So what if my horse isnt built like a whippet!!

G

gill84

Well-Known Member
Joined
31 July 2011
Messages
221
Visit site
I'm doing a working hunter tomorrow and I always get comments and looks never from the judge but fellow competitors!! A few of then I know always make snidey comments about ohhh she's a bit chunky!! She's an Irish draught for Christ sake!!! Clues in the name!!! She's not meant to look like a thoroughbred or cross!! It annoys the hell out of me!! To me a hunter should be solidly built right or wrong?? Anyone got a pic of there ID to back up my case
 
I'm with you!
I have judged and stewarded many un/affiliated WH classes and certainly 'show pony' types do enter. It tends to depend on the judges' personal preferences whether the chunkier types are put up or not. I usually think that the judge should take into account the type of horse most suitable for the local country.
If I were you I'd just ignore the other competitors - they can always find something to carp about, especially if the judge likes your horse.
 
Reminds me of a couple of weeks back when I was out hacking with mum (who has a TB) and a woman who owns a yard just down the track from us comes up behind us on her whippet-like youngster sports horse and says to me:
'Well we all know who's been eating all the grass then!'

Considering my boy is a Irish Draught x Connemara, of course he going to be chunkier than her two sports horses.

Plus, to put my mind at rest, I asked my riding instructor whether my boy looked fat and she said he looks the right weight for his breed and for this time of the year when they're just about to go into Autumn/Winter.
 
Pearlsasinger I wish you were judging you sound like you know what your talking about! Our countryside is hills fells and stone Walls so they need a bit about them! At least mines done hunting and got the scars and odd windgall to prove it!! These pampered show ponies probably don't even get turned out in the mud let alone gallop through it!! And nu abo I get those comments too! We went showjumping (and 2 1sts and a 3rd) not long ago and when we finished we were hovering about and she was munching some grass! A women who I didn't even know walked past and said "oh I don't think you need any if that!" to which I replied "no don't think you need that either" referring the chips and full fat coke!! She threw me a dirty look and I couldn't resist saying "stick to diet coke or water next time or keep your comments to yourself love"! I'm not one for mincing words lol!! But sod it it's probably the last event I'll get to this summer with my hectic job so I'm gonna go and just enjoy!
 
amandap said:
It never hurts to do a fat score on your horse anyway. :) Use the links at the bottom of the page. http://www.yourhorse.co.uk/Right-Weight-Campaign/Before-and-After/
I know one of mine got very overweight without me really noticing/seeing it until she was huge. :(

Good luck from me as well.
Click to expand...

And click on 'Becky and Murphy' on the left to see my fat pony's story :) :) :)

I do think that no horse is 'built' to carry fat - yes, some of them are meant to be chunky but that should be muscle. OP can you post a picture? Unfortunately most horses are overweight without us realising - we're used to seeing them all like that.
But there's no need for anyone to make bitchy comments - oh the joys of showing!!
 
gill84 said:
I'm doing a working hunter tomorrow and I always get comments and looks never from the judge but fellow competitors!! A few of then I know always make snidey comments about ohhh she's a bit chunky!! She's an Irish draught for Christ sake!!! Clues in the name!!! She's not meant to look like a thoroughbred or cross!! It annoys the hell out of me!! To me a hunter should be solidly built right or wrong?? Anyone got a pic of there ID to back up my case
Click to expand...

Irish draugh ARE hunter horses! Thoroughbreds are runner horses...
You should not listen to this jealous people who apparently don’t know anything about the original hunting sport...

I have an Irish draughXthoroughbred. He is strong and big BUT I know that I will worry much more than the others hunter for his "thin" thoroughbred legs when he’ll start hunting...

You are completely right!
 
It drives me up the wall! Well done you for your comments to the lady about the chips!!!! Fantastic!!! Would have loved to have been there. Mine is connemara x iberian. Of course he is chunky, he is MIDDLEWEIGHT. He isn't meant to look like a whippet either! I don't like skinny horses all that much actually which is why I bought a middleweight horse. He is solid and doesn't go lame or throw shoes at the drop of hat, neither does he stand shivering at the slightest whisper of rain. But I get really fed up of the comments too. Like 'hmmmm you need to keep him off the grass, you need to work him more', etc etc... He has worn a grazing muzzle all summer, gets no hard feed, is unrugged and is worked daily. The only other thing I could do would be maybe let him get worms? Starve him? Not bother to get his teeth done so he can't eat?
Grrrrr!!!!!

