Quarter horse critique

Hi guys! I'm new to the forum so hopefully I'm not doing this wrong. But anyways, this is my horse Cajun. I've only had him since August '12. I plan on using him for sorting/team penning, but I also do drill on the side. I am kind of new to understanding conformation so please bear with me when I ask questions :) he was trained for cutting but ended up having to much forward action. But he's very quick and sits well on his hind end. I'd like to build up his muscle tone even more, especially in his hind quarters and neck so any suggestions or advice would be great!


DSC_9281 by Brookeabee123, on Flickr


DSC_9275 by Brookeabee123, on Flickr


DSC_9285 by Brookeabee123, on Flickr


DSC_9315 by Brookeabee123, on Flickr

Thanks guys!!!

Also one more question... is he a chestnut or a sorrel??? Sounds stupid I know, but I'd like others opinion on the matter. Normally I judge this on how deep the red is in their coat, but his coat changes in the light so I can't decide.

Sorrel & chestnut are the same thing. On to your horse, only thing I dislike and it's not a big dislike either, is her throatlatch, rest is pretty darn good and I would have to nitpick. Too nice of a horse to do that.

Thank you :) what's funny is that he's a gelding, but a lot of people think he looks mare-ish! What is it about the throatlatch you don't like? And what purpose is a "proper" throatlatch serve? I've always been more a judge on how a horse performs than looks, but this was the first horse I actually bought with my own money so that's when I decided I needed to learn more about conformation.

Well, there's a whole lot to like about this horse's conformation. A lot.

His back is just right in length. His couplling looks short and strong. His hip size and angle is good. Canons both front and rear are short. Front legs are very clean and straight. Hock angles are good. Pasterns of good length.

The only thing I see that's a minor, minor fault is that his neck ties in a bit low on his shoulder. AND, I can see some overdevelopment of the underneck muscles. This comes from a horse throwing its' head up and bracing against something; either a tie down, or a hard hand on a harsh bit. This bracing action builds up that muscle that runs along the underside of the neck. That can be reversed with correct riding.

The photo of the horse's faced shows what looks to me like a rather tense horse. It looks like he is holding tension in his facial muscles and jaw. The bit looks ok, but the throat latch is tighter than needs to be. You need to loosen it a couple of holes.

He is a very nicely built horse that can do most anything you and he want to do.
You are very lucky.

The previous owner used a much harsher bit than I do. Not to mention he was one of those people that make horses act crazy (almost didn't buy him cause I thought he was going to be to high strung) I use just the basic snaffle with sweet iron. He has the softest mouth I've ever felt so he doesn't need anything else, in fact I could probably ride him with just a hackamore. He actually is a very relaxed horse, but I have noticed the muscles in his jaw are always flexed. Could this be something with his teeth?

Could be. Or could just be his anxiety about being ridden. Left over from the former owner. I can imagine the kind you are talking about.

He may let it go over time. He just looks like he might be a bit of a worrier. Like, say, you put a leg on and he jumps forward, throws head up a bit? This is pure conjecture, mind you.

Work with having him move on a loose rein, and even encouraging him to reach forward and downward with his nose.

Makes sense! When I first got him he was always very shifty with his body. He never actually moved, but you could definitely feel his muscles tense. I corrected this by always just walking him for at least a few minutes before beginning my actual warm up. My last horse had an extremely hard mouth so I've completely had to overhaul my riding and softening my hands and learning to ask before telling. My trainer thinks I'm ready to begin working on collecting. Is this what you mean by moving his nose?

Love what you wrote about your personal journey developing your horsemanship. We all have dimilar evolutions. My favourite thing is my perspective from this point, like I've gained so much about understanding how to recognise and adjust to the equine individual. Love it!

This horse has done well to find you.
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No, in all honesty, it's almost the polar opposite. However, I am not there and I am not a trainer. I only mentioned the "long and low" (having horse move with his nose downward and out in front to build up relaxation of the back and to relax that under neck muscle) because I saw he had a bit of the overdevelopment from bracing against the bit/hand.

If he doesn't brace agans the hand and if he just carries his head in a natural position then he'll be fine. As that muscle ceases to be used to brace, it will literally start to atrophy back to its' normal size.

Long and Low is a dressage training movement, but it's good for any hrose that has braciness built into his neck.

Not seeing the hrose move and all, I think you should go by what your trainer thinks is the next step, not by an internet guess.