# 7 month colt conformation



## ForeverSunRider

I don't know but he is CUTE!

It's also hard to tell when they're so young.


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## 4horses

He looks good to me. I doubt he will make a halter horse- his muscle mass is light compared to a halter horse of his age.

He might be a tad over in the knee in his baby pictures, but I think he is already outgrowing that. He also might be a little narrow behind. Nothing I would be concerned about and for local shows you should be fine.  

He does stand camped under in some of the pictures but he is not standing squarely so I would not pay much attention to that. 

The mare and stallion's conformation may give you a better idea of what he will turn out like. For what you want him to do, I would not worry about his conformation.

Arthritis can have a genetic link, and even a pretty looking horse can have bad X rays. If the parents are sound, I would not be concerned. 

I love paints. I think his coloring is beautiful!


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## shesocalifornia

Thank you for your critique. His mother had a injection after his birth that caused her to get several accesses and her milk to dry up. Although she could not nurse him, he stayed by her side. They bottle fed him every hour as he stood right at her belly. She hung on till he was weaned but they could not save her. Here know he has a lot of catching up to do. I have him on premium food and so only time will tell. He is already as tall as my mare that is 15.2.


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## shesocalifornia

Sorry smart phone error....should say abscesses. Here is dad


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## shesocalifornia

Mom was 21 years old and a photo of her. Other foal and half brother to maverick.


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## Yogiwick

I think he will be good for you. Both parents are lovely and I'm sorry to hear about mom.
He is flashy and handsome (looks smart too) and correct for his age. And while he is not a competitive halter prospect (not necessarily a bad thing..) you never said you wanted that, correct? I think he will be able to do what you want and more. Would love to see a video.

ETA he looks more English type to me. He seems to have a naturally high (but nice) headset, and I think is maybe opposite of what you would look for as a WP prospect (and the opposite of what you would train your English horse for). I'm sure he could do it for fun, just seems a little opposite from where you want to go and what he would be suitable for, but no expert here!


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## shesocalifornia

His brother does dressage and english as did his mom. His dad did reining and cutting. What would you suggest he would be good at? No not looking for a halter horse but a performance horse.  he is homozygous for color but not sure I want to keep him a stallion. His father is super gentle stallion and I wasn't able to meet his mom. I thought he was pot bellied when I got him but he is starting to look better. He has had three deworming and is on pellets twice daily and alfalfa hay free feeding. Thank you!


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## shesocalifornia

How do I load a video? He moves beautifully!


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## shesocalifornia




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## Yogiwick

Not very good at this/don't really know what I know so take it with a grain of salt lol.
I would stick with English stuff with him, though I am sure he could do both. He has nice movement but low and sweeping rather than flashy. Don't hesitate to do dressage but I think that would aim him more towards HUS type stuff. Reining/cutting would mean a horse that can really get under himself and move/turn quickly. (I believe I have heard this is sometimes a good match) I wonder how he would do jumping? He could sit down and turn while having more of a jumping confo than a cutter would. He's still a baby give him time to grow (and change!) before you make up your mind, atm he is lanky and awkward (and cute). I think his upright headset makes him look more the part than his confo necessarily does at this point in time. If you want a very good critique I would hunt up the member Elana and ask her, she is excellent at it and will probably need to correct me lol.


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## shesocalifornia

Thanks I am new here and appreciate any insight you all have! I will have to post pics as he matures.


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## shesocalifornia

Another clip?


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## shesocalifornia




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## shesocalifornia

Some times you can see into the heart of the horse through his eyes. You can see greatness there. Something that you don't see in another horse. This is how I choose my horses. They speak to me in the way they look and the way they move and that inner spark. I have a friend who only chooses the horse with a perfect conformation and most end up lame. I know someone that shows here and they butte the horse up before a show and that horse is lame as lame can be. Yet she wins first place almost every time. So for those of you that have people telling you your horse is less than perfect don't worry because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thank you for everyone that took their time to critique my baby and look forward to posting a pic later so you can do it again in the future.


