# Will he be suitable? confo critique please!



## Lis (Oct 29, 2009)

You'll get more constructive critique after this but wow those legs are long!


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## horsea (Dec 28, 2009)

Wow, that is one beautiful baby!!!


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## EventersBabe (Oct 1, 2009)

I would say yes he could do some dressage work  every horse can do dressage work. Even a tb that just races could get dressage work..


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Lis, *lol* He's all leg! He's 15 hands even as of today. String test puts him at 18.2 hh full maturity...ahhhhhhhhhh! I'll need a parachute.

Horsea - aww, thanks 

Eventersbabe - I know about any horse _can_ do it, was just hoping someone can point out any glaring faults that might limit him. But thanks so much for your input!


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

oh geez, i want to steal him soooooo badly.. just give me some directions on where you live and by tonight your horse will be gone.

his pasturns seem a little steep, but i think they start to slope more as they grow and get older..... he looks like he has a powerful hindquarter which ive heard is helps, but ive never actually had any experience of that advantage or anything, im just going by what ive heard people say  

hes very very handsome!


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## thunderhooves (Aug 9, 2009)

No critique at the moment, but he looks GREAT for a yearling! lol


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

oh, and if anyone can pin down what color he is for me that'd be great. *lol* As a weanling, he was the fuzzy foal gray and shed out into a fading black. I thought he'd stay fading black, he sunbleached a lot over the winter, but then early in the spring started shedding out lighter around his eyes. I know you can't usually get an accurate color off a freshly clipped horse, but I didn't clip him down close either, and he doesn't seem dark enough to count as a fading black to me now, other than his face is still dark (I clipped his head/face too).


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

bump ~ any more _constructive critiques_ please? Thanks!


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

watching him move would give more of an idea on dressage. If he under himself or strung out? Muscling can change a horse drastically. I would like to see him in better condition in the growing stage he is too thin for my taste and needs lots of nutrition while growing.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

I think your other horse is taking his food


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

churumbeque said:


> watching him move would give more of an idea on dressage. If he under himself or strung out? Muscling can change a horse drastically. I would like to see him in better condition in the growing stage he is too thin for my taste and needs lots of nutrition while growing.


Thank you! I'll try to get some photos or a video of him on the lungeline - no small task since I'm the one who lunges him! hahah. He will do both a nicely collected trot and a nicely extended trot on the lungeline, as well as a real nice canter (though I minimize how much he canters on the lunge right now because he's young yet). He really carries himself nicely for his age and seems to be driving well from his hind end.

As far as his condition, I took him off the growth formula at 8 months at my vets request because he was concerned about him carrying too much weight while he is growing. That being said, this week I have started working him back up on a mix of Safechoice and the growth formula with a little weightbuilder added in - now that spring is here he is being worked with almost every day. He has always had free choice hay, all he wants at any time, as well as full run of 6 acres of grass pasture 24/7 (though for three months over the winter he was stalled at night). None of the horses ever have to compete with each other for feeding


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I can't say how suitable he would be for dressage but he is a mighty fine looking baby. I would give it a shot regardless and just see how well he does. He might suprise you and be really good and even if he isn't, he would still be very well trained.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

WOW he's all legs! Gorgeous, too! I'm not sure of his coloring....He has minimal signs of his Paint heritage (the back stockings, the splotch on his belly) but right now I would pinpoint him as a dark bay maybe? Hard to tell with Paint crosses


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Oh, yeah and as for color. I agree with the PP, I would probably call him a dark or black bay.


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## romargrey (Apr 11, 2010)

He is certainly worth growing out and watching. What I see currently is his hind pastern angles are a bit vertical and in these type of breeds can lead to a lot of concussion into his foot leading to bone spurring. His croup angle is a bit severe and it may change some but I would like to see the dam and sire. 
His shoulder angle appears a bit straight for my taste and this leads to a stabby type /heavy gait on the front end as they grow but you don't have a true lateral/side view of him. Both pics are a bit angled and so may give a false impression of his true angle. It is also difficult to see the neck to back length which would give you a better idea of a horse who is more likely to accept the bit and engage his hind end. (easier to get to work because he can carry himself better) Shorter necked horses can have a more difficult time bending and accepting the bit without going beyond vertical. Also and this may be a growth spurt issue his front knee joints to hock joints are lower in the front and can lead to imbalance and heavy on front end but he may grow out of this as well. So many things change over the course of his growth but at this time, I would like to see a video of his movement and conformation and pics of dam and sire. Yes all horses can do dressage and flat work some more easily than others but he looks like a love . Good luck with him and enjoy each day as he grows.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

First off I too think he is pretty darn cute. My first thought was also, 'wow, those are some long legs'.
As you have already stated, things can change, a lot.
To me he looks like he has draft horse type conformation. Strong shoulder, weaker back end. Vertical shoulder and pasterns. All great for pulling, not so great for pushing from behind, which is what you need for dressage.

