# Critique Nick: 16.2 QH gelding



## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

This is my sister's gelding, Nick.

He's 8 years old. 16.2 hh gelding. 

The pictures aren't _perfect_ but I figured I'd give it a go.

He's her 4H horse. She was practicing in her show outfit and I figured I'd snap a few pictures.


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## disastercupcake (Nov 24, 2012)

From what I can see he is a bit upright in the shoulder and hocks. His longish neck balances okay with his slightly long back, but he is under-powered in the hindquarters for his size. 

He is in good condition, but he shows signs of _maybe_ developing a bit of a swayback. It could also just be the angle of the photo, shadows or whatnot. Nice and clean through the legs, got a good foundation. Only complaint is he's a little upright in the pasterns.


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## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

disastercupcake said:


> From what I can see he is a bit upright in the shoulder and hocks. His longish neck balances okay with his slightly long back, but he is under-powered in the hindquarters for his size.
> 
> He is in good condition, but he shows signs of _maybe_ developing a bit of a swayback. It could also just be the angle of the photo, shadows or whatnot. Nice and clean through the legs, got a good foundation. Only complaint is he's a little upright in the pasterns.


Thank you. In regard to his neck length, he's bred western pleasure (he's a Gucci baby if that means anything) and I heard they breed for longer necks?


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## disastercupcake (Nov 24, 2012)

I'm not familiar with the Pleasure QH lineages, but I could tell right away he is the Western Pleasure type... so they must be doing something right!


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## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

Yes Gucci babies do tend to have longer necks. Over all he is a decent looking man, I see his build a lot in the show pen.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

he is cute. Is your sister tall ? he does not look all that tall in the photo 16.2 is a really tall horse. he looks lopsided in the photo from the rear but that could be camera angle.
also his rt front looks off . could be how he is shod, hoof angle.


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## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

stevenson said:


> he is cute. Is your sister tall ? he does not look all that tall in the photo 16.2 is a really tall horse. he looks lopsided in the photo from the rear but that could be camera angle.
> also his rt front looks off . could be how he is shod, hoof angle.


She is very much not tall. 

We haven't officially measured him. He's a very big horse for sure, but I'm not sure if 16.2 is quite right. 

I only say 16.2 because her 4H leader told us that's how big she thought he was.


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## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

Yeah, looking at that picture, she does look quite tall. She wasn't standing directly in front of him though - more toward the camera. She actually comes up to the middle of his barrel :lol:

I am 5'4 and am eye level with the lowest point in his back. And she's 4' something.

Ah, pictures...they are tricky.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

yes pics are tricky  . since one hand high is four inches then to be 16.2 that is 66 inches tall at the wither 5 ft 4 " tall at the withers .


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

stevenson said:


> yes pics are tricky  . since one hand high is four inches then to be 16.2 that is 66 inches tall at the wither 5 ft 4 " tall at the withers .


Wouldn't that be 5'6" at the withers? 

16.2hh x 4" = 66"
66" / 12" = 5'6" (12 x 5 = 60)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

To help show their height difference....and just for funzies.

She's in slight heels with her footwear in this one. And he's lower on the ground than she is.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Yup, like others have said, he's pretty typey pleasure breeding with the longer back/neck. His shoulder is a bit more upright than ideal, IMHO, as is his croup. Legs aren't bad at all though he's a touch straight through the hock and is standing camped under on the front.

The very first thing that popped out to me is his RF foot. I'm really hoping that it's the angle of the picture and that the ground is uneven. Of course, I'd have to pick his foot up myself to see for sure but it appears that the farrier might have left the inside a fairly significant amount longer than the outside on that foot, making that whole leg crooked.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

The problem with judging conformation like this is that we rip apart what looks like a good horse for her to be showing RIGHT NOW.
I see the RF hoof as a little bit clubby and I'm guessing that makes his "left hooved", so to speak. Upright shoulder, too.
BUT, the legs look straight, and he has a kind eye and looks like he is easy to handle.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

guess i forgot the two inches... 
still my guess even with the new pic would be 15.2 not 16 hh 
but then again hard to judge height in a photo ') 
and I dont see any harsh critiques, and if there were some , that can happen when you ask people to comment on your horse.


