# Brumby Critique



## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

First let me address you and the size of the horse. Please do not take this the wrong way.. it is just statements of fact. 

If you are large framed at 5'7" the top of your weight range would be 163 pounds. Assuming you are medium frame, the top of your range should be 147 pounds. Height and Weight Chart - height weight chart, weight height chart Assuming you can get your weight to this level, you are NOT too big for this horse. There are many cutting horses here in the US who are around 14hh that carry that much weight and win cutting horse competitions. This horse is nice enough to be your incentive to get where you need to be weight wise IMO. You can do this in a year if you are serious!

Now the horse. He is a nice little package. He is a bit sickle hocked and a bit down hill, but I love his strong top line, open point of shoulder and over all substance. He does look like he could use a good trim of his feet. His head is a bit clunky and he may be a bit hammer headed (cannot tell from this stance). 

I do expect that he will forge at the trot because he is short backed and a bit long legged. However, at 3 years old he is likely to fill out on top and may appear less leggy as that process goes on (though he may still forge). Forging is usually not a big deal and if it is, the first answer is to roll the toes on the front feet so they break over a bit quicker to stay away from the hind feet. If that does not fix it and the forging is a problem (usually it is not) you can add shoes and a little trailer on the rears with the rolled toes in front can fix it (and I hate hate hate hate putting trailers on rear shoes unless there is a real problem). Usually forging does not cause an issue other than noise unless the horse damages himself. 

Nice horse. Makes no difference if he is a Brumby or not. 

Good luck to YOU making this all work for you!


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## Tracer (Sep 16, 2012)

Thanks for the input Elana 

No, I didn't take offense to anything you said. I seriously doubt that I'll end up even going to see him, let alone getting him. He'd be so amazing though...

He just looks so gosh darn tiny! If my calculations are correct, a 14HH horse would be around 4'6" at the wither... And the thought of riding a horse over a foot shorter than me seems very odd since I'm used to riding the bigger ones!

I love his topline, too. I was actually looking at him for a little while and considering how well he'd break to harness. He looks nice and strong  Just a quick question, would you expect him to grow any more? I always told myself that I would never even look at something under 14.2...

A girl can dream though, so I think this little guy will just be my eye candy for a while...


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## Iseul (Mar 8, 2010)

I'm 5'7" and weigh 210-220lbs at the moment. I've been on a little Morgan mare (to see if she could handle my height/weight with being a mostly balanced rider) and she had absolutely no problem aside from the fact that I looked funny being so much taller than her and my legs hanging down, haha. I had hopped on her (literally, lol) because I was suppose to go out and work with a 13.2 quarter pony (a lot stockier, but narrow 13.1hh Morgan was the closest we had to compare, haha), ended up not happening, but okay.
I've ran, jumped, patterned, trail rode a 14.1hh (at the time, we didn't realize he was a year younger than what he is, previous owner lied when buying) for awhile before I could convince one of my parents to pay for a lease. Never once did he have an issue. I also used him to practice bareback ground mounting..I bounced off his side so many times you wouldn't believe, he was a hardy, cooperative pony, lol.

So, it's not something you can't do. I looked funny onthe narrow mare, but the gelding was stocky and I didn't look bad on him at all-his owner still shows him and he's 5'9", pony hasn't gotten any taller or stockier, lol.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

Usually a horse's height is set by age 2. This is a horse that has had proper nutrition and so forth. This one, being a Brumby, might get another inch or two with good hay.. good nutrition. 

That being said, I bought a coming 3 year old that was so thin you could count the bones in her neck! She was 13.1 hands on a stick when I got her. In one year she grew.. to 15 hh.. because I fed her and apparently she was not done growing. That is unusual and the horse was starved. I suspect if she had been older she would have been stunted at 13.1hh for life. 

If you google "US Cutting horses" and then click on images you will see lots and lots of "tall drinks of water" riding some very short cutting horses.. that are winning. Most good cutting horses are close to 14 hh.

It is not height that makes it tough on a horse so much as weight does. That being said, I read somewhere once that big old draft horses are less capable of carrying weight (for their size) than Shetland Ponies are.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Brumbies are in Aus what Mustangs are here in the US, correct? Feral horses that run wild on the countryside and have for generations?

