Obese horses in showing

So sad to see obesity being rewarded/celebrated in the maxicob class. We were there on Saturday night and the cobs in that class were all beautiful and none were overweight. Our Cashel Blue won it and he was stunning. Obesity really should be punished in the show ring not praised.
 
AdorableAlice said:
All of Miss Russell's horses look like that grey. At HOY's they can get away with it. The ring is miniscule and the horses can go down the long side in a dozen strides. That horse wouldn't get half way round the big rings of the much missed Royal Show or Yorkshire.

It is perfectly possible to get a show horse fit, my horse galloped weekly when he was showing 2005 to 2010 and got round all the big rings easily without breaking sweat. Show condition is hard muscle on a horse with perfect conformation and it is work that puts a top on a horse.

I have followed the cob classes this year due to helping out with transport for a show cob this summer. The cob was fed like a beef bullock and was unable to lengthen the canter let alone gallop. Watching the classes I realised how many differing types were turned out as cobs. Of course cob is a type not a breed, and the variety was immense. Small hunters fattened up because they lacked quality to be a true small, common coloured vanners shaved bald and schooled in the hope to hide bone shaking paces, small ID's bulked up and big ponies hogged and fed to bursting point. At Addington there was even a warmblood complete with brand, hogged and fattened up.

So what is a show cob ? For me Our Cashel Blue stands out in quality and his way of going is superb.
Click to expand...

You've hit the nail on the head as to the reasons are many are fat in this type class IMO.
I think a true Maxi cob is a pretty rare thing
 
Ironically, in this week's edition of H&H, which features pages of reports from HOYS, the following was published on the Letters page:-

WB97TpB.jpg


It referred to the earlier letter below:-

vz5u9Qn.jpg



And here's the thoughts of the judge and the winning rider in the maxicobs. Also, look at the judge's comment tucked away at the end of the report on the Arabs...


SUJi3VH.jpg
 
Just to go back to an earlier comment about said horse not having a cobby head...Maxis don't necessarily have plain heads. I looked into this quite a lot as a friends mare was going to try her hand at to level showing as a maxi. We assumed she would be too pretty (she has a stunning head) but were told we were wrong. Also had concerns she might be too light in her bone but again, told she was a maxi not a heavyweight. Mare has started her career and is doing really well (though sad to see her lovely mane go) but while with a semi pro, is no where near carrying that sort of condition.
 
Delighted at the Arabian confo judge's comment - at least there is some sense in the showing world -and the Arabian bit at that! (I mentioned a few pages back that the winner looked porky to me - glad someone who will be listened to is saying it too!)
 
TBF if the arabian judge was disappointed in some of their condition you'd think she wouldn't put one she was disappointed by top?! I always find arabs difficult to tell, the one we had on loan had the biggest ribcage known to man and always looked fat but certainly wasn't during his time with us (he was not the best of types ;)).

The second fattest for me from the pics is the LR SHP.
 
I've seen Merv before and he is a very nice horse. It could be that his confo score and ride score were so far ahead, that even if docked a mark or two for being 'well covered' that he still came out on top?

Just a theory anyway. :)

I do agree though Ester, if they have well sprung ribs they can look larger than they really are, but I'm sure that there were some fatties in the line up or the judge wouldn't have mentioned it.
 
Last edited:
conniegirl said:
How do you know if you won't look?
TBH attitudes like yours stink! yes there is a problem with over weight horses, no they are not all morbidly obese, stop tarring everyone with the same brush.

Actually I think Diamonds are forever was pretty spot on weight wise
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news...ts-first-ever-hoys-supreme-horse-title-634315
Click to expand...

The horse is fit, muscled and well. The Hoods horses are always fit. If you had to criticise the only obvious point is the angle of the curb.

The hunters RH and hacks all need to be toned to look the part in the show ring. It is a very wrong concept to think a horse can be turned into a cob merely by topping it out with fat. A table backed, loaded shouldered and fat crested horse with poor bone is not a cob. There would be an end to these obese cobs if the shows reverted to massive rings and kept the horses on the move for more than half a lap. How can a horse perform in a ring so small the gallop is a few steps. Bring back the big rings, keep them cantering for 10 minutes, change the rein and gallop properly, I guarantee the fat cobs will be no more.

