Anyone want to conformation critique my horse?

Saxon_Jasmine

Saxon_Jasmine

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 February 2010
Messages
581
Location
Suffolk
Visit site
Feel free to be honest, just wanted to see what other people think of her. I know she's a bit skinny still and lacking topline, but we're working on that :)

DSC00750-1.jpg


DSC00751.jpg


DSC00729.jpg


DSC00726.jpg


DSC00667.jpg


Thanks :)
 
I assume that the horse is TB......what has it been doing of late?
It is skinny - really far too skinny to do much with at the moment I would suspect - the give away is not the top line as you suggest, but the lack of flesh on the backside and looking very tucked up in the flanks. Front on does not look too bad.
If it were mine, I would have given it a jolly good worming (sorry to keep calling it - did not notice whether you daid what sex it was.....) then put it on something like Blue Chip, or a barley rich conditioning mix - can you still get supa barley?
Hopefully you might also have some access to some lovely lush spring grass - which will be as good as anything.
It looks a bit like it might have come out of a racing yard? If that is the case try to be patient and give it 6 months to let itself down.
Sorry to be raher negative.....at least you are coming up to the right time of the year to get it right - as long as you have some good grazing. Nice friendly looking face.
 
dressedkez I think that is a slightly unfair critisism. I know she's skinny, however she is a TB and we have just had a horrible winter! Yes, she did race and was re schooled about 6 months ago, I've owned her for 3 months now. She does look tucked up in that photo, I think that's due to moving yards recently. The 3 pics in this reply are of her when we first viewed her, at little SJ comp. we did recently and in her field this week. I feed her on simple systems feed and she has been wormed. I woudn't say she is too thin to be doing hacking, gentle schooling and some small comps occasionally. I'd be interested to see what other people's oppinions are though on that matter. I have upped her feed and she is getting ad lib hay and turnout every day.

DSC00648.jpg


DSC00706.jpg


DSC00727.jpg
 
Well done! She looks so much better than she did when you viewed her. It takes time to build them up and she is definatly going the right way! She looks healthy with a nice shine on her coat too.

She looks a nice sort with a kind eye - no good at confo sorry! :D
 
I wouldn't say she was that skinny for a TB coming out of a hard winter, she'll soon pick up on good grass anyways.....she'll be fine to carry on hacking etc.
 
She is rather skinny, you can have some of my mares fat she really doesn't need it!:D Other than that she looks very nice and shiny and happy! xx
 
*It is skinny - really far too skinny to do much with at the moment *

What utter nonsense,yep she is on the lean side,but tbh i wouldnt be at all concerned with the spring grass coming through,she is a credit to you when you look at the pics of when you tried her,she has a lovely shiny coat!The spring grass will help you no end with her weight!Give her a month and i bet she has altered again :)
 
:) i know she is skinny but most tbs are coming out of winter, i know not all but this winter has been especially bad! And you know and are doing something about it, so no sermon from me :p

Please do not take any offence at what i am saying - I am trying to improve my ccing so what I am saying maynot be what others see, just stating obvious (i think lol)

IMO
She appears a little upright in shoulder, could be the way she is standing as well.
Looks over at knee, and has slightly puffy fetlocks (could have just come out of stable though) and cannon bones look slightly long - but then I dont know her height - guessing around 16.2?
Has nice length of forearm and good hind legs, nice angle of hocks in some photos but straight hinds in other photos, so bit unsure of that!

lovely head, nice kind eye and neck appears to be set on low but again could be the way she is standing :)

beautiful tail and she has such a lovely outlook :D

:)
 
She is skinny... but not that bad!! Of course you can still ride her!! We are coming out of a harsh winter and many horses are looking like this... bit of spring grass will do her the world of good... tbh- well done you for keeping her looking as she does as have seen many worse and I know how hard it can be to keep weight on them :)
 
Too many people think that a fat horse is a horse in good condition and then think that anything showing it's ribs is thin or an RSPCA case. However I would say that in this case your horse is in need of some condition and a good indication of that is the lack of flesh along the top line ie, accross the back and quarters. I know how hard it is too keep weight on a TB but found that the best food for this was plenty of hay/haylage, High fibre cubes with an alpha A chaff and good grass in the summer. Too much conditioning type feed will send your horse loopy and she will then use up un necessary energy charging around or fretting when you ride.

If she can have access to good quality grazing over the summer I would be interested to see photos of her after a few months to see the difference. If there is none then she either has a metabolic problem or is just the lean type. Always make sure she is warm enough but not drowning in rugs as a horse like yours can use up alot of calories trying to keep warm. As long as she eats up then you're heading in the right direction.
 
