Showing Help - hunter or Cob?

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pink_princess

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my horse stands at 15.1hh and has 9inch of bone and Rid, showed him last year locally and a few affiliated as a small hunter, i also took him in 1 cob class judge placed him last and said he was to small. but i am confussed is he a small hunter or cob?
he is very overweight in some photos as has been out of work all winter due to muscle damage in his shoulder.
also he is very stuffy to ride, although foward for me he has been known to refuse to move for the judge and i need help on how to correct that.

any help appreciated - is he of show quality?

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Hi he is just fab, I think he'd make a cracking small hunter, but there are plenty more experienced people on here whose opionion may be more valubale. I might be more use with your second problem as Ryu was shown at RC level with me when he was 5 as a small hunter and riding horse he too was very stuffy but then unflappable which sometimes moved him up the line, I've discovered you need to change their horses mindset into forward thinking, I found I changed my mindset too, no more dawdelling hacking or pottering in the school, I ride with purpose and the horse goes with purpose and if he dosen't tap tap with two schooling whips, I don't use spurs at home now just the whips and after a few months hardly ever at all, my trainer schools her bosses show cobs the same way and it must work because they qualified for HOYS again this year.

I've discoverd that it wasn't Ryu who was stuffy it was me and I rode him with the handbrake on, he goes a thousand times better now and if I wasn't going away I'd perhaps take him county this spring.
 
thank you for all your lovely comments.
i purchased him as a bit of a problem horse from field, unbacked 3 years ago. he has come on leaps and bounds and generally very respectful and looks after his ride, still has tendancy to have a paddy, but hes worst problem is he has the ability to turn of. and if decides no i just cant work him through it, ive tried creating a mock show and getting other people to ride him - and he does move away but he knows when i get of and they get on he doesnt have to work - it isnt the judges job to school. so any help on getting him to respect to every one would be good - also does anyone no any good showing instructors in herts or any clinics comming up - willing to travel.
 
Size can be an issue with small hunters - they're supposed to be max 15.2 but many of them certainly appear much bigger. We've got a horse on our yard that was shown as a small hunter and he's 16hh!
Topline and condition (muscle not fat) will make him look bigger and more impressive from a distance (he's already lovely close up!)
I had the stuffiness problem with a show cob, and I just had to have him that bit sharp for me to be forward going with a judge. I schooled him (and worked in at shows) like a dressage horse - loads of transitions and really in front of the leg.
Conditioning feeds might also make him a bit sharper (cobby used to have lunch at shows on top of his normal meals if there was time!) but with Irish types I know it's a fine line between energy and squeakiness so you might have to experiment a bit!
 
when in work, he is very fit - do not agree with fat horses - i have tried the high energy feeds and the seem to make him more stuffy, but will try lots of transitions
any one no someone that would like to help or a good instructor, asi only have a jump instructor and he will be stopping teaching soon so will have limited time for me and he is limited with showing help any way and i am very new to showing world but really enjoyed last summer
 
Overall he looks a nice horse and seems to move well but he looks a small 15.1 so he would struggle in small hunter classes. I've had some success in showing at county level but I'm not an expert! He's eye catching, got quite good confromation although he needs to muscle up. I've now got an RID mare who's about 16hh although a professional told me she would make a county level small hunter?! Why not send photos to a professional such as Lynn Russell or Danielle Heath - usually they are quite helpful. GOOD LUCK
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Depends on the level of show you are doing, and to be honest, he is too small for a small hunter (although in a class of fewer horses you may get placed). However, your biggest problem is that he does not give a good ride. This is the most important thing in a ridden class, and until you get that sorted out, then it doesn't matter whether he will be a small hunter or a cob. I have seen people on less cobby cobs in the past few years, and also people on "small" small hunters, but the only ones which have gotten placed are those horses which have given a superb ride.

If he is RID, there are several RID classes around the country - some which have super prize money - this is definitely worth considering.
 
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