My boy is stunning as he is!!! Here's to the chunkies!!!!
 
Yeaaaahhhhyyyy to chunkies!! I'd choose them over a whippet any day!! Far easier to keep them trimish than needing to pump them full of feed to keep weight on without then goin off their head!! To me a hunter (working or show) is something that would go out and run with hounds all day long in driving rain or hail through muddy fields over 4ft hegdes and come back with more to give and sound! How many of these skinny thoroughbreds and warmbloods you see in the rings can honestly say they've done it let alone be capable! No there too busy standing in there warm stables wrapped in leg bandages and dozens of rugs munching on the finest haylage all winter til the next showing season starts!
 
gill84 said:
How many of these skinny thoroughbreds and warmbloods you see in the rings can honestly say they've done it let alone be capable! No there too busy standing in there warm stables wrapped in leg bandages and dozens of rugs munching on the finest haylage all winter til the next showing season starts!
Click to expand...

umm.....all of our tb's hunt till hounds come home and none wear leg bandages.....:p
oh, and the WB we had in last season did 9 full hunting days in 11 and still pulled like a train:p:p:p
 
My IDx TB gets called porky when he not!! He weighs 555kg at the moment and looks great but he only has to put on a bit of weight and he tends to look heavier than he is. I like a horse with a bit of chunk about them anyway!! I also have a TB mare who is the toughest horse out!! Winters out no rug in the snow but she is not a wippet either!! :D
 
Cuppatea your a rare breed lol! All the whippety hunters up here are nothing more than over grown molly goddled show ponies and it's not right! I thought working hunter classes were introduced for the horses who hunted through winter and had nothin much to do through summer? But the ones I compete against don't see rain let alone a hunting field??
 
gill84 said:
How many of these skinny thoroughbreds and warmbloods you see in the rings can honestly say they've done it let alone be capable! No there too busy standing in there warm stables wrapped in leg bandages and dozens of rugs munching on the finest haylage all winter til the next showing season starts!
Click to expand...

i agree a typical hunter should be solid and chunky but that doesnt mean thoroughbreds are unable to hunt. Ive hunted 'skinny thoroghbred' racehorses all day and they never go lame or are wrapped up in rugs and pampered. Also hunt my TB but to be fair hes hardly skinny(really chunky build) :rolleyes: and yes he does shiver in the rain and is a general wimp but out on the hunting field he flies like the others :). Have to say though i would love a chunky so i didnt have to worry about his legs :D
 
I'm a little confused. Are you annoyed because you feel finely built horses are being placed above yours?

Because it sounds more like people are commenting that he's fat and you don't like it. Thoroughbreds shouldn't be skinny, and draught breeds shouldn't be fat, and yet people seem to think chunkier horses can be fat, and that's OK because 'it's meant to look like that, it's supposed to be chunky'.

There's a big difference between bone/muscle and fat.

Plenty of thoroughbreds hunt, btw and not all of them need pumping full of feed or wrapping in cotton wool ;)

J&C
 
JessandCharlie said:
I'm a little confused. Are you annoyed because you feel finely built horses are being placed above yours?

Because it sounds more like people are commenting that he's fat and you don't like it. Thoroughbreds shouldn't be skinny, and draught breeds shouldn't be fat, and yet people seem to think chunkier horses can be fat, and that's OK because 'it's meant to look like that, it's supposed to be chunky'.

There's a big difference between bone/muscle and fat.

Plenty of thoroughbreds hunt, btw and not all of them need pumping full of feed or wrapping in cotton wool ;)

J&C
Click to expand...

no im annoyed that people who have these finer built horses comment on how heavily built she is. and no shes not overweight the vet was down a few weeks back and he said she right for her breed and height. some people just seem to compare her to the rest who are of different breeding and say shes a bit heavy. shes irish draught for christ sake shes not crossed with anything! suppose it just all comes down to who prefers what but to me a hunter should have something about it
 
gill84 said:
No there too busy standing in there warm stables wrapped in leg bandages and dozens of rugs munching on the finest haylage all winter til the next showing season starts!
Click to expand...