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## Elana

There are NO PERFECT HORSES. 
Something everyone should remember. 

If you BREED, then you have a huge responsibility to form and function. If you are just looking for a critique of a horse then that is what you will get.

If you want a perfect horse, then go buy a painting....


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## shesocalifornia

I think most of us know our horses are not perfect or even close to perfect and are looking for a critique for that reason. Just wanting to know where their weakness may lie and what the horse may or may not be good at performance wise. Plus with a young horse there are some that can study them and know somewhat how they will turn out. Where some of us just look at the parents and hope for the best. That is what is so great about these forums. Genetics can be perfect on both side and you can still get a train wreck of a horse. Maybe not in conformation but perhaps in Health or temperament. I guess all we can do is our homework and strive for the best.  I am learning and love when someone tells me what is wrong and what is right. It helps me to know for the future. Thanks


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## shesocalifornia

So this is it'd dam's grand sire. Robin boy and she is out of painted robin. I have some more pics but they are blurry. She also has appendix quarter horse in her. Her name was rocking robin. Blurry pic is her sire painted robin.


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## shesocalifornia

Hmm didn't load the sire....let me try posting again....


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## shesocalifornia

*maybe reining instead?*

Caught his natural movement today and saw him do some moves like this. You can see his drag marks. Lol. Time will tell on this little guy what he is capable of.


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## shesocalifornia

*almost 10 months and still changing and growing*

Well he is definitely starting to lose that baby look and everyone says he is growing although I can't really tell. It has been two months since I brought him home. Does he look like he has changed much to you?


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## wakiya

He does look like he's grown and he's starting to look like his sire. I think reining or hunter for this boy. You'll have to see as he grows up, but I think he'll do really well for you.


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## stevenson

Robin boy was a popular lineage for paints here. You have a nice looking colt. He looks like he should grow to a nice sized horse, and be able to do what ever you choose.


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## shesocalifornia

n 
Thanks. He has a double dose of his sire side of pepsi poco. Is that a good thing that the same sire was used on dam and sire on his sire Side. I was wondering and hoping he would take after his father more. I love his head and his build but like mom's size. Hope he doesn't get his mother's withers. What do you think?


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## shesocalifornia

I will try this link again.


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## shesocalifornia

Quiet Bravery Paint


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## shesocalifornia

I guess it is called line breeding. For what reason would someone do it? To keep the lines pure? Wouldn't it be inbreeding and be considered bad?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yogiwick

Inbreeding enhances faults and also enhances strong points. It can also make a recessive gene appear that you may not want. It has a bad rep because a lot of people don't understand it/misuse it. If done by a _knowledgeable_ breeder with quality animals inbreeding can be a very valuable tool and sometimes the only way to preserve bloodlines. You also want to outcross from time to time so as to minimize the negative effects. It is much more common than it seems and a lot of lines are only there primarily due to inbreeding. Linebreeding is breeding back to a specific individual to preserve that line. It is similar but not so closely involved as inbreeding.

Link won't work for me.


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## shesocalifornia

*officially a yearling*

I looked all over the internet to find pictures of horses that show them grow from weanling to adulthood and couldn't find hardly any. So I thought I would keep updating this thread and we can watch the conformation changes. I hoping this one will turn out ok. Here are some of him as a yearling. I have some front rear photos and I will have to find them....he isn't standing very square in them but you can see that he is still slightly knock kneed but it has improved a little.


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## shesocalifornia

Front view


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## Zexious

I'm no good at conformation... but he's really cute :> I love his pattern.


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## Atomicodyssey

My horse was inbred (stud bred back to his dam) and he was the best horse I've ever had or ridden. Very stout, sturdy, sound and you could do anything with him. He lived to a ripe age of 31. He had many foundation lines, primarily Poco and The Ole Man.


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## shesocalifornia

We have a poco bred horse too....he is also very stout and sturdy but rough with his short legs, steep croup, and steep shoulder but he is solid. He is my mother's horse.


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## Atomicodyssey

Love them!!! In a year or so my mom wants a horse, I would love to find one like my Pokey. You know, for her of course! 

