality rate.

What you are looking at in this horse is a perfect example of 'survival of the fittest' -- only with a prettier head than most of them come blessed with.


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## aldebono (Mar 15, 2012)

I love that head and neck!

I saw the "posty" back legs and thought, Whatever works for him.

My impression with the wild mustangs is they have to have a tough and long lasting bone structure to be able to survive and pass on there genes.


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## Allegro (Nov 16, 2012)

thank you everyone for your replies! Yes, he is around 14.2-14.3 hands. His trot and canter don't seem very bumpy, but then again, I'm used to riding a thoroughbred with quite a bumpy trot, so most horses' trots seem smooth compared to him...


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## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

> This is what is wrong with horse breeding and why we have such 'fragile horses' that are born just looking for a place to die or a reason to become crippled.


amen. I owned a thoroughbred mare with the most amazing personality. Spook proof, forgiving, honest, and fast. the only thing was she was so delicate! she looked a a sharp object and cuts appeared, she bruised and absessed. by the end I was seriously concidering bubble wrapping her entire body. I have seen this lately with many OTTB's off the track. A+ temperment, tons of tallent, but they are more fragile than an eggshell. I watch my BO's OTTB's constantly hurting themselves while my little arab is sound and injury free. She may not be as pretty as they are, but she sure is hard to kill.

I really like this guy and think he should be a very sound and functional mount, as long as you can work off some of the excess weight.


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## Oldhorselady (Feb 7, 2012)

I know nothing about conformation....but I think he is beautiful. He has the build of the horses I like...good bone/stocky. Very handsome. I like the horses that are built to survive, not look pretty.


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## Casey02 (Sep 20, 2011)

Holy cow he looks like my horse but in a different color!


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