I have two TBs - they both live out 24/7 from April until November and the only reason they come in at night in winter is because the yard won't allow us to leave them out at night in winter - otherwise they would be out 24/7 all year round. They don't wear leg bandages, and they even live in their turnout rugs in their stables in winter because I really can't be arsed changing them (Gasp!). In fact as I walked down the yard the other day, bear in mind that it's August - every horse that was in it's stable was a native or a cob type, eating huge nets of hay. The horses which were out and stay out in any weather were the TBs and TB types and the arab! Don't tar all skinny owners with the same brush. Mine might be TBs, but they're still just horses - they're waterproof and they were designed to live outside in fields, grazing.
 
I guess there are at least 2 definitions of "chunky". Sometimes it's a polite way of saying fat. Other times, I think people are referring to a horse having more bone and a wider, well sprung rib cage.

Must admit, if people say any of mine look "chunky" or "well", I always take a look at them objectively and re-do my fat score to be sure whether I've assessed them correctly.

One of my mares in particular (Dales) will always look "chunky" on account of her unbelievably wide rib cage, but as long as she has no crest on her neck, I can feel and see a nice ledge over her shoulder blade, I can feel her ribs easily, and her bum is no more than flat (and ideally an "orange" rather than an "apple"), then I know she's not carrying any extra weight, so am quite happy to set people right on that score. I've found the Dodson & Horrell / World Horse Welfare fat scoring system and youtube videos really useful in that respect.

Sarah
 
gill84 said:
Yeaaaahhhhyyyy to chunkies!! I'd choose them over a whippet any day!! Far easier to keep them trimish than needing to pump them full of feed to keep weight on without then goin off their head!! To me a hunter (working or show) is something that would go out and run with hounds all day long in driving rain or hail through muddy fields over 4ft hegdes and come back with more to give and sound! How many of these skinny thoroughbreds and warmbloods you see in the rings can honestly say they've done it let alone be capable! No there too busy standing in there warm stables wrapped in leg bandages and dozens of rugs munching on the finest haylage all winter til the next showing season starts!
Click to expand...

Your discription of a perfect hunter sounds remarkably like a TB. I do know that I prefer a TB at the end of a good days hunting and some big fences are to be jumped rather than a heavier horse that has come to the end of its tether, it is more likely to fall and roll all over you. But OP.......... are you able to ride a wonderful thoroughbred? Is that your problem?!;)
 
Here is my girl
wwwquantumphotographiccom_1_1346612.jpg

quantomdown.jpg


She is not a skinny mini lol
 
gill84 said:
I'm doing a working hunter tomorrow and I always get comments and looks never from the judge but fellow competitors!! A few of then I know always make snidey comments about ohhh she's a bit chunky!! She's an Irish draught for Christ sake!!! Clues in the name!!! She's not meant to look like a thoroughbred or cross!! It annoys the hell out of me!! To me a hunter should be solidly built right or wrong?? Anyone got a pic of there ID to back up my case
Click to expand...

Tell them to bite your horses fat @ss :D

I wouldnt worry too much, they are clearly jealous of your gorg ponio!
 
I hate people who look down their noses at heavier horses if they have a more sporty type, i get it alot, i have a lovely irish draught, who i bought to common ride, but have now started doing dressage and jumping, you should see the looks i get its so funny as if to say yeh right like your going to get anywhere but its all about having fun and he's perfect for me. I prefer a bit of a chunkier horse
 
JenTaz said:
I hate people who look down their noses at heavier horses if they have a more sporty type, i get it alot, i have a lovely irish draught, who i bought to common ride, but have now started doing dressage and jumping, you should see the looks i get its so funny as if to say yeh right like your going to get anywhere but its all about having fun and he's perfect for me. I prefer a bit of a chunkier horse
Click to expand...

i like something big to wrap my legs around (tee hee - perhaps they have only been used to small ones :D)
 
dont they have lightweight,medium and heavy?How comes lights are with the heavier?Think I am missing something :) lol x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top