He sure is a cutey.... with a sweet face.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

I underatand over feeding and causing problems but I have never given any babies a growth formula so not sure whay that is given especially if a horse is large it does not need help growing?? does it? If they grow too fast I know that can cause problems But a balanced diet and vitamins are essential for strong growth. I would not canter a draft on a lunge line until at least 3. they keep growing until 5-6 yrs of age.


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## NittanyEquestrian (Mar 3, 2009)

I think you're doing fine as far as the lunging and feeding. Draft babies tend to get ribby then shoot up, then get fat for a while and then get ribby and shoot up. They seem like they never stop growing! As long as you are lunging him for 30 minutes or less and on a big 20-30 meter circle that will help to condition him without putting undue stress on his joints. Also, you could pony him behind your other horses on short trail rides. The exercise of lunging isn't the problem it's the repetition of constantly loading the joints of one side in a continual circle for long periods of time that create problems. That being said...lunge line yearlings at futurities w/t/c and generally have no lasting health problems from it. You just need to be careful not to overdo one side and to keep the sessions short. 

As far as confo. The only "faults" for dressage are that he looks slightly steep in the shoulder, he has a pretty sharp croup and he seems to stand with his hocks behind him a little bit. All part of his draft heritage. That being said you can overcome a weak "draft butt" with conditioning, hill work and lunging in side reins once he is mature and the shoulder will probably angle a little more as he grows. Most yearlings appear straighter than they are when they mature because their legs are so long and their bodies are so compact. Once they start to expand in every direction as 2-3 year olds their angles tend to "lay down" a bit and relax. All in all...you know I want to steal him!! And he's definitely adorable. And as far as color I think he's going to be some kind of tri-color dark bay paint.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

The draft babies I have had experience with were never ribby.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

churumbeque said:


> I underatand over feeding and causing problems but I have never given any babies a growth formula so not sure whay that is given especially if a horse is large it does not need help growing?? does it? If they grow too fast I know that can cause problems But a balanced diet and vitamins are essential for strong growth. I would not canter a draft on a lunge line until at least 3. they keep growing until 5-6 yrs of age.


He was put on a growth formula (at the advice of my vet in the first place) due to the fact that his dam, when I got her, was seriously malnourished, and likely malnourished throughout her pregnancy while carrying Finn. The vet also recommended I wean Finn early, due to lactation and an additional pregnancy causing a very slow recovery/rehabilitation on the part of my mare, so Finn was weaned and put on growth formula at 4 months of age. If you click through my barn, you will see skinniness is not normally the trend on my property, more often I am battling pudginess. I canter him minimally, as I mentioned, and he's rarely lunged overall more than 15 minutes on any given day. 


Equiniphile and smrobs, I figured him for a dark bay, but my friend the other day commented she thought he'd be a liver chestnut. I didn't see it, but glad to have the opinions, thanks! His dam is a fading black tobiano, and his sire is a chestnut.

Romargrey - haha I was trying to get the clearest side views I could, but if I got enough behind his shoulder he figured he was supposed to move off, it was tricky just to get the shots I did, with no one to hold him for me *lol* I don't have great conformation pics of his sire, I''ll post what I've got at the bottom of this post. I'll post a picture of his dam too, but she just delivered a foal April 5th so is looking a little rough herself - she hasn't been rode in months either because she has on/off soundness issues, so lacks a lot of conditioning. I'll try to get some video of him on the lungeline this evening! Thanks for your opinion, taking notes on all these things. Thanks so much!

