The second picture is a better one. He is beautiful. I am no confirmation expert but I what sticks out for me his rear legs seem almost too straight. Not a lot of angle with the hock and cannon meet. Also his hooves do not look correctly trimmed - especially the front.

I am hoping that others will chime in. I love learning about confirmation. I could be totally off and would like to know if I am.

 

Post legged all the way around. Long toe changes the angle and makes not look that way up front. Stands camped out in back in the second pic. Looks like a halter bred. Beefy body with out the support underneath. Presents overall better in the second.

 

He's beautiful!!! I don't really like his back legs. They look too straight and not very muscled. I guess that horse is generally thinner and slimmer, I'm used to stockier horses though. He looks fit but slightly underweight, and his withers are a bit low IMO. I'm no good judge of conformation so eager to hear what everybody else says!

 

Pretty horse.

So my opinion is...
2nd picture is more flattering to the build.
That said I still see weak hind end with SI joint set back further.
Hind legs are nearly straight threw the hocks.
Long back, weak loin.
Shoulders & front end heavy compared to lighter hind.
Front legs a bit under the body, not on corner of as more desired is.
Throat latch could be "cleaner" and more defined.
Back is longer with SI joint set back.
Nice head & ear. Can't see much of the eye.

Nice horse & when stood up carefully deficits are reduced seen.

Critiques are personal opinion.
Always remember that when someone makes comment.
🐎...

 

I like muscle and dont see much on this horse, hes weak looking in his hind end his throat latch could be cleaner for a halter/showmanship horse, hes not built for halter but makes a nice showmanship horse. Hes more of a Western Pleasure looking horse to me.

Hes cute but lacks the muscle and bulk I like seeing on my horse.

 

I have to ask - do you have tail extensions in?
Also what will you be pursuing on him? Halter and Western Pleasure?
He is super cute.

 

I do have a tail extension in but his tail is naturally that long and very thick! Here's a couple pictures of him early this year not pampered up with his natural mane and tail. I don't really need the extension but I think its fun to have in when we go to shows.

I honestly haven't decided what to do with him. I think I am wanting to do some western pleasure and slower working classes- He is really fast and turns on a dime but I wasnt sure if conformationally he would be not suited for certain events over others. We have qualified in showmanship for the APHC world show this year and had 7x grand champion halter stallion wins, Hunter in hand champion x2, most colorful classes we are all over the place for this summer.

 

The colour is nice, and distracts from the flaws.

As previously mentioned, very post-legged. And looks weak in the stifles.
Back and body are quite nice.
Hoof angles in front are very long-toed and broken back, and need work. Could be improved with the right farrier.
Neck ties in quite low, which isn't desirable in a horse who needs to lift the front and engage the hindquarters. Front end posture might be improved with targeted work to develop his thoracic sling muscles. As he's still so young, he can probably gain strength in a lot of areas if he's conditioned correctly.

Might score well in halter, but unlikely to stand up well to certain types of ridden work with those posty legs (which have unfortunately become desirable for some reason in halter lines), so might be more of a pleasure ride than a performance one.

 

Starting at the head.

Not a bad head. His mouth is deeper than I like, and I do wish he had a larger eye. His throatlatch is not as clean as I would like, and his ears are nearly set on top of his throatlatch, meaning he won't have as great of use of his neck and I would have liked to have seen.
He does have a nice neck. But I think you'll have a tough time keeping the fat out of that neck as he's already showing a tendency for a crest.
His shoulder is a bit steep, but he does have a good set of withers.
I like his back.
I would like to see more of a hip on him. He's pretty light. But I think this is a colt, so you might be able to put some muscle on him thru riding, especially backing him up.
To my eye, he would look MUCH better without that fake tail.
He literally hasn't got a gaskin.
In the first pic, he's standing under himself too much. In the 2nd he's out behind himself. I would like to see a correct pic of him without that fake tail to see where he actually does stand.
HIs feet need that toe taken off badly. Let him grow some heel! No heel and long toe, recipe for problems.
Moving up to his front legs. Man oh man, I wish he had some forearm.

In the first pic, he's too thin. In the 2nd pic, he's got more weight, but not more muscle. Is this colt of riding age? Riding him would help him a lot.

He's not a bad looking colt, heavens knows I've seen far worse. But he needs some work. Physical work, riding time, working on a fence to strengthen him up. I think with some time, and work, he would be much better.

 

Thank you! This was really helpful and already has taught me a lot- so many new things to learn about.

I did post some photos not at a show without his fake tail. I started showing him without a fake tail but 90% of the horses in his classes had one in- does it make much of a difference judging on conformation?

In regards to his feet I did change farriers between those photos. The second picture he was 2 weeks overdue but got done a couple days after that photo.

I agree he's lacking muscle it stands out to me a lot when I ride my mare then go ride him. I didn't like how he was trained under saddle so we had spent most of this year doing ground work, and working on in-hand events. This winter is boot camp for him for sure! I am glad you said you would try and turn him into a turnback that has given me a lot more hope that he can be more than just a pretty pony even with being built so much differently than all my other horses.

 

You asked about what he might be able to do.

All anyone can tell you is what they themselves would do with him.
Me? I would try really hard and make a turnback horse of him. He's already too old to put into cutting training, plus he's would need some riding to strengthen him up. So I'd do the next best thing, turnback.

For one thing, he'd get a LOT of work on his hind quarters. You would also get a really good handle on him. One thing for sure, he'd be the flashiest turnback horse out there!

Once he's worked turnback for a few years, he'd be strong enough and with enough handle you could do a lot with him.

 

I can't say what you should do with him. I agree with the assesments of others. But, he is young and will look so much better when he mmuscles up and gets feet trimmed better. He has a reall cute face and probably a dandy personality. He might just make a nice all around riding horse, and loveable friend. What's his name??

 

His name is Brave and his registered name is Because Of The Brave

 

@Squidney145 you said, "I honestly haven't decided what to do with him. I think I am wanting to do some western pleasure and slower working classes- He is really fast and turns on a dime but I wasnt sure if conformationally he would be not suited for certain events over others."

Don't make how he is built a reason to not try an activity Brave might excel in....and you thoroughly enjoy.
Horses that were built like a train-wreck have done amazingly great at.
Racehorses, jumpers come instantly to mind.
Brave is far from anything bad in build...

The want to do, the try a horse must have to excel in anything needs to be present.
The horse must enjoy the activity to be better than just average at it...
Sounds to me you already have an inkling of what Brave can do and do well....
If he also tries hard at those activities, it makes it a more partnership enjoyable experience.

Please don't not try something you both might really like because of some comment made.
Your horse is an individual, use that individualism to find his calling under saddle ridden.
🐴... jmo.

 

That is a very good point- and I love how you put it! This is my first year trying to show and owning young horses otherwise we just went and did whatever sounded fun. Sounds like i'm stressing too much about what his career could look like.

 

@Squidney145: Just following along because he would definitely catch my attention with his flash.

I'm nosey, so I was curious if you haven't already (based on your indicating grand champion halter stallion wins), looking at using him as stud at some point?

 

@

:Yep! He's standing for a limited number of mares in 2025. I don't have the space for a few broodmares yet but that's the plan in the next 3-4 years is to get some mares to breed to and that I can use for my horse lesson program.

 

Wow he's a beauty! Second picture is definitely a much better confirmation. Do what ever you feel comfortable with, wether that is doing what you normally do or trying something different! I always try something new with my mare and some things she loves and some she hates.(She love jumping, and barrels anything speed lol, but anything slow like pleasure she not such a fan of but does it anyway) So do whatever feels comfortable to you and Brave! He will definitely make some stunning babies!