Condition photos - your thoughts please

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BBP

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Purely out of interest having seen lots of threads on condition of peoples horses, I wondered what peoples thoughts were on some of these photos. Which would you prefer a horse to be in. And which would you like your horse to be in at this time of year, given the spring grass is coming up fast?

I just wondered how other peoples thoughts compared to mine, and also how peoples opinions are affected by photos, e.g the lighting, coat (bit moth eaten right now as shedding so photos arent flattering!), way the horse is standing etc. I have the ponys weight and condition score for most of these photos, and know how much work he was in so would like to see what others think (having had a few negative comments about him recently)

1)
IMAG0075.jpg

2)
Image0727.jpg

3)
Image0718.jpg

4)
Image0722.jpg

5)
12june111.jpg

6)
2009-09-2410-34-09_IMG_0256_resize.jpg

7)
honrosostanding004.jpg

8)
honrosofield.jpg
 
I thought they were different horses.... Sorry, must be my eyes... All very shiny but wouldn't want anymore than that, as to me they are already in 'show condition'.
 
Number 2 is probably the best photo (approx 400kgs, in light/moderate work but dressage lessons every week), but number 3, where I think he looks a bit tubby, is taken the same day, but his posture in it is poor so not as flattering. The last 2 photos are from before I bought him as an unbacked 3 year old, in the bottom one he was bordering obese on all that lush grass. Some of the others he is at approx 420kgs, quite heavy for him with slight fat pads on his bottom and ribs having to be poked hard for, in light work due to hard ground in the spring.

The first photo is where he is now. Quite light for him at 375kgs, fit as a flea (he has been super fit all winter, the fittest since I bought him) and quite happy to trot and canter for 2 hrs but lacking decent topline as I have been letting him get away with not working properly all the time. I like him at this weight right now as our spring grass is massively rich (fertilised for hay) and as you can probably see he is a good doer despite being a hyper little beasty. I keep getting comments about how skinny and slab sided he is and how mean I am for having him so lean and not feeding him more but i think at this time of year I would rather he was on the light side.

(I don't want to slate the other person as I like her a lot but I worked with eventers whereas person commenting is used to what i think are really fat dressage horses, plus the others in our area are all injured or retired and carrying too much weight, so in comparison he does look tiny, but he has very little bone and I don't want him carrying any extra)
 
It's not easy to be accurate just looking at a photo (I like to have a good prod!) but to me pics 3, 6 and 7 look ideal. In pic 1 he looks a bit leaner - but great for going into spring. In the others he's a looking a little too well, but not in a way that would worry me, I'd just up the work and/or cut back on the feed a bit to make sure he didn't get any rounder!
 
still well covered and looking good in 1. In most of the others I think he looks a little too well. I certainly wouldn't want to put weight on him now if "1" is now :)
 
Those are exactly my thoughts. I want him the trimness he is in 1 but with a little more topline muscle. All the others I thought he was too fat (not ridiculously so, but not fit) and fretted about his weight constantly when the ground was so hard. It staggers me that some I was being told he was too skinny even in those.
 
I agree that photo no 1 is a good condition for him to be in at this time of year. I can sympathise with you having to deal with the comments from people that like them fat though! Daughter's horse has been hunting all winter and is very fit and have had a few comments from people that he needs more condition. Just as a double-check I had him professionally condition scored this weekend and was told he is between 2.5 and 3 which is a totally healthy weight for him to be. It is frustrating when you know your horse is healthy but people are pressuring you to pile excess weight on to get that bulky look that might look great but actually predisposes your horse to health problems.
 
Def 1. Lean and fit. Being the weight of pic 4 or 5 and doing a lot of very fast work won't do him any good.

People have lost sight of what 'slim' should look like. My 2yr old is perfect right now : covered neck and bum with a bit of ribs showing as he's well-sprung. Plenty people think he's skinny tho :rolleyes: Oddly enough they all have show horses.....

Being lean is FAR healthier for them than being tubby.
 
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