ROR and Racehorse to Riding Horse - Help. Thin

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asterid

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Had my mare scoped for ulcers today and thankfully got the all clear.

My question is that she is lean and you can see ribs no matter what feed/hay etc I give her (have had nutritional advice etc). I wanted to show this year TARRA, ROR and Racehorse to riding horse, I fear however that once the saddle comes off she will get marked down for being 'thin'.

ROR and Race to riding horse show by normal showing rules and by that I mean 'well covered'. Should I not bother and stick to what I know (SJ and dressage). I don't want to waste money on show gear and poor marks when I can spend my money on BD and BS.

Thoughts?

NB: It isn't just a winter thing, this is all year, although we have a two week period when sunny and warm when no ribs show at all! YAY!
 
I would not worry too much about her being a little ribby, plenty of horses doing those classes are not fat like show horses and many will be doing other jobs also such as eventing and need to be lean and fit looking.

I would concentrate on building her topline, that is far more important, then when the saddle comes off they will see how well muscled she is and a few ribs will be overlooked. Other things such as how she goes, overall turnout and impression will be judged so work on the whole picture and do the best you can, a lean horse can still look fantastic and be really healthy.
 
As be positive has said. However, I did spend the first two years of showing my horse (got to Hickstead, placed each time) being told he needed more condition and even in the ROR classes he could look light. To some extent also it will depend on the judge and the quality of the class.
 
Hi I compete ror showing aswell as dressage and then some uaff hunter trials etc I worried about this aswell as my horse is fit and muscley however when I went in the clas although there were a few well covered the majority were fit horses who had other jobs such as eventing and showjumping. Get a nice topline and you will be fine. Go and enjoy yourself and don't spend a fortune on gear to start with :)
 
How much turn out does she get and is she on ad-lib hay/haylage? It is amazing how much difference long hours out at grass and ad-lib forage the rest of the time can make. My (retired) TB is out naked 24/7 with no additional feed and is looking positively porky.
Also agree with some other comments that building muscle will go a long way to producing the overall picture that is required and I would not be too worried if there is a rib or two on show.
 
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