# Her conformation?



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Not great pics. Try to get one like the third but with her head up and legs square if possible. Also closer and more in focus.

I can say she's pretty round (maybe needs a diet), cute and looks like a nice quiet little mare. She looks pretty sturdy and nothing major jumps out at me.

Nice horse from the little I can see


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## atinyinfinity (Sep 6, 2014)

Okay, thank you.  
I'll try to get some better, clearer pictures soon.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Not best pics. Looks maybe straight hind legs, maybe high heeled, contracted fronts.


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## atinyinfinity (Sep 6, 2014)

I saw Dee Dee today, so here's some more pictures. They might still not be great; it's hard to take a full body pic of her without her following me. Thanks


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## HorseCourage (Feb 28, 2012)

General rule of thumb when taking conformation pics. have your horse set up square. (So if she's following you, then tie her up some place. Take a full body picture of both of her sides, and one from directly behind her, as well as one from infront of her (so untie her and re set her up so you can see her front) then we can give you a lot better conformation critique  i hope this helped!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Please look up how to take confo shots for critique. Still appears she has a bit straight hind legs & contracted, highish heels. And is overweight. She looks OK, but not commenting on balance, how she's standing, etc, because pics not right to judge.


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## atinyinfinity (Sep 6, 2014)

Here's some more pictures; thanks for being patient with me. 
Are these better to judge with? 
Also, I was thinking she was overweight, but I'm not sure how to remedy that problem. She's out in the pasture with two other horses (a 10-12 acre pasture) all day and gets grain once every day. Should I put a grazing muzzle on her for part of the day or skip giving her the grain?


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Good pics. A little far away but she's standing much better than before.

Very straight behind with very small hocks. That stands out by far. She may have some issues there long term.

She appears to have a roach back but it looks relatively strong. I wouldn't worry too much about it, but keep it in mind. Make sure her saddle fits and check for soreness. Idk if a chiropractor would help.

Not perfect but aside from those issues she seems nice and sturdy. Very cute. I definitely would NOT be breeding her but she seems perfectly usable. Keep the issues in mind if you want to do anything strenuous.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Yeah, I'd get a chiro vet to her, to check out/treat that lumbar area... which could well be behind the straight back legs too, so may even help there. Looks like she's standing 'over' herself in front in all pics, but can't really tell for sure. If she is, this is often due to weak, high heels.

Re feed, if she's overweight, you shouldn't be feeding any grain. If you do ever need feed grain, it's best to feed over at least a few small meals daily, as they don't get much out of, and it increases likelihood of problems, when they're only fed infrequently. Yes, you may also have to restrict her grazing if she's still getting fat on pasture, but I'd just cut the grain first & see how that goes.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

loosie reminded me- agree she does not need grain. Just a handful if everyone else gets some otherwise cut it out completely.

Completely agree with that post


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## bkylem (Sep 21, 2013)

Yogiwick said:


> Good pics. A little far away but she's standing much better than before.
> 
> Very straight behind with very small hocks. That stands out by far. She may have some issues there long term.
> 
> ...


Just curious and trying to learn (full-time job), but what points do you see that would cause you not to breed her ?
Big thanks !


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

ARRRR!!! Just lost my long reply... HATE that!!!

So sorry but to sum it up-

Breeding should be the very best to the very best. The most important thing when breeding is conformation (temperament is very important too). A horse should be _outstanding_ overall for breeding.

Your mare seems nice and solid but not outstanding. She's very cute but there's nothing otherwise that makes you say "WOW, look at THAT horse!"

Even a horse that is otherwise perfect that has a major fault (and your mare has two-as I mentioned above) it auto-out imo.

So the roach back and slightly less so the hind legs even on a perfect horse are still No and while nice enough her conformation is very average.

Emotion has no place in breeding. You have to be harsh and realistic, esp when there's such an overpopulation and so many mediocre horses already.

So nice cute mare. Please don't breed her  As I said her two major faults alone are reason to not breed a perfect horse, and while nice she's definitely not perfect; she would quite likely pass those on even when bred to a stallion very well built in those respects.


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## atinyinfinity (Sep 6, 2014)

Thank you for the replies. 
I wasn't planning on breeding her, although I do have a question-
With some training and weight loss, maybe a chiropractor out to see her, do you think she could switch to English hunters or at least be ridden in English tack with no jumping so I can practice my position, etc? I'm taking her to one of my English lessons so my instructor can see how we work together, etc. 
I'll stop giving her the grain and if that doesn't seem to work I'll look into a grazing muzzle.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

No reason you can't do basically whatever you like with her ;-) If you're looking at high performance, high level competition, she may not be the best(tho with chiro etc, she _might_ be) but 'imperfect' conformation(which is subjective anyway) doesn't stop them doing more 'normal' stuff ;-)


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

atinyinfinity said:


> Thank you for the replies.
> I wasn't planning on breeding her, although I do have a question-
> With some training and weight loss, maybe a chiropractor out to see her, do you think she could switch to English hunters or at least be ridden in English tack with no jumping so I can practice my position, etc? I'm taking her to one of my English lessons so my instructor can see how we work together, etc.
> I'll stop giving her the grain and if that doesn't seem to work I'll look into a grazing muzzle.


I didn't know if you were, just wanted to mention 

Her weight does seem a little high from those pics but not severely. At this point there is no reason it should effect her work. Keep in mind she's out of shape but do work her. I've seen far worse, she's definitely in a normal and healthy range, just doesn't need to be quite so high.

A chiropractor would be good for her issues regardless, but there is absolutely NO reason she couldn't be ridden in English tack, even just stick it on tomorrow *IF* it fits. Just remember to be super careful with ANY saddle fit, but if it fits tack it just tack. I wouldn't even say she needs special training for it. Just stick it on, maybe lunge her a little and go.

Same with riding English, as far as the basics go.

However if you want to get into hunters and jumping specifically I would be very cautious. She may be ok for low jumping but I wouldn't push it. I would definitely get the vet out and have her officially cleared for jumping. A good chiro could probably advise as well. I wouldn't expect her to be competitive but *if* she is cleared for low jumping go for it! Do keep in mind her comfort and maybe make the chiro a regular thing. Pamper her legs when you ride. I'd probably start her on a joint supplement too. There is a lot of concussion with an overly straight leg. Luckily she'll be landing on the fronts which don't seem so straight. She may have trouble getting under herself to push off though.


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## atinyinfinity (Sep 6, 2014)

I'm glad to know she'd be okay to do hunters, at least some flat classes and low jumps, if I keep a close watch on how her tack fits and her hocks.  Joint supplements are a good idea.


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