Maia, Update Pictures

"Conformation" Picture:






Here are stills from the videos, (please refer to the thread "Maia, Update Videos) they kind of illustrate how I was talking about her "short" and "long" canters:
Short:

Long:


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Her back looks long but its most likely the surcingle. :)

That 2nd trotting picture looks just amazing!

She looks so much better from when you first got her. She's really blossoming into a lovely horse :)

I was going to say the same, longish back. I'd like to see a longer gaskin, her back legs are a little short for my taste. Does that make sense? Basically I want more length and angle in the back for more reach and power. Or maybe she's just standing with that leg at an angle, don't know. Hard to get a good feel of her legs with the blur and the boots, but overall she looks well put together.

I agree with the above poster concerning the confo.

She may be taking short strides as the result of stiffness. Or this may just be her hollow side. Does she do it in both directions?

Cantering on a small circle is difficult for a horse to do if she feels unbalanced and/or on the fore. Green horses typically speed up/ change pace in an attempt to keep balanced becasue they have not yet developed the correct muscles to stay in a steady stride. Is she steady on a straight line?

After you rule out any medical issues, I would suggest really working her on her hollow side. About 80% of your canter work should be in that direction to get her supple and strong.

I would advise against too much canter work on the lunge. Its much harder to keep the horse moving in a correct and collected stride and very hard on the joints.

Your mare is absolutely adorable, she's quite the pudgy girl! I love it!

I agree and im not good with confo stuff so im not even going to try..except the part I agree on is that she quite the little pugy mare huh? Very cute.and I think she's pudgy in a good and cute way!

Thank you all for responding!
Yes, she has a longish back, nothing I'm too concerned about though. She is VERY pudgy! As soon as the paddocks are cleaned out she's going back in a dirt lot... she's on grass right now haha (it's been raining for a couple weeks now)
Just Jump It, thank you for the advice. I have never felt her canter like that while I'm riding her and going large in the arena - so you're probably right. She has never cantered on the lunge before now (as far as I know)

Thank you everyone for your kind comments and helpful criticisms Any more are definitely welcome!

I am in agreeance with what has been said, so im not going to open my mouth lol.

But yeh comparing the older ones to these updated ones you can defintaly see the improvment. So well done
She is a gorgoues looking mare 8)

Thank you! I'll tell her all the nice comments... maybe we'll discuss it over a nice mash...