Alwaysbehind ~ Thanks, he has a great personality, he's a loverboy. He is 3/4 draft so bound to end up pretty drafty as he continues to mature, so this is what I am wanting to hear, what is going to be working against him. So thank you! He is already much heavier in the front then the hind end, but at a trot he does seem to move nicely off the rear. I'll try to get that video and upload it tonight.

NE, that's my experience with draft babies as well. If you look at pictures I posted of him just a month or so ago, he had a tubby tummy and was pretty roly poly, which is why the vet had me take him off anything but hay. I had figured him for a dark bay when he first started shedding out kind of coppery around his eyes at the tail end of winter. The white on him is actually I think more sabino from the shire side (his sire has the same white belly patch) than a pattern from the paint side. I think his dam is sabino as well, she practically looks like she's roaning out with all the stray white hair she has spreading across her this spring. Finn doesn't have stray whites in his coat at this point, but plenty in his tail. So things to watch for at this point are the steepness of his pasterns, shoulder and croup angles. Taking more notes! Thanks so much.

Here's pictures of sire and dam:

Sire is an 18 hand chestnut ASHA Shire "Wandamere Patches" aka Paddy (best picture I have of him, he lives about 1200 miles away):










Dam is a very sweet but mediocre mare, 1/2 Shire 1/2 Paint, shouldn't have been bred. Sorry she isn't sqare as could be in this picture, but it's the only decent side on picture I have of her without a huge preggo belly (and yes she's a little ribby too, just had a baby and all. She's getting fed up a lot right now and has been since I got her, when she was severely emaciated).


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## Hunter65 (Aug 19, 2009)

I was gonna say Liver chestnut. He is soooo cute. I find it hard to critique at this young age. I got Hunter last July just before he turned 2 and he has changed so much since then - though he was neglected and not growing properly but looked like a real gangly kid. Now he is starting to look like a horse (a small horse - he could only dream to be as tall as your cutie pie lol). I can't wait to see this one grow up up up lol


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

Okay, never tried to post a video here so I'll see how this works. 

This was a real juggling act to hold the lungeline and lungewhip in one hand and try to keep my V and "balance" on him right, while working the camera with the other *lol* If only I had someone around to help with video and picture taking! *lol* I have five bedrooms in my house and only use two - anyone want to move in? :lol: Up front requirement - must take horse pictures for me! 

Now the first couple videos I was trying to take didn't turn out because of the distance from the camera to Finn, it was just blurry. Probably something to do with the settings on my camera but I don't know how to adjust them. :-| I ended up shortening the line to get him close enough to film - but he's not used to moving in smaller circles (I always lunge him on the full 30m) so he's not extending as much or comfortably as he normally does. Add to this my neighbor kids decided to come sit on the other side of the fence and watch, talk, and occasionally shout encouragement to Finn - so yeah, here he is, but with plenty of distractions, so give the kid a break, normally he works for me very well! Can't figure how to embed the videos, so will just provide links.

Finn trot 1 video by vintagecollies - Photobucket

Finn trot 2 video by vintagecollies - Photobucket

ETA - okay I must have done something wrong, because both those videos seem to be only like, 10 seconds long, when they were both over a minute (the second vid was two combined). I don't know how to do this stuff. *lol*


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## romargrey (Apr 11, 2010)

well I was able to see the trot to the left video and let me commend you on your ability to video and lunge at the same time. That certainly takes some doing. I can't d/l the first video at all , it gave me an error msg that it was an invalid format. 
In regards to the video of trot to the left, I can say he moves with a nice shoulder motion, its nicely open and not as stabby as I was expecting with the lateral view on his pics. His back though long has in no way grown to its actual size and right now his neck appears to be short. But , it is so difficult to evaluate the young stock as they are growing because they change incredibly over time. He does have nice movement to his hocks and appears to carry himself well balanced to the left. In regards to his sire, he does have a long back and a steeper croup angle . He has a better knee to hock level and less down hill appearing and so Finn may truly change over time. As for the mare, she appears to have a better croup angle but is standing compensated at the hip too. She appears a bit camped under but she does have the foal on her feet and so it may truly not be there structurally. I like her neck to back ratio and her shoulder angle is not as straight with a nicer angle. (a better ride) All in all, I like Finn and I think as he grows you will see the ever changing patterns of gangly to ugly phases as he matures into the majestic horse. Keep him well nourished, don't overfeed any foal and make sure you keep some weight to height measurements on him so you can show the vet . Overfeeding and pushing weight on foals can lead to internal joint derrangements called OCD or osteochondral defects and can be disabling. Thanks for getting the video and I think you are going to have a nice big boy to ride and enjoy .