I have a maxi cob who has 11" bone and is very smart but not good enough to county show, she has done plenty of local level winning. She is normally fit and toned but looks massive due to her type (Clyde x RID), huge depth through the girth, crest and enormous back end. No fat on shoulders or brisket and as long as she stays in work, her tummy is tight. She is a pocket rocket with endless go when she is fit. She won a class in May, which in confo terms she should have been 4th ish, but she gave a cracking ride and was the only one to gallop (it was a mixed class of LW/HW and maxi). I spoke to the judge afterwards and he said the ride was so good he forgave her the slightly short pasterns and her windgall. There were some nice cobs in the class but they wheezed and rolled their way around the ring under the judge. Fair play to the judge on that day, I did admire his decision but it isn't something that would be seen at county level.
 
AdorableAlice said:
The horse is fit, muscled and well. The Hoods horses are always fit. If you had to criticise the only obvious point is the angle of the curb.

The hunters RH and hacks all need to be toned to look the part in the show ring. It is a very wrong concept to think a horse can be turned into a cob merely by topping it out with fat. A table backed, loaded shouldered and fat crested horse with poor bone is not a cob. There would be an end to these obese cobs if the shows reverted to massive rings and kept the horses on the move for more than half a lap. How can a horse perform in a ring so small the gallop is a few steps. Bring back the big rings, keep them cantering for 10 minutes, change the rein and gallop properly, I guarantee the fat cobs will be no more.

I have a maxi cob who has 11" bone and is very smart but not good enough to county show, she has done plenty of local level winning. She is normally fit and toned but looks massive due to her type (Clyde x RID), huge depth through the girth, crest and enormous back end. No fat on shoulders or brisket and as long as she stays in work, her tummy is tight. She is a pocket rocket with endless go when she is fit. She won a class in May, which in confo terms she should have been 4th ish, but she gave a cracking ride and was the only one to gallop (it was a mixed class of LW/HW and maxi). I spoke to the judge afterwards and he said the ride was so good he forgave her the slightly short pasterns and her windgall. There were some nice cobs in the class but they wheezed and rolled their way around the ring under the judge. Fair play to the judge on that day, I did admire his decision but it isn't something that would be seen at county level.
Click to expand...

Oh I agree! My small hunter has a weight problem if you paint his stable green he puts on weight but he was fit, toned and more than capable of going round the biggest of rings (now unsound due to arthritis)
 
Looking through pictures the biting issue needs to be addressed aswell! Only a few small handful of ponies in the childrens lead Rein and first ridden classes were NOT in Wilkie's. And looking through the horse classes so many seem to have a Wilkie as a bridoon of a double with the rider holding the curb Rein much tighter that the snaffle Rein. That's just a whole host of wrong! One show team seemed to have a wilkie in every single horses mouth that they had there!
 
EKW said:
Looking through pictures the biting issue needs to be addressed aswell! Only a few small handful of ponies in the childrens lead Rein and first ridden classes were NOT in Wilkie's. And looking through the horse classes so many seem to have a Wilkie as a bridoon of a double with the rider holding the curb Rein much tighter that the snaffle Rein. That's just a whole host of wrong! One show team seemed to have a wilkie in every single horses mouth that they had there!
Click to expand...

Must agree with you there EKW...
 
This year's M&M first ridden and lead rein judge has a well known dim view on Wilkie's so there were a hell of a lot less wilkies in those classes this year, funny how so many people defended wilkies as essential previously yet presented ponies in plain snaffles this time!

Far more (normal levels) in the mini show pony classes though.
 
Just as an fyi, I have deleted my post from FB. All I and many others wanted, was a comment from Baileys. They are clearly not going to respond. The thread was beginning to turn very personal and nasty which was not my intention, and I just didn't really want to be associated with that sort of behaviour. x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top