He has the pedigree for it. I do like that.

17 hands is large for a barrel horse. Especially a short pattern NBHA horse. They are small patterns and a tall horse or a long strided horse will have a more difficult time getting up to speed.

On another note, that horse is very very undermuscle and very underweight for a 5 year old. He needs a lot of groceries.
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Yes he Is tall and he would do better in larger arenas, but he is underweight and I'd focus on that for now. He looks nice but really stands under himself. Overall I like him a lot and think he will look a ton better with more weight.

 

He is a little underweight in this picture yes. He just came of the race track. He is very hard to keep weight on. He gained weight since this picture then lost it then gained it again. This isn't a recent picture but he a little bigger then this. He had a two month break after i bruised my tail bone and got a concussion from falling off him. His mother had a weight problem to where it would be hard to keep weight on her. We've made a corral/ stall for him where he is out dearing the day and fed hay and feed with rice bran oil at night. It's big so he can run around and go into the stall when ever.

Jewlsb Can you explain what stand under himself means. It may be because of the picture. I'm not sure exactly what you mean.

CLa i've been told he will do alot better in outdoor. I haven't got him up to speed at all. Being a very very hot summer he sweats like he just stop running when he's just standing still. Anyways to get this BIG boy more muscles after i get him packed full of groceries? He will have all winter to get fatter then a grizzly.

 

It could be just the picture but his front legs don't come straight down rather are pretty far underneath him. Hope that makes sense. What do you feed besides rice bran oil and how much is he getting?
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He gets Purina 300 (the red bag) he gets about three cups in the morning with out rice bran oil then he get a half a bucket with it at night. Do i need to give him more? He seems to have a non ending stomach. We'll start feed him a flake or two of alfalfa as soon as it gets cold. He already get hay. We was feed him some grass pelts that were soak but he had a very nasty reaction to it. He was throwing it up out of his nose. It was snot and grass coming out of his nose. Was very weird. I do understand what you say about the under himself. I think its just the picture. He doesn't usually stand like that but i think he was moving forward.

 

I'd be willing to bet anything that horse has ulcers. Dull coat...ribs....sucked up.

I'm also willing to bet this horse isn't 17hh....probably 16 or 16.2.

I'd be changing what he eats.
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Sounds like he was choking on the grass pellets you were giving him. Maybe consult a vet to see what a proper feed would be to get him healthy. My tb is 16.3h gets 3lbs of nutrena senior 2x a day (he's 9 but keeps the weight on better than other grains), a mineral supplement 2 ounces a day(Ragland brand), rice bran 1.5lbs, and 2lbs of alfalfa pellets, ad well as endless hay/ grass. Any less and he drops weight and it's not even winter here yet! Your guy needs his own feeding program though. Just trying to give you an example. Defiantly consult a vet to be sure he doesn't have ulcers and see what a proper diet will be for him.
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You'd be pretty amazed how tall a 17hh horse is actually is. My three year old was 15.2 last time I measured him and at the time I couldn't see over his withers without going on my tip toes, and he's grown since. Granted I'm short but not THAT short...I'm 5'3'', and everyone says he is a big horse when they see him and guess he is taller, like 16hh or so. I would have too, had I of not bought a wicket last year that doesn't lie. :lol: Also found out the mare I have who is registered as 14.2hh is only 13.3hh! Gotta love wickets, lol.

Everyone else has sound advice, I just had to chime in on the height thing! Lol I make a point to measure all my friend's horses. Almost all of them have been much shorter than they have been claiming from just guessing.

 

First, I would get a long cloth tape measure (the one I use is a 100' measure on a reel from the hardware store). Have a couple friends to help out with measuring. Have one person get him standing as squared up as possible. Then ise the tape to measure around his girth. Write down the measurement in inches or centimeters. Then measure from the point of the shoulder to tje point of the buttock (the bone high on the nack pf his hip, close to his tail). Write down that measurement in inches or centimeters (the same as you used for the girth measurement). Then follow this link and plug in the numbers, making sure that you select the right unit of measure. The Horse | Weight Calculator

(If you ise centimeters in the calculator, you will get his weight in kilograms. Multiply by 2.2 to get weight in pounds.)

This is the most accurate method to ESTIMATE a horse's weight. While you have the friend still holding the horse, you can use a level and the tape to measure his height. Set one end of the level on his withers, have a friend start the tape at the ground, make sure the bubbles are centered, and hold the bottom of the level to the tape. Convert to inches, divide by 4 to get hands.

Second, evaluate his body condition score. Here's more info on that. The Horse | What's Your Horse's Body Condition Score? (video)

Third, weigh all feed you give him. Different feeds have different weights for the same volume, so you can't compare them that way.

Fourth, consider a month's subscription to FeedXL Horse Nutrition: The D.I.Y. equine diet planner
It's a great resource for figuring out how much he needs in terms of calories and nutrients, as well as making sure his diet is balanced. And if he does have ulcers, which is a common problem among racehorses, you can get some great advice on how to manage his feed.

Small and frequent meals, preferably free choice grass or hay, is the best way to get a horse to gain and prevent ulcers. Horses produce stomach acid constantly, so if there's nothing in there, the acid can start eating through his stomach lining.

I would love to see some better conformation shots of him.

ETA Who knew horse ownership required so much math?! I must remember to thank Mrs. Lewis for telling me I would need to know this stuff one day.

 

We have an apointment with the vet. 1RedHorse the picture was taken 3-25-12. about 6 months ago. He has grow alot.

 

I doubt he's grown that much as he is a 5 year old.

Let us know how the vet goes
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I'll get him measure at the vet. He should be going next Wednesday if everything goes right. I'll get him on a healthy diet and see what they want me to put him on. We have to get his coggins done and also he has a cut on his back leg that's taking very long to heal that were going to get checked out. I'll asked them about ulcers.

 

I hope everything goes well. Let us know, please.
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We'll be off to the vet Wednesday the 19! I'll post on him as soon as possible after we get back. It will be either Wednesday or Thursday.