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

romargrey said:


> well I was able to see the trot to the left video and let me commend you on your ability to video and lunge at the same time. That certainly takes some doing. I can't d/l the first video at all , it gave me an error msg that it was an invalid format.
> In regards to the video of trot to the left, I can say he moves with a nice shoulder motion, its nicely open and not as stabby as I was expecting with the lateral view on his pics. His back though long has in no way grown to its actual size and right now his neck appears to be short. But , it is so difficult to evaluate the young stock as they are growing because they change incredibly over time. He does have nice movement to his hocks and appears to carry himself well balanced to the left. In regards to his sire, he does have a long back and a steeper croup angle . He has a better knee to hock level and less down hill appearing and so Finn may truly change over time. As for the mare, she appears to have a better croup angle but is standing compensated at the hip too. She appears a bit camped under but she does have the foal on her feet and so it may truly not be there structurally. I like her neck to back ratio and her shoulder angle is not as straight with a nicer angle. (a better ride) All in all, I like Finn and I think as he grows you will see the ever changing patterns of gangly to ugly phases as he matures into the majestic horse. Keep him well nourished, don't overfeed any foal and make sure you keep some weight to height measurements on him so you can show the vet . Overfeeding and pushing weight on foals can lead to internal joint derrangements called OCD or osteochondral defects and can be disabling. Thanks for getting the video and I think you are going to have a nice big boy to ride and enjoy .


I think I recorded the videos in the wrong format on my camera, they seem to be all messed up. I'll mess with the camera settings tomorrow and see if I can get a better video, particularly if I let him out on the line so he can move more freely as well (he was only on about 14 ft of line there, so was not really extending out for me, and I didn't want to push him to). I've not used the video function on my camera much so I need to learn how to work it!

The dam, although I have had limited chance to ride her thus far, is probably the nicest moving horse I have ever rode, when she's sound. If Finn gets even a little of that from her I'll be thrilled to pieces. So that comes from the shoulder angle? I'm still trying to learn everything I can about conformation, so your post is incredibly helpful, thank you! The mare does often stand camped under up front, though I believe it to be less structural and more soundness related. She's gotten a lot better in the last few months, she has an old injury to her fetlock in the rear (where she's standing with her hip cocked) and has a lot of compensation-based soreness/likely arthritis or perhaps osteoarthritis in the front. (haven't had her joints x-rayed yet) We've been working on the soundness for a year and she has improved dramatically. If she's never sound enough to ride regularly, well then she isn't, and she'll still always have a home with me, free from having to make any more babies, but if I can ever get her sound enough ti ride of course that's icing. 

It was my vets advise to take Finn off any extra feed a few months back, for the same reasons you have mentioned, the risk of damage to the growing joints being great. He's a little ribby right now, so I am trying to bring his weight up a bit, but he's hardly starving and has certainly never missed a meal since coming into my possession as a 2 month old. I think I'll just need to keep tweaking his diet on a monthly basis to keep up with his changing needs.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge, and I'll try to get proper videos tomorrow!


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## Squeak (Apr 8, 2010)

He's cuuuute! I have no constructive criticism for him at this point.

Just wanted to say, when I video myself doing any kind of work i use a barrel and set my camera on it and ride/lunge in the view. You could probably use anything relatively sturdy, and it can be kind of hard to judge distance and the area you want to be in but it works pretty well for me. I do most of my work by myself so i feel your pain!


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Any horse can reasonably be expected to be able to get to first level. 
As far as for your guy? I think he falls into that category. He is jogging in the first video, and in the second one although he is actually trotting, he is barely tracking up and even then there is no flow though the body - purely leg movement. He moves like a draft horse and draft horse movement is generally not suitable for dressage.
It is physically very difficult for draft horses to do dressage because they cannot actually lift themselves off the ground and create a large enough moment of suspension. They are bred to have no moment of suspension in their gait in order to be able to pull where as dressage horses are bred to have the largest moment of suspension in the gait as possible.
I'm sure he will grow up to be lovely and will be a great introductory dressage mount but don't expect a grand prix horse.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

churumbeque said:


> The draft babies I have had experience with were never ribby.