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## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

My personal horse is 15.2-15.3 for sure and he's dwarfed by Nick.

In any case, height isn't important. Glad you people seem to think he's at least a halfway decent horse.


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## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

ForeverSunRider said:


> My personal horse is 15.2-15.3 for sure and he's dwarfed by Nick.
> 
> In any case, height isn't important. *Glad you people seem to think he's at least a halfway decent horse*.


I think people have given him more credit than that. I think he's a handsome boy and something I'd look to see in the show pen. Club foot or not, he seems very nice for your sister. 

Which IMO I'd rather have a horse with some conformation flaws and a good mind, than a perfectly build insane one. Which makes him worth his weight in gold FSR.


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## hardiesjusticedream (Aug 10, 2014)

I am no critique, but I really like him. think he is quite handsome, I know what a nice horse looks like, but not trained in critique, pretty boy


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## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

*New question*

My mom's friends came over the other day and they went out to see Nick. They're horse people and they wanted to see his progress. 

The husband took one look at him and told my mom he'd buy him off her for any price she named because he said he had "the _perfect_ reining horse conformation" and that he'd buy him and send him to South Dakota immediately for training. Said he'd make the perfect lead reining horse.

As I have absolutely NO experience with reining.....what do you guys think? Do you think he's got the build for reining?

We're not going to sell, but now I'm curious lol


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## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

I'd say no way. Not even close. 

But that's me


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I think reining will make him edgy. You have a nice, mellow laid back horse, big enough to carry any adult, and it sounds like he's gentle, too, with your sister. These horses are worth their weight in gold, IMHO. Don't sell him. They will run him into the ground and ruin him. I was talking to my Vet the other day about a story I had heard online regarding a H/J first pony, who had had his tongue cut almost all of the way through. She didn't hesitate to say that the pony had been used for reining.
Some food for thought.


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## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

We're not selling. I thought reining horses needed big powerful hind ends and Nick's strikes me as not so big and powerful (not that I doubt his ability to kick me if he wanted to lol), but yeah. Just curious what people thought.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

No. I'm with Delete. I'm sure he could do most of the maneuvers that a reining horse can, but they would never be real pretty because he's just not built for it. Not exactly sure what that guy was looking at.

He's a nice horse but he's _not _a reining horse.


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## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

He cited his short pasterns and "powerful" hind end. I wasn't there for the discussion - my mom just told me about it today. 

I think he prefers WP stuff lol


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## ForeverSunRider (Jun 27, 2013)

So I guess I misheard. I guess it's ROPING he thought he'd be good for. 

Is that much different?


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## TimWhit91 (Feb 3, 2012)

He isn't thick and stocky enough for roping, unless he meant breakaway roping. You want a tank of a horse for tie down or team roping. Your boy looks like a western pleasure horse and a fun trail pony. He is a cutie
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

^^Not only that, but I picture him as having more of a pleasure horse type movement with the slow legs and sweepy gaits. He probably wouldn't have the necessary quickness to be a successful roping horse. That's a discipline about like barrels, where .01 seconds can mean the difference between winning and losing so you need a horse that can break fast and hit their top speed in just a couple of strides....and that top speed needs to be mach 10.


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## TimWhit91 (Feb 3, 2012)

That too. He looks like he would rather plod along on a trail than run top speed at a cow. And he doesn't have the power behind to propel himself, or stop himself quick nough
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## .Delete. (Jan 7, 2008)

I can bet he said that only because your horse is big. People like big horses for roping, height advantage, and a size advantage. But I'd still say nope, I'm with Smrobs. You'd ask him to chase after a cow and he'd lope off LOL! "That's the flattest knee I've ever seen chasing a cow" lol!


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