If that's so, then I suspect you could probably expect a rather large change in his appearance over the next couple of years. I brought home a 3 year old Mustang a few years ago that looked a lot like your guy, not bad conformation but no real mass. Leggy with a big head but had a narrow and gangly body with no muscle mass. After I brought him home and got him on good feed and a riding schedule, he started to bulk up quickly. He didn't gain much height, but he added about 300 pounds of muscle and strength and ended up being a very stout little horse (he's actually the gray in my avatar).

I really like the little guy you're looking at. His confo appears correct for carrying heavier weights. His pasterns are short, his back is short and he just looks like a tough little ******. He may not fit the traditional definition of pretty, but you know what they say; pretty is as pretty does.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Please don't freak at this picture. It was Cowboy's first day here. He had just bolted for a dozen laps with my daughter-in-law, and she asked me to get on him. At the time this picture was taken, he had galloped a dozen laps, and then gone a couple more with this much pressure. He stopped a short time later, and about 10 more minutes of riding convinced him to stop without going thru this. But it is the only picture I have of me, at 5'8" on our 13 hand mustang:










He isn't ideal for me. I can feel him shifting how he moves to handle my 175 lbs. But he has proven several times that he can gallop with me for 8-10 laps around the arena without even breathing hard at the end. The problem would not be your height, but your weight. When you get to 30% of your horse's body weight, and even before, they have to work a lot harder and make a lot of adjustment in how they move - shorter steps, more care in turns, etc. Cowboy is proof they can do so, but fairness to the horse means thinking carefully about it.

But if I wasn't busy working with another horse, Cowboy would do fine for 1-2 hour walks in the desert. He's built like a little tank. We now use an Abetta saddle that is 5 inches shorter than the one in the picture, and it has a narrower gullet for his narrow shoulders. But he's a good horse for a lighter rider:


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Not me, but one of our cowboys and the BO's son riding our 13.2hh 915 lb (she's a hefty little thing!) Quarter Pony. The cowboy is about 5'10. It looks funny, for sure- and I think he's a bit big for her (she isnt his usual mount but his was lame and they needed to bring the ponies in) but she is able to carry him without difficulty as long as she is warmed up properly and not overworked. 










I think if you were able to loose a good 60-70 pounds in the next year, you could start riding him as a four year old without a problem. Like Smrobs said, he looks like a great cannidate if you're able to put in the effort. I think I see a very nice little horse under all of that fur and grime!


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## ParaIndy (Sep 10, 2012)

He is the most adorable little thing! I also think that with proper nutrition, he will grow and fill out quite a bit more.


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## Clava (Nov 9, 2010)

Elana said:


> Usually a horse's height is set by age 2.


Really, I have never known a horse to stop growing in height at 2 yrs of age. Most grow until they are at least 4 and then often until about5 or 6yrs of age.


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## Ace80908 (Apr 21, 2011)

I, too, have never seen a horse that was done growing at 2. A two year old is still just a teenager - and a teenager is far different from an adult. Most horses will gain AT LEAST another couple inches, at least.


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## Tracer (Sep 16, 2012)

Thanks for all the info/input/inspiration guys!

I must say bsms that it doesn't look so out of proportion in your photo! As for your Endiku, it looks quite amusing really, but not in a bad way 

If I had the funds to put into training him right now (darn Christmas!), I think you guys would almost have me talked into this guy. I can just imagine him with some weight/muscle on him... He'd be a stunner.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

I think what Elana means is the height they are going to grow to is influenced most by their nutrition during the first two years of growth. So if the horse is well fed and has a very balanced diet, they will grow to their maximum possible according to their genetics. However, if the horse is not as well nourished in the first two years, they won't make it to their genetically programmed height - they may still grow taller in the years after it, but they will show some stunting.


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## Clava (Nov 9, 2010)

Chiilaa said:


> I think what Elana means is the height they are going to grow to is influenced most by their nutrition during the first two years of growth. So if the horse is well fed and has a very balanced diet, they will grow to their maximum possible according to their genetics. However, if the horse is not as well nourished in the first two years, they won't make it to their genetically programmed height - they may still grow taller in the years after it, but they will show some stunting.


Then either way the height is not "set".


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

The brumby might make 14.2. The first issue I saw was the short back. At your height and weight you'd likely need a 17" seat in a western and the bars are going to be much too long. His front end will do some catching up. If he were to remain downhill then there's the additional problem of the saddle jamming the shoulder blades which can cause scar tissue and possibly lameness unless a crupper is used.


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