[tx6756]

Please let me know what you think about the conformation of this horse that I am considering buying. I would like to use him for some low level jumping, maybe some dressage and eventing. He is 7 years old, 17.2 hands and was lightly raced (5 times).
Thanks!!

 

[MyBoyPuck]

The angle from the hip to the croup is a little steep, but I like his shoulder and pasterns for eventing. You might have to go back to square one on the training though. In that pic, the poor horse is being forced into a fake headset by a rider who is applying way too much pressure on the bars of his mouth to force it down. Very painful for any horse. Definitely check the bars of the mouth to make sure there is no permanent damage.

 

[tinyliny]

The horse is very uphill which is better than downhill, if you ask me. But it makes it hard sometimes to get a good, balanced saddle fit. The rider in the picture, beyond her tying to pull the horse's head down, is also struggline to get her feet under her due to the fact that the saddle is too far forward, and is literally on an uphill slope. Forces her into a chair seat.
You might have to use a wedge under that saddle to get a good balanced, level seat.

the pasterns are long, but in relation to the overall length of the horse, I think that they are in porportion.

Looks muscular and strong. Look carefully at the feet, though. Sometimes such big thbds have weak feet.

 

[tx6756]

Thanks for the critiques and the heads up about his forced head position. Is there something specifically that will tip me off that the hooves are weak? I'm pretty sure he'll be shod, so other than obvious irregularities in the hoof wall/proportions or corrective shoeing techniques, is there anything else to look for in the feet? (if I really like him I also plan on getting a PPE with radiographs of the front feet)

 

[MyBoyPuck]

If you're going to do radiographs, that should tell you all you need to know about the feet. Did you ride this horse already?

 

[tx6756]

I haven't ridden him yet. I'm going this weekend.

 

[MaryMary]

You could call me a little crazy, because how can you tell anything about a horse's attitude from 2 still shots? Nevertheless, there is something about him I don't like. He's very tense in the first shot, and yes, uncomfortable in the second. I would look well about him in terms of attitude and kindness. Can't tell you why, exactly I feel that way. But don't be in a hurry to buy. There are a LOT of horses out there ...

 

[MaryMary]

Yeah. Stud chain, tail is clamped down in first shot. Second shot he may be swishing his tail, could be windy that day...

 

[corporate pride]

found this site:

Body Parts of the Horse

 

[lakotasbluesky]

This horse is a nice looking horse, but not as compact as I would like to see a Thoughrobred. He has the perfect color for dressage. He has a nice long neck, but I would like to see a bigger hind end.

 

[DraftyAiresMum]

He has the perfect color for dressage.

I'm confused by this statement. Is there a preferred color for dressage? I was under the impression that color is just icing on the cupcake, regardless of the discipline.

 

[blue eyed pony]

REALLY upright shoulders/pasterns. Worse than my horse and he's pretty bad.

I also agree with whoever it was that said bad attitude. This horse, at the VERY least, needs a LOT of work on ground manners, if he's being handled with a chain over the nose. Maybe that work has been done/attempted, but I don't know... he just looks to me like a horse that has serious fear or pain issues.

 

[tx6756]

Thanks for all the advice Went to see him this weekend but it was definitely a NO.
MaryMary- you were onto something, because when I went to see him he kicked out at me with his back feet every time I tried to pick them up and danced around when being tacked up. He was reluctanct to go into the arena and refused to trot across some poles.
He was described as a great horse for an amateur and could be ridden by a child- haha, not so much!