Critique my horses, feel free to be honest

Eightysix, 4 yr old QH stud right now, will get gelded soon




Shelby 7 yr old Appendix QH mare, this is a day before she got re shod and her back ankles are a bit stocked up





Patty 9 yr old Paint mare, her leg is vet wrapped in that last pic.

You can be brutally honest, I know their not halter horses. I already know some of my mares flaws, Patty's long pasterns and Shelby being over in the knees a bit. I haven't examined my colt enough yet though. Sorry not the best of pictures.

I really like Patty's overall build. She has a really nice hip/rear IMO. I'm not the best @ conformation critiques. . . Don't know enough to say much more!

Its not the best picture of the stud, so I won't try & crit. Him.
Shelby has really weak pasterns and is over at the knee as you said. She looks underweight.
I agree with the above poster about Patty, but she looks underweight as well.

I agree that Patty doesn't look her best, though to be honest we've no idea why. She gets 3 lbs of 14% grain twice a day, plus hay. These mares get ridden regularly, so their not exactly going to be fat. Their not the stocky build either. I don't know why you think Shelby's underweight, she's half thoroughbred she has a lean build and never looks fat even when she is "fat"

^
Well the pictures could be decietful. They're not the best quality.

yeah, and I apoligize for that. There cell pics, I don't own a working camera

Anyone else going to critique their conformation?

You should check patty for tape worm. That could be an issue and some people wouldn't know they have it because there is no evidence of them in the manure. Just a thought, that's sometimes a reason for a horse not putting weight on!

On an other note, im not really good at conformation but I like the look of your 4 year old, he's pretty!

she gets wormed monthly and is mainly in the stall and when she's out in the pasture its only a pasture where our horses (who all get wormed regularly) have been, Idk how she would have gotten it, it's something to look into though. So Thanks. She has gained some weight since these photos. And thanks about my 4 year old, I'm hoping he rides as good as he looks lol

Hi there! Eightysix sure is a cutie! Angle and non-clarity of the picture makes it hard to give contstructive criticism.

Shelby definitely has a pretty big angle on the front pasterns - I'd be concerned about how that will affect her in her later years or if she is worked hard.

Patty definitely is underweight. Reason I say this is because her ribs are clearly visible, even in a poor photograph, which indicates to me that they'd be more visible in a better photograph. Also (others feel free to correct me), the ribs that are visible have a "frail" look to them, not like they are ribs that are just showing up under a healthy layer of fat. The bottom picture she looks a little sucked up at the flank, too. She is still, for all intents and purposes, a younger horse, so I'd be concerned about an underlying health issue. When was the last time her teeth were done? Have you looked at her manure to see if there are whole grains in it (whole grains indicate that she is having troubles chewing her food properly, which in turn suggests the need for floating)? Our vet's constant suggestion for horses who come to our barn underweight is to start by adding more hay, as much as they will eat.

Also, what is the reason for worming monthly (8 wk intervals is generally sufficient, although perhaps this is different in different climates?)? If you suspect that she has worms that the "normal" maintenance dose isn't correcting, talk to your vet about double dosing or getting a prescription dose for her. KEEP IN MIND - most over the counter wormers do NOT treat tapeworm. You need to dose with Zimectrin Gold, Equimax or Quest Plus gel to treat tapeworm - those are the only three I know of that are readily available that treat tapeworm.

She's not deathly thin or anything - just could use a few more groceries

Overall, your horses are pretty!