How many draft babies have you had experience with? Every horse is different. My Clyde/Appy yearling is ribby right now coming out of a starved situation and loaded with parasites.

Every baby is different.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

draftrider said:


> How many draft babies have you had experience with? Every horse is different. My Clyde/Appy yearling is ribby right now coming out of a starved situation and loaded with parasites.
> 
> Every baby is different.


 Well the ones I have had experience were well taken care from birth of and not starved or wormy. 1 is a friesian cross and the other a draft qtr cross. At no time did they every look underweight or ribby and they were not over fed. Just lots of good hay and reccomended daily rations of safe choice and regular worming. If a horse is getting fed properly and wormed it should look healthy and fit.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

Ok so you have had experience with 2 draft crosses. 

Indy, he looks fine for this stage in his growth. All I really deal with are drafts, and he looks like just about every juvenile draft cross. 

A lot can change in his conformation over the next 4 years. Drafts grow until they are around 6 years old and will still be laying muscle until they are 7 or 8 years old.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

churumbeque said:


> Well the ones I have had experience were well taken care from birth of and not starved or wormy. 1 is a friesian cross and the other a draft qtr cross. At no time did they every look underweight or ribby and they were not over fed. Just lots of good hay and reccomended daily rations of safe choice and regular worming. If a horse is getting fed properly and wormed it should look healthy and fit.



Just on a technical note, friesians are not drafts. 

And it's also dependent on the TYPE of draft crosses you have been around. From what I have seen (pictures on these boards included) Belgian and Perch crosses tend to stay a lot more round and hold their heavy conformation all the way across the board, where the Clyde and Shire crosses I have seen tend to shoot up, get real tall and leggy, and don't really start packing on the muscle until much later in their maturity. Just from what I've seen anyways. Finn came to me as a two month old, and has had been very well taken care of since I got him - but before he came to me - literally no care at all, what his mother could provide, which had to be limited in her state, was all he got.


anebel ~ thank you, I wouldn't be going grand prix anyways, at my age starting out now, I don't think I could dream of getting there! Just looking to do schooling/first level, and if he'll do at entry level, then I'm happy! Thank you, I know your opinion is very well respected in terms of these things.

draftrider ~ Thanks, I have started to feed him up because he's going through a growth spurt - he's already shot up an inch in the last two weeks and looks like he's going to keep going for a bit. I wasn't overly concerned, his ribs are visible in the right light (he's freshly clipped, and still wet in the pictures posted!) but he's got decent muscling and his spine/hips are well padded, so I knew he wasn't at an _unhealthy_ level of weight needing gained. I appreciate your posts!


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## danastark (Jul 17, 2008)

He's gonna be huge! My draft cross was 14.3 at 1 and is currently 18 hds. at 5...... We are doing some low level eventing and although he isn't the most amazing mover under saddle (can do all kinds of high level dressage moves when he sees something spooky in the pasture!), he is extremely comfortable in all 3 gaits and loves to do cross country! It's really hard to say looking at your guy how he'll end up. They are so awkward, butt high one day and the reverse the next! I fed my colt Triple Crown Junior and it kept him in good weight w/out any joint issues. Goodluck with him and keep us updated on his growth


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

One thing to always keep in mind is that drafts have a very hard time metabolizing sugars, which is the reason they have such a high incidence of EPSM. Its much better for them to be on a diet of very good hay, and if you need to supplement use beet pulp shreds, or Safe choice pellets, and supplement the fat level. Too much sugar for a draft is bad news.

You are right about different draft breeds maturing differently too. I've noticed that my clyde cross filly is very long legged and rangy looking, compared to similar aged colts that are Belgian or Perch crosses. But, Clydes and Shires tend to be taller, leaner and leggier than some of the other breeds.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

draftrider said:


> Ok so you have had experience with 2 draft crosses.
> 
> Indy, he looks fine for this stage in his growth. All I really deal with are drafts, and he looks like just about every juvenile draft cross.
> 
> A lot can change in his conformation over the next 4 years. Drafts grow until they are around 6 years old and will still be laying muscle until they are 7 or 8 years old.