This is my old guy. He was 25 or 26 in the photo. His only issue is he developed a massively arthritic knee in his later years, other wise I have no doubt he'd still be alive.


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## Zexious

^I love the old men xD <3


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## shesocalifornia

Wow it looks a little like my mom poco.....maybe he will live a long time too. I can believe he is that old....he looks amazing!!! Poco does have some Hancock on his other side and can be stubborn....he is always on a diet too!!! Lol


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## Atomicodyssey

He did age well but it helps to keep them in work, I regularly rode him miles and miles on trails up until he was about 25. In younger years we did rodeo, mounted shooting, even dressage LOL. The only thing he didn't like to do was jump, but considering he did anything else I didn't hold it against him. 

I really like your little colt and his sire is beyond dreamy. Beautiful and obviously I'm a sucker for bulldog AQHA! Ironically my current horse is an Appendix, but I can live vicariously through my "moms" horse 

Easy keeper? Yes... I think so!!


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## Zexious

^That's really too bad about the arthritis... ): He looked like such an amicable fellow. I hope I can keep Gator happy that long


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## shesocalifornia

. I



 have been doing round pen work once in awhile with him....not very often. He is actually very sweet natured.


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## my2geldings

Really can't give a conformation critique without proper conformation photos.

Behind the Bit: Conformation photos: Tips and tricks


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## shesocalifornia

I will work on getting some better photos


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## Zexious

Cuuuuuute. /KeepsPostingUselessPosts


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## shesocalifornia

Sorry didn't realize my post was useless.....I saw someone else post updated photos of their horses since they had grown and changed. I have either people that don't know how to square a horses up or don't know how to take a correct photo. Trying to do it all yourself is a little tough. Didn't mean to bother or irritate anyone here....my apologies.


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## gibby

Zexious meant they themselves were posting useless posts. And, since there is a minimum character requirement for posting replies, they were just increasing their characters to say your boy is cute.


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## shesocalifornia

Oh lol!!! Thanks!!!! Geez I am such a old timer of didn't pick up on that. Thanks for telling me that!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tryst

Would love to see better photos to follow his growth. Unfortunately not a lot can be told from the recent photos.


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## shesocalifornia

ok so the good news is I have some much better photos...bad news is I was messing with my user cp and change my settings to a mobile view only. I don't have any way to change it back and it won't let me post any photos. It has a full site button on both my phone and computer but won't change it back. There are no settings options. Anyone have any ideas?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## shesocalifornia

Yay I can post now....won't do that again. :/
Getting these pictures are tough on a yearling....they never stand still for two seconds. I would stand back and he would instantly move. When I wmtjmt try to stand him up he wouldn't put his front feet together and when I moved his foot he would paw the air. I will throw in the pics for giggles. Then as I was taking pics my mom got ran over by her poco/hancock horse. I am glad I didn't ask her to hold my yearling. So I was very distracted and ran to help her. Hope these help!!! To me he looks toed out and my farrier comes out every 6 weeks and last time he quicked him right rear foot. He tried to tell me it was something else. Ugh finding a good farrier in this neck of the Woods is tough. Last farrier I used before that was rough with the horses but did great work. I fired him after I heard he was being sued for knocking a horses front teeth out. Wish I knew how to do it.


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## shesocalifornia

*his naughty photos*

And some more photos:lol:


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## shesocalifornia

He does come out me reining lines but is it me or does his bal legs not line up well??? He stands like this sometimes....like in the pictures shown. I am also worried about him being toed out. Will that improve you think? His neck is shorter than I like and right now his head looks huge!! He stands in the rear with his legs too close in my opinion but then other times he doesn't. I need you expert opinions. Are these photos adequate??? I know he is still growing and changing some but how much more will actually change???
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tryst

Most likely as he fills out and muscles up he will develop more space between his hind legs and often the toeing out up front also corrects with chest development. I would be more concerned with how upright he is on his pasterns. He also has an upright shoulder. His bone appears light for his build and he is quite tied in at the knee and slightly sickle hocked behind. I suspect his neck will still lengthen. He has a nice hip and I like his croup angle. A touch long through the coupling. Sweet expression and pretty markings. 

