5 yr old APHA Gelding - Western Pleasure

All critiques are welcome! Enjoy.

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Please share your thoughts. What do you think??

He seems like he rides smooth but I don't think it would be fair for me to critique past that since I don't like WP. I will mention though that he was very choppy going over the trot poles.

The only thing I would do differently, would be to get his canter going just a little more, it looks like its in SUPER slow motion?? And it doesnt look as though 3 feet are coming off the ground at one time?

I'm not a fan of WP either, but IMO he moves way better than most of the WP horses I come in contact with! His jog is forward looking (it actually looks like a jog) and his headset is nice. Most of the pleasure horses around here have headsets where their noses drag on the ground and you can't tell the difference from a walk and a jog! I can't tell much about the conformation from the video, but he seems like a nice, well broke pleasure horse who enjoys his job. And what pretty coloring!

He looks like he enjoys his job, so congrats! I also saw a rider that left the horse alone and let him do his job. Again, big congrats.

However, the horse is mainly on the forehand and a little strung out. This is what's making the trot poles so hard for him, as several times he lifts his head (to lift the forehand... to lift the front legs). I would like to see his hind end more engaged to lift the back--then he'll be able to move the shoulders up and out of the way.

This really shows up at the canter, where it has kept the beats, 1-2-3, but lost the rhythm as most WP horses do. I would work him forward more, collect him. Possibly use lope-over poles, hills, etc. And when he collects, he'll then be able to go slower with less of a scramble.

Definitely work on Trot AND jog poles too.

Overall, I really DO like him because it's not often I find WP horses with such pleasant expressions and such good riders. He has a lot of potential with a very nice stride... just have to get those hocks working more! (Which is right where I am with my paint too!)

I like him! Very pretty. I agree with what mayfield said. Just try to get his lope more correct. Try to get him reach farther with hind legs and lift those shoulder. Going back to a snaffle will help to lift them shoulders.

Thank you for all the comments!

I will try to work on the advice given.