In support of the need for a separate forum for Confo Critique can I have one please!

kerrie_jay

kerrie_jay

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As title says really. Took a photo today of my ex-racer. Just wanted to see what you guys thought of him conformation wise as I am absolutely useless! Also how his condition is coming out of winter. I only got him in October and he has put on a lot since then so i think he looks ok but... your opinions are very valued! The only thing I know for sure is that he is lacking topline! Sorry for the slightly grainy pic it's off my phone - hope you can see enough.

photo.jpg


Thanks in advance!

Kerrie
 
Shils will give you a excellent, accurate conformation critique...I'm very jealous I can't get one, I have a Welsh D and if I remember thats a cob in Shils eyes
 
yes i believe a welsh d would be classed as a cob! don't know why she doesn't like them and not sure i should ask either! starting to bit my nails now in anticipation!

xxx
 
Yay another chestnut racer !! I would say needs to put some more on but still looks quite 'fit' esp in his hindquarters and once they start to soften they do begin to look a bit more rounded. As you have said yourself - topline is the main area - lots of long/low,polework etc will help and start muscle development over his back/neck. He looks quite straight in his hind legs but this is typicl of alot of tb's - mine is the same :) and I don't know if he was about to take a step but there looks to be a difference in the angle of his hind leg pastern. With the fronts again not sure if it was the shadow of the sun but has there been some sort of tendon problem on the front off side leg? Good barrel and good hindquaters with his tail set on well - not too low. High withers - again typical of the breed and once topline has been developed they won't seem quite a razor sharp! The neck muscle and devlopment will come with the work and he will look more of a whole horse rather than body/legs and then head/neck. Good head - possibly a little thick through the jowl (again like mine!) which will make it harder for him to work into an outline but with good riding it shouldn't be an issue. Any good ?* prepares to be shot down*
 
Ok, here goes - remember it is just my opinion, and a thousand people will disagree. :D
Overall impression - quite a nice looking animal, but not up to as much weight as his height may suggest as his back looks a bit weak.
Head - pretty Tb head, nicely marked. Kind eye, mouth a little short (so difficult to put double bridle in), nostrils perhaps a little small which may impede air intake to some extent. Set onto neck well, so should have no problems with flexing and working on the bit.
Neck - the good news is that he does not have a lot of incorrect muscle, for example under his neck, that would have suggested resistance to the bit. His neck is a good basic shape, and sets well onto the withers. If anything it appears a little short, but that may be an optical effect as he's a bit long in the back. The bad news is that he has no muscle to speak of, and little condition on it. In the photo, he looks as though he may even have some muscle wastage of the splenius etc (but that may just be the shadow), if this is so, he could be quite 'wobbly' to bend, and could go out through his shoulder instead of true bend.
Withers - you couldn't pay me enough money to ride this horse bareback :D. He has high withers, which could make saddle fitting more tricky (and he has the white scars to prove this, poor boy). When he gains muscle on either side of his spine, this will look quite different (and you'll have to shell out for a new saddle, lol).
Shoulder - he has a good long shoulder, but ideally it could be a little more sloping for stride length/speed.
Back - the thoracic part looks ok, but his lumbar area is a little long and has a suspicious arc to it that may indicate past damage, although this may never cause problems. He is quite short in his croup.
Body - good deep girth - suggests he has big lungs and a big heart - giving stamina and endurance, and also very nice to sit on (takes up your leg and gives stability).
Front leg - ideally would like the forearm to be a little longer (for length of stride) but he has nice clean defined knees, and a strong lower leg (short cannons mean short tendons which are stronger). He possibly has some signs of an old tendon injury on his right fore, but that might be the photo. Pasterns have a nice slope to them, and are around the right length for his legs (a tad long if I am hypercritical). His feet suit his legs, and the foot/pastern angle looks fine.
Hind leg - has some indicators that he could have quite a powerful back end, but again at the moment has no muscle on it to speak of. Interestingly, he has less muscle in his hind legs than fronts which may suggest he is inclined to go 'on the forehand' at the moment, although I doubt whether he'd be heavy in the hand. He has a good length of thigh, and the cannons are proportionate. Again they look clean and there is little to fault except I think the pasterns are again on the long side. He does appear to have 'toed-out' conformation, so will be 'cow-hocked' if you look at him from behind; this is fine and helps him to gallop without striking his front feet.
Now the brutal honesty. Your horse is underweight, quite seriously lacking condition and you need to think about changing his feed to put weight on him. With the correct feed and appropriate work to gradually strengthen him, he could be very nice indeed. However, if you work him at the moment, I don't think he'll build muscle as he has nothing to build it from...I know you've only had him for a few months, but I'm telling you what I see.
Oh, and if you want a more in depth cc then you need to post front and back pics too.
S :D
 