What are your long term plans for him?

As to how much more he will change... Some things will, some things won't. His neck may lengthen, chest will become deeper and wider, he will muscle up, of course. I wouldn't expect his bone, shoulder or pasterns to change much.


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## shesocalifornia

Bummer.....wasn't sure what I was going to do with him really. Had a lot of plans that were kinda shot down...the things you listed are not good. Maybe a flashy trail horse???? Had planned to keep him as a stud if he turned out well but I guess that won't work. Thought about reining but his legs won't hold up to that stress and he will probably be too tall. Western pleasure is a no go with his high head set and jumping is out. I don't know really now....what do you recommend??
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SullysRider

I wouldn't say stud material. But he could honestly probably be able to do what you want, just at a low level and make sure you don't push him to hard and that his legs are always taken care of.


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## Tryst

Well he is young and still developing. Give him time to grow up and mature... Bare in mind I am making an evaluation from a photo... Which can be a good, or a poor representation of the horse. I can only tell you what I am seeing from a second of his life. Do I think he is stud material....no. But will he be able to do what you want? Maybe... Let him grow up, get with a good trainer, be careful about warming him up and cooling him down, protect his joints, etc. and if he has the mind for it he may go further than what his conformation suggests.


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## Tryst

For what it is worth I think he will look quite a bit like his mother when he is mature, as she too has a longer back, tied in at the knee and fairly upright shoulder. I am not sure where the upright pasterns came from as both parents appear to have decent slope there (Dad almost looks to have too much slope). I don't think he will be quite as long backed as his mom, but longer than his dad.


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## shesocalifornia

Been doing some research on the things you said.....also took the picture and used a measuring tool. He is very down hill right now and his chest is really underdeveloped. I imagine he will change a lot more. For now I am going to leave him as a stud. I measured his bone at the top and bottom below his knees. I ama llittle confused on this tied in below the knee. I looked at several horses out there and 90% of the pictures had knees and cannons that looked like him.....are all of them tied in the knee??? Is it that common? I have always thought his knees are huge for him and his bone is quite thick for his size I thought but maybe the pictures are deceiving. Wish I could bring you over The barn. Thank you for reply...I really appreciate your insight!!! I found a really cool article on how a 45 angle on a shoulder isn't always best when looking at length of stride and depends on what your horse is used for...his gait seems smooth and he has lots of reach. Wish you could see him move in person he is really spectacular when he starts reaching and flipping those front feet out with flare. I am so grateful to you all here you are so honest and so very nice!!! I felt a little deflated last night but I am feeling better today. .
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yogiwick

I don't see him ever being stud material. He's nice but I believe unless the horse is _stellar_ they should not be bred.

I definitely see him as an ugly duckling at this point in time. He almost looked better in the old photos, before he started growing haha. I think he will fill out very nicely as he matures.


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## Yogiwick

I love how you keep on updating this thread.


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## shesocalifornia

This will probably be my last update really. My husband lost hisjob last night and probably added to my deflated demeanor. I actually started to cry.....just too much going on right now. I willbe working double time as it is and who knows if I will be able to keep him. I was told he was a stud prospect when I looked at him. I studied conformation and mapped him out with all the lines lol. I guess I just suck at it and was taken for a fool!!  I was looking for a quality horse of size and he is homozygous for color. So anyways I am going to go lick my wounds right now.  thanks you guys!!!! See you all around one of these days!!!!!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tryst

I am sorry to hear about your husbands job and that the breeder wasn't very honest with you.

I looked at the breeders web site out of curiosity yesterday (2014 foals) and noted that they seem to list EVERY colt born at their place as a future stud prospect... Not a single one do they not indicate "this will be an awesome GELDING"... Instead they talk about every single one as being an awesome future stud,color production, top bloodlines, perfect conformation... According to them every foal 'has it all'... This is not a very good practice or very realistic. Honestly 90% (or more) of the colts born of EVERY breeders program should be gelded. Only the best of the best should be kept as stallions. This breeder's horses may have decent bloodlines a generation or two back, but they themselves have done little with their studs to prove them from what I can see. Most of their horse's bloodlines are older lines, not horses that are winning in the pen today.

