Bad conformation (pics)

[lucy1984]

Ive had my little man since he was 6 months old. Bought him from a **** dealer in Essex. Viewed both parents and they looked nice -they were in proportion and very friendly horses, nothing untoward stuck out. They werent registered, probably didnt even have passports.

He is a standardbred (trotter type?).

Here are some pictures of my man as he has grown. In some pictures he looks nice but in the most recent ones he looks like his neck is far too short for his body overall. Please excuse the pictures as they are all I have but it will give you an idea....

5 months old....

9 months old.....

13 months old....

17 months old.....

18 months old.....

20 months old.....

AT THIS POINT I SOLD HIM TO SOMEONE....

2 years and 4 months.....

2 years and 4 months....

(I THEN BOUGHT HIM BACK 11 MONTHS LATER AS SHE WAS HAVING MONEY WORRIES)

2 years and 8 months old.... (Following pictures taken just before christmas last year)

So what are your views on his conformation? He will be 3 years old in April. Do you think he will pick up a bit with the spring grass? Will his neck always be like this or do you think it will 'grow' anymore?

When he lifts his head up really high his neck looks ewe like. Will he have any 'difficulties' in ridden work when he is older?

I know he isn't ought to look at but I love him regardless and he will always have me

 

[Cedars]

I think he's cute!

No idea about conformation though. I'd imagine it'd sort itself out as his neck hasnt always looked so short?

xxxxx

 

[Holly831]

I wouldn't even attempt to judge what he will look like when he is older...Saying goes look at them at 3 days and not again till after 3 years..

Seems to be true they go through an ugly duckling stage (mine all have) but hopefully emerge as 'swans' nearer to 4!!

 

[Abbeygale]

He has a lovely face

I have seen worse - but he is quite weak in his neck. He still has plenty of time for more growing - and he will more than likely improve once the grass starts coming through. I would think that his neck will probably be quite weak as he matures - but once he starts working then obviously that is something that you can work on.

My rising 3yo has her own few little conformation faults, but she has an absolute heart of gold, and I would completely trust her with my life - so her conformation faults do not matter so much to me.

He looks like a very sweet chap xx

 

[V1NN]

my rising 2 yr old is going through a bit of an ugly phase i am just hoping he'll sort himself out as he gets older.
i never really noticed your boys short neck until the pic of lady with striped top on holding him. like you say could just be a bit ewe necked ust once he is ridden the right work could dramatically help that . i quite like your beastie

best of luck with him x

 

[china]

dont rely know about conformation but he has alot of muscle underneath is neck which make it uwe shaped but that will come right with correct work when he broken.

 

[natalia]

They grow at funny rates, so don't be surprised if he changes a lot between now and next year! I have one similar, who i thought had a rather short neck, and now he's really growing in to himself and looking much better.

 

[Amys_Babies]

Hes a lovely lad!

At the yard i share the man breeds and races standardbred there is a few 2 year olds who you would think have poor conformation but its just them growing. He has had quite a few like it who have turned out to be really stunning horses so i wouldnt worry at the age he is.

 

[diamondgeezer]

as above post his neck doesn't look short till the one where he is being held by the gate. Also its is so diffucult to tell how they really look when they have there winter coats. sure when summer comes (If it does) he will look different again. do you do any thing with him yet, such as long reining as that will help to encorage him to lower his head and develope a little muscle in top rather than under his neck. You dont need to do alot, try going round edge of field once maybe a couple of times a week.

 

[pixyandsweep]

You just have to remember that he is still growing and they do go through, gangly and ugly stages. In a year, he will no doubt look completely different!

 

[twisteddiamond]

if he was chestnut i would say he was my big lad lol, he is half standardbred, and he went through a stage where he looked atrocious but now he looks like a proper horse
you can see how he changed here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=82804&id=511138046&l=8d4c3b289c

 

[Lanky Loll]

If he's a standardbred then they do have a slightly different conformation to riders - but it still varies from type to type.
Harry on the right in my sig is very like your baby - he's a bit gangly with a slim neck, whereas his brother who is still entire is much chunkier (we don't own the brother so can't show a pic of him). H never carries much weight - he's currently the fattest he's ever been and some people on here would say he's too skinny but that's just him - we've had every test done and then some. There are some pics of him here: http://sukuposti.net/galleria.php?rotu=&image=251517 to give you an idea of what he's like when fit. Your baby may well fill out more - the rest of ours have. (and yes he's ewe necked in the pic - that's how they muscle up for racing but they change when they stop racing and are re-trained).

 

[millitiger]

he actually looks very similar to my lad when he was younger- Vinnie had a horrendous neck as a foal and its only really got better in the last year (now rising 4yro).

as a foal;

as a rising 2yro;

last spring as a rising 3yro;

the neck is the easiest part to change in a horse, hence me buying Vinnie as a foal as the rest of him was fab.

 

[devilwoman]

Is the first picture taken in the field where you got him from - it looks very familiar.

He looks a very nice lad - i'm sure he'll proportion out as he matures.

 

[Mocha]

I think he'll turn out ok.

He looks very much like my TB gelding did as a 3yr old. Without muscle, they can look very weak.

My gelding is blind in one eye, and he tends to 'pop' his head up to have a look at things... so he's builds muscle under his neck if not worked correctly... another thing he does is eat out a haynet wrong... yes -sounds ridiculous, but he pulls the hay upwards and out instead of down and out... so I try and feed him from the floor as much as possible.

Some pics to show you...

These are in order from when he was 3...

3.5

Very disproportionate - like your buck.

Rising 4 - excuse the state of him, he'd been sick, but with no muscle under his neck you can see the shape better.

And at the end of that summer... got the beginnings of some proper muscle, and it just makes him look more in proportion.

When he's working and stretching out, its looks much better. He does need to be kept working correctly though.

They can change quite drastically.

Good Luck with your fella - STB's are lovely.