Sorry again - another 'what do you think of this horse'

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djlynwood

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Ive posted before about myself being a 36yr old looking to buy my first horse.

I have spotted this 15.2hh mare, 9 yrs old ISH allrounder who loves jumping.

Im 5ft 6 and weigh 9st, would I be too big for her?

Also, someone has suggested that she does not have a good length of rein, but I think her neck looks ok and is in proportion to the rest of her.

What do you more experienced people think?

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No, she doesn't have a good length of rein - but the picture is not helped by the saddle being incorrectly positioned.

Anyway - it's all irrelevant - conformation is not the be all and end all. And as long as the temperament and ability is there - then definately worth a look.
 
have you tried the horse? weight wise fine but height you would have to see how you felt and looked. I'm 5ft4 and a little bit and I look fine on my 16.1/16.2 ISH but I look like a pea on a drum on my pure ID who is 16.2/16.3.

Do you have any more details on the horse?
 
I think she looks a lovely sort, just what I want but bigger!
You won't be too big don't worry! I ride a 15.2 arab x who is a lot finer than this mare, and I'm 5ft8 and just over 10st. People have said that I look fine on her/verging on looking too tall!

I'm not too great with things like this, she does look to have a slightly short neck, however as you say she does look in proportion, as she looks like a short coupled horse anyway. Also the saddle looks too far forward which may not help.
 
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amymay said:
No, she doesn't have a good length of rein - but the picture is not helped by the saddle being incorrectly positioned.

Anyway - it's all irrelevant - conformation is not the be all and end all. And as long as the temperament and ability is there - then definately worth a look.
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Do you think the saddle to too far forward?

I was told that you dont want a horse with a short neck if planning on doing a lot of jumping especially XC
 
Personally if she ticks your boxes go and look at her as the pictures make it every hard to judge her conformation, nothing is going to have a "good lenght of rein" if is being ridden with a saddle far too far forward and reins so short it has no other option but to bring its head into that postion.
She may very well look a different animal if stood up for conformation photo correctly & I'd want to see her working forward into a longer lower outline
 
djlynwood said:
Do you think the saddle to too far forward?

I was told that you dont want a horse with a short neck if planning on doing a lot of jumping especially XC
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Yes, the saddle is far to far forward - look at the shoulders and wither area.

If this is your first horse I would imagine you are looking a good, safe and willing allrounder - not the next Milton or King William - and would not be put off by a short(ish) neck ;)
 
djlynwood said:
I was told that you dont want a horse with a short neck if planning on doing a lot of jumping especially XC
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I know lots of horses with short necks who do very well jumping - both showjumping and cross country! What you might find is that if a horse is quite short coupled then they may not have a long ground covering stride and have to work a bit harder to get inside the time for affiliated eventing. But I presume if this is your first horse you are probably aiming for Riding Club level rather than Badminton!

More important is the horse's temperament and soundness, and whether it is already has experience of the type of activities you want to do with it.
 
You do have some good points there, Im not looking for a Badminton horse, its so easy to get caught up the conformation issues, but she does look quite solid.

I would like to have a go at BE80 next year and maybe BE90 in future and possibly hunting.
 
djlynwood said:
You do have some good points there, Im not looking for a Badminton horse, its so easy to get caught up the conformation issues, but she does look quite solid.

I would like to have a go at BE80 next year and maybe BE90 in future and possibly hunting.
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Well, anything is possible - and she looks like she'd be great fun on the hunting field.

Let us know how you get on if you try her out.
 
amymay said:
Well, anything is possible - and she looks like she'd be great fun on the hunting field.

Let us know how you get on if you try her out.
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She has come from Ireland, and the person who brought her over did hunt her to try her out. Ive never hunted before, but there is always a first time.

I have met some lovely horses that have come from Ireland.
 
She looks a really nice sort. Echo the comments about saddle being too far forward and reins too short - her head is up, and I am sure she will look altogether different if she is able to work correctly.

I would take a picture of her in hand, side on, and even entice her with a treat to get her to lower her head if necessary. Then you will get a better picture.
 
Agree I think she looks nice and the saddle too far forward and the reins too short don't help the overall picture.

Conformation isn't the be all and end all....I like to remind myself that Opposition Buzz has less than perfect conformation and look how far he has got!
 
Agree with the others, I think he neck just looks shoter because of how shes holding it, would look longer if she were allowed to stretch it down a little more. She looks really nice! Go and try her :D
 
and (although its hard to be really accurate with just a photo) she looks fairly deep in the girth so would not have a problem taking your leg. Would also think she would be nic and nippy around a SJ course.

She is very similiar to a mare that belonged to a previous livery (mare now is a a broodie) - I much prefer 16.2 size horses but had such a ball on Shannon, I would have taken her like a shot if she had been up for sale!
 
She's a lovely looking mare, I don't know why everyone's obsessing with her neck - I've seen much worse than that at much higher levels than BE80-/90. If you're not wanting to do county level showing then the conformation is not the be all and end all. Get her vetted if you're worried. As for size, you'd be fine on her. Most people nowadays obsess over having a 16h plus, whereas most of us could ride this type and height of horse (and they're often a lot sounder and cheaper to feed at this height!) Good luck and enjoy yourself with her..x
 
Here is a picture of her with no tack.

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As she looks short coupled, could this mean that I may have problems getting a saddle to fit her properly?
 
She looks good, much better than the ridden pic! Personaly quite like her - I prefer a nice compact type, fun to ride and easier to keep up together when schooling or dressage. She looks a nice compact sort, no reason that saddle fitting should be a prob. You aren't very tall for her, she has a nice shape to her back and looks to have perfectly enough back without having saddle fitting issues.
I think you need to try her and see what you think, then if you like her get a vetting. I honestly wouldn't be too nit picy with confirmation. Unless you are after a show horse it really isn't a prob unless there are some glaring issues. Take a look at top dressage, event and sj horses - alot of them have less than perfect confo (by quite a long way in some cases!).
 
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