She looks so much better now than when you viewed her. Well done for getting this far with her :)

What are you plans with her in the future?
 
Last edited:
Thank you everyone :) I was slightly worried after the first reply. I know she's skinny but we have been working hard on getting the right feed for her and slowly bringing her back into work, etc. She has good grazing at home and at Uni so I'm sure once the grass comes through she's put on more weight. I have recently spoken to a nutritionalist and upped her food so that should make a difference too. This seems to have turned into a 'is my horse too skinny' post rather than a cc!
 
Gleek - her racing name is Naomh Mhuire, it means Hail Mary in Irish hehe

Tiffany - I've been getting her fittness up and getting her used to being ridden in a non race horse style. I'm going to do some little comps this year and then hopefully BE event next year :)
 
She has a real 'jumper's bump' so she should be a good jumper! I like the overall impression and with a bit more condition, she will look very smart
 
some people are being ridiculous!! that horse is a bit on the lean side yes, but not "concerningly skinny" and you can certainly ride him/her !!!! nothing that correct feeding will not fix and the spring grass will help!
 
She looks a nice kind horse - she has a nice outlook and a kind eye. She has a nice shoulder and a fairly deep girth, I should think she has a good, long, swinging stride. She also looks as if she has sufficient bone for her type. She does need a bit more muscle on her quarters and neck but that will come with the correct work. She looks a lovely horse to me but I am biased - I love TB's!
 
Nice looking mare, Dont worry about her weight, I have a TB that looks just the same at the moment, its amazing how quickly they put it on when the grass (eventually) comes though.

Good luck with her
 
She is a lovely mare, I like her a lot :) She has lovely strong limbs, good cannons, is nice and short coupled and a beautifull honest/genuine face. cant fault much about her!

It says on the racing post that Naomh Mhuire died as a 7 year old- you might want to get in touch with wetherbys to get that rectified!! what an awful mistake for them to make!! :(
 
I think her weight is a little on the lean side, but the way she is put together doesn't help that. She is beautiful however and very much loved clearly!
 
Damned if you don't, damed if you do....why ask for a critique if you don't want an honest reply? Sadly she is skinny - and with the wonderful feeds and fantastic rugs that are available these days - not too much excuse I would say, unless a horse was coming from a really bad start (maybe yours was...) OK I am waiting for the hate mail, but for a mare looking like this - I really would want her to let herself down. I am not into fat horses, TB's are my thing - I will from time to time have a horse that ends a season of hard racing looking like the mare - but then I give it 6-8 months off!
 
Conformation wise:

Bit upright in the shoulder but a nice angle on her humerus (point of shoulder to elbow). Think the top pic makes her look a bit over at the knee. Nice good size of shoulder and quarters, if a little short in the quarters compared to her neck/back. Looks like she's got a lot of room between her cheek bone/jaw and atlas (its where your throatlash goes) so good for flexion. Has a bit of a jumpers bump and a nice face profile. Only real fault is that she looks very weak in her lions as it dips before her jumpers bump :)

Overall though a nice allrounder :) Looks like she'll make you a lovely horse. Sorry if this was a little harsh I just looked at her conformation and ignored her condition as the grass is all coming through now :)
 
OK, ignoring the skinny/not skinny side to this thread - my thoughts on confo. (v similar to only-me, actually)

She is goose-rumped - may be good at jumping but I'm not 100% convincd by that wives tale. Neck is set on a little low and she has quite an upright shoulder (though it depends on what you are looking at using her for as to how much you care about this!). Hard to see her back legs viewed form behind because of tail but she looks a little upright/long. In one of the pictures she looks a teeny bit swaybacked.

She looks a kind mare, pretty face, and I hope you do well on her. :)
 
I think that first reply was quite harsh! yes she's a bit on the thin side, but not horrendous, and certainly ok to be doing some hacking and continuing her education! And yes, she doesn't have much topline, but if she's been raced and she's generally poor then that's hardly a suprise!

My only real criticism of her is that her legs aren't the greatest. She appears to be tied in and over at the knee, and that her front legs aren't quite a pair (this could be the photos tho). Her cannon bones are quite long in proportion to her thighs and forearms, which traditionally suggests a predisposition to dressage rather than jumping.

Her feet look good though, well set to support her legs.
Her back is slightly long, but not unduly, only sufficient to include a foal and intestines should you want to!! ;)

She's a nice sort though, and has a nice kind face! I hope that you have a lot of fun with her!
 
Dressedkez and Caledonia - not really sure what you are implying. I haven't got her a new passport, she came with one, and the descriptions in it match her, etc. I had her vetted when I bought her and no problems were found. She is currently ridden by myself (experienced rider), my 10 yr old sister and beginner/novice OH, so no problems there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top