Honestly... Why do you want a stud? You don't have a particular sport that you are set on showing and proving him in (in this thread alone you have talked about jumping, dressage, reining, etc.). A stallion needs to excel somewhere. Based on bloodlines he should be targeted toward reining, but reining is an expensive sport to be involved in at the top levels. Campaigning a stallion in any venue so that QUALITY mares will want to breed to him is very expensive (top trainers, showing, travel, etc.). Stallions have to lead a lonely life of seclusion and you can NEVER let your guard down. Even the best behaved can turn dangerous quickly if you are not ever vigilant. A gelding is much easier to manage, house, and become a trusted buddy. You can do all the same things with him as a gelding (and more), minus the breeding aspect. Stallion ownership should really be left to the experts, and based on your comments here I am guessing you are fairly new to horse ownership. A horse that would make a mediocre stallion can still make an AWESOME gelding (and lead a much happier life).


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## shesocalifornia

Actually I have a lot of experience training horses and showing. Not at a national level and nor do I have 50000 to buy a cheap reining horse. But just because I can ride doesn't make me an expert at conformation. I was not born into this but my passion started at 8 years old when I did HUS in California. I have mostly trained my horses for dressage, english, western pleasure, com very little reining. I have this guy set up to go to a reining trainer next spring to get started under saddle. However I didn't want to get to involved with reining if he would be more suited to jumping like his brother back east that has been competing nationally. I actually think this guy will be very athletic and has a great mind. This would not be my first stallion. I am fully aware how to handle one even if I am not a expert on conformation. More than likely I will geld him later. I will just keep him as a stallion till he is two. I never mentioned breeding him. He was a bottle baby and just want him to grow a little more before I geld him. I think all studs should prove themselves in the ring before being bred and have excellent conformation and blood lines to be passed to a foal. That is why I was so discouraged by your evaluation and deflated, because a little tiny piece of my dream had been shot down. I have waited a long time to do something like this. Now I don't know.....I will figure it out after he matures com comes back from the trainer. Thank you!!!!!


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## shesocalifornia

That is if my husband can find another job quickly....lol


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## Tryst

Well I hope your husband finds another job and I am glad to hear that you plan on him proving himself in the ring. I guess I assume the only reason someone would want to keep a horse a stallion is if they are planning on breeding them, since they are so much more work to own and maintain. 

Truly, best of luck with him . Please do update us on him in another year.


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## shesocalifornia

*updated photos*

Updated photos...2.5 years old...thought you all would like to see how he is changing or not changing. He is 15.3 and still has some growing to do. He has been gelded and is so very very sweet.


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## Yogiwick

He's beautiful!!

Just needs some time to grow. You DO have a nice horse there "stud prospect" or not. He is a fantastic gelding


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## Kay Armstrong

Every horse can do dressage. Some have more aptitude for it than others but every horse can be trained to use their body more efficiently. Maybe begin with dressage and see where it leads you.


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## Perchance5

I really like how he is developing. Although there are conformation faults I don't see any that would limit his ability for low level competition. Just look after his legs, work him up to things slowly and I think he would be a lovely sweet horse. He seems to be growing into his pasterns a bit.

I don't usually do too much with conformation though so it will be interesting to see what others see in him


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## stevenson

he is cute. maybe if dressage is not his cup of tea, he could go western pleasure. but they do like a high set neck .(do not know if that is the proper term but go look at some of the top $$ wp horses and you will see what I mean) . there are a lot of western options, beisdes cutting g and reining, ranch classes, competitive trail, sorting, team penning and they have all levels of shows from beginner to prof. Some of the shows can probably be snobbish just like in the Jumper shows.


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## Trying Again

So much change in around a year, that is one handsome fellow for sure. His top line is looking better, and he's really filled out some.


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