Shilasdair said:
Ok, here goes - remember it is just my opinion, and a thousand people will disagree. :D
Overall impression - quite a nice looking animal, but not up to as much weight as his height may suggest as his back looks a bit weak.
Head - pretty Tb head, nicely marked. Kind eye, mouth a little short (so difficult to put double bridle in), nostrils perhaps a little small which may impede air intake to some extent. Set onto neck well, so should have no problems with flexing and working on the bit.
Neck - the good news is that he does not have a lot of incorrect muscle, for example under his neck, that would have suggested resistance to the bit. His neck is a good basic shape, and sets well onto the withers. If anything it appears a little short, but that may be an optical effect as he's a bit long in the back. The bad news is that he has no muscle to speak of, and little condition on it. In the photo, he looks as though he may even have some muscle wastage of the splenius etc (but that may just be the shadow), if this is so, he could be quite 'wobbly' to bend, and could go out through his shoulder instead of true bend.
Withers - you couldn't pay me enough money to ride this horse bareback :D. He has high withers, which could make saddle fitting more tricky (and he has the white scars to prove this, poor boy). When he gains muscle on either side of his spine, this will look quite different (and you'll have to shell out for a new saddle, lol).
Shoulder - he has a good long shoulder, but ideally it could be a little more sloping for stride length/speed.
Back - the thoracic part looks ok, but his lumbar area is a little long and has a suspicious arc to it that may indicate past damage, although this may never cause problems. He is quite short in his croup.
Body - good deep girth - suggests he has big lungs and a big heart - giving stamina and endurance, and also very nice to sit on (takes up your leg and gives stability).
Front leg - ideally would like the forearm to be a little longer (for length of stride) but he has nice clean defined knees, and a strong lower leg (short cannons mean short tendons which are stronger). He possibly has some signs of an old tendon injury on his right fore, but that might be the photo. Pasterns have a nice slope to them, and are around the right length for his legs (a tad long if I am hypercritical). His feet suit his legs, and the foot/pastern angle looks fine.
Hind leg - has some indicators that he could have quite a powerful back end, but again at the moment has no muscle on it to speak of. Interestingly, he has less muscle in his hind legs than fronts which may suggest he is inclined to go 'on the forehand' at the moment, although I doubt whether he'd be heavy in the hand. He has a good length of thigh, and the cannons are proportionate. Again they look clean and there is little to fault except I think the pasterns are again on the long side. He does appear to have 'toed-out' conformation, so will be 'cow-hocked' if you look at him from behind; this is fine and helps him to gallop without striking his front feet.
Now the brutal honesty. Your horse is underweight, quite seriously lacking condition and you need to think about changing his feed to put weight on him. With the correct feed and appropriate work to gradually strengthen him, he could be very nice indeed. However, if you work him at the moment, I don't think he'll build muscle as he has nothing to build it from...I know you've only had him for a few months, but I'm telling you what I see.
Oh, and if you want a more in depth cc then you need to post front and back pics too.
S :D
Click to expand...

wow very in depth, fancy CC my mare??



OP not very good at confo but i think you have a very nice looking exracer :D
 
Agree with Shils' assessment but just wanted to add as someone else said his front feet look to be long in the toe with under run heels (a typical TB "fault") but his back feet concern me more if anything as the offside hind in particular on the angle in the photo looks very bull nosed and I would be very worried as to why that was and what was happening inside the hoof capsule to cause that at the minute. The nearside hind also looks slightly bull nosed but on this angle looks less bulgy than the offside one. I can't decide whether the appearance of the hinds is accentuated by the toes being slightly too short on these feet. I would be looking to discuss how to improve both the front and back feet with my farrier and also consider whether a vet's opinion is needed at this point on the hind(s). Or it could be nothing and just a visual trick in the photo :).
 
thanks very much shils i really appreciate that! he is fed at the moment three times a day consisting of alfa a oil, horse and pony nuts (condition feeds make him hyper!), equilibra 500 balancer and speedibeet. I weighed him this morning and he was at 496kg (he is 16.1hh) and am hoping the spring grass is going to boost his weight gain too as he won't eat anymore than he is in one go and i don't have the resources (not meaning money!) to feed him more than 3 times a day! He also has ad lib hay in the stable at night and goes through about half a bale each night.

No tendon injury that I know of - he is 8 in may and has been out of racing since June 06 - finished his last race with no injuries. He is a roarer so he was never very good as the stamina ran out at the end! The look of the tendon might be my dodgy trimming of feathers with scissors as I don't have any clippers!

I took some more photos this morning and yes you are right he is cow hocked which might be why he looks bull nosed bethie as they are turning out - or maybe not! Will post the photos below.

c3e92bb7.jpg


8e6d809b.jpg


af45e3e4.jpg


a3162797.jpg


The last one is the off fore where you saw a possible tendon problem so you can have a better look.

Thanks again - I love this forum!!

Kerrie
xxx
 
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