Just giving "my" opinion that he looked like he was lacking weight. Not sure why it matters or why you can't state your opinion on your own with out questioning my knowlegde. I have seen several draft horse sales, fairs and in pastures and the ones that were well cared for had more weight on them. Sometimes when you see your horse every day you do not notice what others see.


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

Its a public board, give your opinion. 

But... to base your entire experience with drafts on 2 crossbreds is like saying you know everything about horses when you've only ridden on the pony go round at the county fair. 

And to say "well cared for drafts have more weight" implies that Indyhorse is not caring for her colt properly. That is what irritated me- the implication of neglect.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

danastark said:


> He's gonna be huge! My draft cross was 14.3 at 1 and is currently 18 hds. at 5...


 CRAP!!! Rafe is 14.3 at 9 months:shock:. I'm gonna need a ladder.


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## Kaioti (Dec 3, 2009)

I have nothing to really add, but DANG what a stunner!! ^_^ I want!


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

draftrider said:


> Its a public board, give your opinion.
> 
> But... to base your entire experience with drafts on 2 crossbreds is like saying you know everything about horses when you've only ridden on the pony go round at the county fair.
> 
> And to say "well cared for drafts have more weight" implies that Indyhorse is not caring for her colt properly. That is what irritated me- the implication of neglect.



Draftrider, thank you. I appreciate your support. My horses are certainly not neglected or lacking in care, nor are any of my animals. I try to be optimistic about the manner in which things are posted on here, and so I do try to take things as well meaning and well intentioned, despite how they might occasionally come across. (we do, after all, have quite a few very educated and usually well meaning posters on here who tend to come across as rather abrupt! I know I've certainly been guilty of it myself from time to time) :lol: 

But anyone who knows me well would certainly know I would go hungry long before any of my animals every would. It's easy to make a split second judgment on someone you know nothing about when you can't be bothered to find out more about the situation. Finn's weight is (always) closely monitored, and he is and has always been on free choice, good, content-tested hay. I did have him off any other feed for a while, and that has been added back in to support his current growth spurt. I would much rather see him a tiny bit ribby at this growth stage than carrying too much extra weight. Being slim for a short while won't have long term health drawbacks, where being heavy right now _could_.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

smrobs said:


> CRAP!!! Rafe is 14.3 at 9 months:shock:. I'm gonna need a ladder.


heehee he's going to be the tallest of them all, you wait and see! He's not only tall right now, he's just massive overall! Gorgeous though. Just get in some bungee-jumping now, so you'll be ready when he comes of age!


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## draftrider (Mar 31, 2010)

You are welcome Indy. I do rescue (in fact, ALL my horses are rescues that I adopted) and it burns me up sometimes when someone's horse is a bit ribby and everyone jumps on them and says they are underweight. Honey, if you want to see underweight horses... I have photos of rehab horses that would make you cry.

You hit the nail on the head too about being TOO heavy. It is better right now to build structure and frame on a horse. Build his skeleton first- muscling comes later. Too many babies are pushed for fast growth and it causes musculo-skeletal problems down the road. I'd rather see a shadow of ribs than a fat foal, in particular a foal that likely will be 1600 lbs or better as an adult.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

draftrider said:


> Its a public board, give your opinion.
> 
> But... to base your entire experience with drafts on 2 crossbreds is like saying you know everything about horses when you've only ridden on the pony go round at the county fair.
> 
> And to say "well cared for drafts have more weight" implies that Indyhorse is not caring for her colt properly. That is what irritated me- the implication of neglect.


The Iowa state fair is the largest fair in the US and is comprised of mainly draft horses. We also have 2 of the largest draft horse sales in the country in Waverly that people come from all over the world to buy horses taht I attend regularly. No implying neglect on my part just thought it looked under weight escpecially compared to the horse in the avatar. I didn't know I needed to post my experience to give my opinion.


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## Indyhorse (Dec 3, 2009)

churumbeque said:


> No implying neglect on my part just thought it looked under weight escpecially compared to the horse in the avatar.



Haha, the horse on my avatar has been on a diet for a year, and still is far too chubby - like I said, I generally spend more time battling pudge than thinness!

I do appreciate your concern, and as I mentioned, I DO believe your comments stemmed out of concern. Thank you.


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## aneternalflame (May 25, 2009)

I know nothing about drafts, and I really am too tired to do any sort of critique or evaluation, but I have to say he's gorgeous.


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