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citique my barrel racing horse

15K views 104 replies 34 participants last post by  tinyliny 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.177790142240011.42984.100000270793304&type=1she is 8 years old and is registered paint

Foxys High N Dry Paint


her name is foxys high n dry tell me what you think {respectfully please:)}
she was out from september 2010 to march 2011 so she is out of shape and down on muscle so thats why she looks reallly out of shape. before she got hurt she was running 16s on barrels and 20s on poles, now that she getting back in to back into it she is running 17.3 on barres [witch is still a good time in arizona where i live} and a 21 on poles. i do gymkana but i am starting high school rodeo this year, they are still good times but i want her running like how she use to and plz give me tips on how to get her running like how she use to because there are some fast times in high school rodeo but anyways tell me what you think!:D
 
#3 ·
I'm no barrel racer but from what I see she is really long back and a weak loin. I don't really like the way her neck ties in and I also see a very upright shoulder. It could be the way she standing but there is something about her front legs i'm not crazy about. I do how ever love her sweet face. I'm sure there are other people on here that could give a better critique.
 
#18 ·


Quite frankly her conformation is...unfortunate. Bad ewe neck, long/weak back, calf knees, fine bones, the appearance of sickle hocks, steep hip angle....

She looks a lot older than eight (or nine) and I wouldn't be surprised if she has back pain and/or some kind of metabolic deficiency that gives her her dull appearance. I suspect that her jerkiness around barrels is because her long back prevents her from collecting herself in the slightest....
 
#31 ·
Oh my. I support everyone's right to breed as they choose, so am not criticizing you, but out of curiosity why did you choose to breed a mare with so many conformation issues?
 
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#34 ·
Do you have the experience or facilities/income for a foal? Just curious, as they are a lot of work.

Your mare looks like a sweet girl, but I agree with what has already been posted: She is not very nicely conformed, and in my opinion, breeding her was a mistake, but like I said, just my opinion. I do hope you found a decent stallion with very good conformation to try balance out your mare.

Do you have a plan for the foal, or is it just a "foals are so very cute and I want one!!" type of breeding? If you have a plan for the foal, I hope you have someone to help you, and if not, then I think keeping it would be a mistake. But if it comes out with conformation like it's dam, you may have a very hard time selling it.

Best of luck.
 
#35 ·
I don't know why you think that hopping from forum to forum is going to get you a different response :? the mare's injury doesn't surprise me at all considering her conformation, and I hope by a stroke of luck the foal is more conformationally sound than its dam. Had you not already bred this horse, people would suggest you buy a foal already on the ground that can better suit your needs. There are plenty out there. As it stands, I hope you are prepared to provide for this foal even if it doesn't prove capable of meeting your expectations.

Since this is supposed to be a critique about the mare, I'll add my piece. Very long back (may have problems carrying a foal so you should monitor this with your vet), calf knees, sickle hocks, a steep shoulder and a long ewe neck. She also looks a tad wasp waisted in that photo. I know she's been laid up for six months, but I can't see conditioning doing anything to change bone structure. Her build and overall muscling suggests she works a lot on the forehand, which puts a large amount of strain on already weak front legs, however the long back will make it more difficult for this horse to work off her hind end (a slight downhill build - though it may just be the photo - exasperates this). Long term soundness is a huge concern for this horse.
 
#39 ·
Which comments are ignorant? The ones telling you that the mare, for whom you solicited a conformation critique, has quite honestly awful conformation and that it was irresponsible for a person who wants to produce quality, marketable stock to breed her?
 
#43 ·
Your mare doesn't have very good conformation at all, like everyone else has told you. the good thing about the long back is that she streches far when she runs!! <<No Ma'am completely wrong. A long back is a weak back. She will have problems with this. She doesn't look like she could/would be in very good shape to run her at all at this point. I won't even start to tell you why breeding her is a bad idea because obviously by now you've made you mind up about it even if it's not smart to. I will say, in general, it is clearly not a good idea at all to be running barrels on a bred horse. Especially trying to get her back in shape after being out of the game a while. At ALL. Overall she doesn't look like she's in a very condition to be seriously worked at any level.
 
#45 ·
One thing you can do that I have learned from an equine osteopath to help her back, would be to take the handle of a hoof pick, and run it along her belly (not light pressure, but definately not a lot of pressure either). This basically stimulates a particular nerve that runs along the belly, and she should pick up her back a little bit with her muscles. If you do this every day, that will help her supporting muscles grow, and in turn support her back better. I have actually seen a horse's sway back pick up about six inches to the point where the sway was barely detectable over the course of six weeks.
 
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