how much can he really change???

So many emotions, so little time

I agree with Faceman and the others. Breeding for pretty does no horse or the breed they belong to any good.
Hopefully these new "ranch" classes will become popular and profitable.
Those small feet scare me and IMO will definetly cause soundness problems in this horses future..
No hoof no horse. Shalom

Just like in any discipline, there are extremes. Heck, I took Henny to a halter class when he was 5 months old. He got last in every class, but that's fine with me. The other horses were long yearlings and they were huge. I was just there to get Henny some show experience. Boy did he get some LOL. I'll definitely be taking him back this year(secretly it's mostly for the costume contest )

There is definitely something wrong though when a halter horse is advertised as "He/She can ride!" The fact that that's on the ad shows what the norm is nowadays.

Yes, and this horse is a HALTER horse! If you guys don't like it, so what? Obviously someone does- like me. And as the farms website said, he got three 1sts at the Freedom Classic Futurity. And did well at Nationals and Worlds. As well as multiple Grand and Reserve Championships. Am I missing something here?

Yeah. A sense of respect for the health and welfare of the animals. JMO, of course.

I was given a mare with very small feet. In hopes that she would improve with care since her owner could not afford to have it done. She kept having soundness issues and was in pain. I sent this mare to a vet that specializes in hoof issues. He suggested that the mare be put down. She was. The mare was only 7 years old and was lame because she was broke to ride and ridden .that horse will have limited use outside the show ring. By the age of 10 will probably have been passed as each owner when they are ready for a more advanced horse.
Breeding for unsoundness just for a pretty horse is unethical. Shalom

As I said, there is nothing wrong with halter or halter horses...as long as they are not purposely bred with undesireable traits.

Money, trophies, or ribbons are NEVER justification for breeding unsound animals...not yesterday, not today, not tomorrow. That is avarice, and avarice is exactly the attitude that moved us from nicely bred halter horses to the characatures we see today, and what has produced racing Thoroughbreds that have to be carefully nursed through their first 3 years and then retired to stud due to their inadequate bone and hooves, or sold as OTTBs to people willing to take the risk on their soundness. A "win at all cost" attitude is unhealthy to begin with, but it is particularly bad if it fosters irresponsible breeding.

It is possible to have responsibly bred halter horses just as it is possible to have responsibly bred racing TBs. There is no reason to do away with either, but it is, IMO, both irresponsible and cruel to purposely breed such animals as we see being bred today...

I guess I just don't understand how someone can look at a horse like this (granted, even he's not perfect, but...)



And say "Nope, that's not pretty enough", lets breed something like this....

Every horse has an "undesirable trait". There are no perfect horses! I don't believe I ever said that irresponsible breeding was ever right. Nor is breeding just to win a pretty ribbon, right. The horse posted had a few minor leg errors. But yet it's right to breed a horse that is thick necked and mutton-withered? I'd rather see a horse built like the bay smrobs posted as opposed the thick-necked and mutton-withered one she posted above. The bay pretty much is the ideal stock horse- though most aren't quite as muscled.
We each have our opinions, I like my horses big like halter horses- though all of mine can function and are very sound. You might not like that type of horse, but there are others who do.

I'm trying to word this right.. Not all halter horses are the "bodybuilder" type, where they are so big they have a hard time walking and are on steroids- those I strongly despise. I know of many halter horses who are VERY big, but still are sound nice animals that are ridden and worked. Just because a horse is massive does not mean it is unridable. Same with the legs, many horses are straighter through the pasterns which isn't good for the hoof (Makes the ride very uncomfortable too!) but they still work and last.

I am sorry for not properly expressing myself on this post. But I believe that the horse posted is a very nice animal, which I will not apologize for.

So many of the halter horses that are winning in the ring remind me of those belgian blue cattle...