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Critique Chief.

9K views 94 replies 24 participants last post by  alucard 
#1 ·
This is Chief. 17 year old, chestnut, Quarter Horse. Feel free to say anything. He is lacking muscle because I can't work him nearly as hard as he should be worked because of the horrific weather. He is slightly ribby because he needs muscle. He is also dirty because he just came in from the pasture. He is used for barrel racing.













Sorry there is so many pictures.

Also, if it looks as though he is favoring his front legs, it's because he doesn't have shoes on and he doesn't like standing on gravel and he had his legs turned in because he just changed positions.
 
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#6 ·
Yes! He is very, very skinny!! With the thoroughbred in him, he'll probably need pretty big increases in feed to make it through the winters without getting all ribby like that.

When winter first hit here, my TB/Paint cross started dropping weight fast! Partly because I stopped working him daily, and also he just needed more food since he was burning more calories to keep himself warm (and the lack of grass in his pasture)! I upped my horse's hay by 400% and his grain by 800%. I also added sweet feed which gave him some sugar boost.

With your boy being in his late teens and in such cold climate, I'd really give him more to munch on!

He does have a cute look to him and seems very alert. It also looks like he enjoys your company as he seems to lean in to you as you're taking the photos!
 
#7 ·
Alright first off Cheif is a very old horse. He gets fed a joint supplement and senior feed. He gets plenty of hay. Its just in the winter he doesn't look too good. He is an elderly horse and its understandable. He is very well taken-care of. Harlee realizes that he is skinny, she realizes that he needs muscle, but this happens to him every winter.

Harlee scan some pictures from fair and put them up.
 
#8 ·
I'm sorry, but 17 is not very old horse (I wouldn't even call it "old" really). There are plenty of horses around in their 20th (including tbs) who look nice and fat even in winter time and got ridden quite enough as well. He does look skinny to me though.
 
#9 ·
I agree that 17 is not old. Have you had his teeth checked? Perhaps a change in feed is in order. Here's my 19 year old QH gelding. He also has TB in his pedigree (Three Bars).



I have a heck of a time keeping weight off him!

Every horse is different in terms of how easily they gain weight. I owned a horse that I simply could not put weight on, so I do understand that it can be difficult. If I were you, though, I would definitely get him checked out and possibly look into changing what you feed and how often you feed.
 
#10 ·
I'd perhaps look into a different feeding program for him. My Quarter Horse will be 30 in April and she is very round. She has always been a hard keeper, but we found a feeding program that works great for her.

She gets Triple Crown Senior, Rice Bran (textured) and alfalpha cubes. We soak it all in a lot of warm water until everything looks like oatmeal. It works great and keeps her fat through the winter. She has next to no teeth left so hay does very little for her since she cannot chew it to digest it properly.

Other than his weight, he looks like a really sweet horse. :)
 
#11 ·
Look. I know my horse needs weight, specifically why I said that he needs weight. I have him on plenty of food. He gets worked but he loses weight in the winter easily. He needs his teeth done too and his weight fluctuates all the time. Like today, I'm not lying, he will probably be fat. He goes up and down every day. This is a regular winter thing for him, the vet has even said so. The reason the pictures are dark is because the electricity went out because of the ice storm and I had to use a small light. Heres pictures of pictures from fairs. Also I don't keep my horse like most of you babying your old things. My horse is a
barrel horse he gets worked pretty tough but say what you please.


Fair two years ago.


Fair 2007.
 
#12 ·
Since you all say he's skinny I'm going to bump his food up until he gains weight. He will be on one whole can of premium sweet feed and approximately 2 flakes of hay in the morning. And in the afternoon he will be on one and a half cans of premium sweet feed, about 4 flakes of hay, and one ounce of corta flx joint support. Also 2 handfuls senior feed... I forgot that.


Sound good?
 
#13 ·
Harlee- yes he is very skinny. You put this up for critique but I feel like you are getting very defensive. People are just pointing out the obvious. Aren't you and Delete the ones who always point out the obvious in OTHER critiques you have done in the past? hhhhmmm.

He has a beautiful head and with weight and muscle will be gorgeous, but you seem to already know that so what exactly is there to critique?
 
#15 ·
OK...the horse is not standing square in any of the pics and no pic of the back end, so let's see what I can see...

LOOONNNNNGGGGG neck, no top line, head looks big, but beautiful! It could look big just because the body looks so small.

This is a barrel horse? He's lost this much weight and muscle just over the winter? It just doesn't ad up to me....
 
#17 ·
ahearn said:
OK...the horse is not standing square in any of the pics and no pic of the back end, so let's see what I can see...

LOOONNNNNGGGGG neck, no top line, head looks big, but beautiful! It could look big just because the body looks so small.

This is a barrel horse? He's lost this much weight and muscle just over the winter? It just doesn't ad up to me....
It didn't add up to me either.
 
#18 ·
does he get blanketed? If not, I would start blanketing him. He needs to get more grain, and he needs to be heavily blanketed. My horse is an OTTB and was very skinny when I first bought her. She weighs more now, in the winter, than she did in the summer. She has a heavy-weight blanket and USED to be fed 5 quarts of feed a day. Now, she needs to LOOSE weight, so she gets 4 quarts a day.

But yeah, I think it's unexcusable just because it's winter. Increase his grain and start blanketing him, if you haven't already
 
#22 ·
Again. I already said that I started increasing his hay and grain, and yes he's blanketed. I went to feed him yesterday, and he had no ribs showing. Really, I'm not lying he's one of those water weight horses, and his weight fluctuates. He does have a long neck, but he has thoroughbred in him. His head is large, but not as big as it seems.
 
#24 ·
That's actually one thing I forgot to mention...the wavy mane. I LOVE IT!!! But I'm a stickler for waves and most people in the shows I'v ebeen a part of hate waves! The work like crazy to make them straight. Why is that? I think it makes your horse look very unique and adds more character....
 
#26 ·
since you did say he gets skinny in the winter, it could just be his metabolism speeding up to keep himself warm.

It's kind of like the opposite of bears. They gain weight in the winter and then lose it in the summer.

Besides from his weight, he looks like a nice horse.

He looks like a sweetie.

How long have you been barrel racing him for?
 
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