# Look, Kody got a show halter for his birthday!



## hobbyhorse23 (Apr 19, 2009)

Kody turned 9




on April 15th and we celebrated with a quick photo shoot in his new show halter. We've tried on a few before, like this mixed metal noseband Nootka had in '07 (too narrow for his long head)...











...this black Shiloh halter from Showtime a month ago (not quite right):






...and even this maroon Shepard. Wrong color on him of course, but the noseband style looked nice.






Then I tried on this metallic green BKM noseband with gold trim that Star Lake sent me. Unfortunately the green looked atrocious on him color-wise.










Fortunately, the *gold* noseband they also sent me looked great!






Especially with conchos to tie it all together.










(Excuse his unclipped muzzle)






Now keep in mind I've spent the entire winter making my first serious attempt ever to train a horse for halter. With his conformation Kody is never going to be a halter horse, but I want to try Versatility this year just for fun and be able to set him up nicely for pictures. I think I succeeded okay, how 'bout you?





A little blurry, but the best shot:











He's dull in this one, but I like his neck.






We really do give ears. Honest! You should see how bright-eyed he gets the minute I stop asking him to pose.










And perhaps my favorite shot, blurry or not. I LOVE the wannabe Shetland!



His throatlatch looks a little thick here but I love the way his neck appears to be set on. You have to know this horse to know how amazingly different these are from his everyday appearance.



:wub






Keep in mind, this same horse looked like this when I bought him in 2004:

http://pets.webshots.com/photo/11571506340...jIUW?vhost=pets

http://pets.webshots.com/photo/11592066550...TeEL?vhost=pets

http://pets.webshots.com/photo/11592067350...ySxg?vhost=pets

Ya think he's muscled up some??





Thanks for looking! I'm open to any critiques on halter fit and training as long as you remember that we're just doing this for fun.



I know he needs to stand more under himself in the rear, give ears, keep that lip off of me and of course be conditioned more and clipped to flatter. Anything else? I'm exchanging the headstall for the next smallest size so I can maybe raise the noseband one notch. It's on the tightest hole right now so I can't experiment with the placement yet.

Leia

P.S.- Despite appearances, those who know him will tell you Kody does not have a massive overbite. He just has a VERY pooky upper lip that excels at reaching for goodies!


----------



## Rebecca (Apr 19, 2009)

Lookin' good Leia! And tell Kody Happy Birthday.

As for critiquing, I think you already know what to fix! My mare Kassie used to look just like Kody with the over-stretching, ears back, and the silly treat-lip. If you know what you need to work on and how to fix it, I don't think you need much help. Kody is such a neat guy!





Rebecca


----------



## ThreeCFarm (Apr 19, 2009)

He looks great, Leia. And you already know what to fix, so you're ahead of the game. My Bob has done Versatility before, and he's far from a halter horse.


----------



## twister (Apr 19, 2009)

Leia He looks amazing, you already know what to fix so I won't add anything except to say good luck to you and Kody in whatever you do. Thanks for sharing these pics.

Yvonne


----------



## barnbum (Apr 19, 2009)

That IS the best one!! Great shots!!


----------



## Champ (Apr 19, 2009)

Happy B-day Kody!! He looks very handsome in his new halter



I enjoyed seeing the pictures of when you first got him, you've done a great job with him





My new mini also had a b-day on April 15th, he turned 6, so for his birthday he got a harness


----------



## MiLo Minis (Apr 19, 2009)

Awww.....I could love your versatile little red head almost as much as I love mine!!! Yup, get that halter up one notch and those back legs under him and you have almost as good a halter horse as my Willie!!!



Happy Birthday Kody!!!


----------



## Sixstardanes (Apr 19, 2009)

Happy birthday!

The gold does look very nice on him.

Looking good there.


----------



## jleonard (Apr 20, 2009)

Happy late Birthday Kody! I like the halter and I cannot believe the change in his color from the older pics, his coat looks so healthy now. He looks like a different horse!


----------



## hobbyhorse23 (Apr 20, 2009)

Thanks guys! Kody sure appreciates the birthday wishes.





Nootka, Susanne, Clickmini, where are you ladies?



I thought for sure you'd be commenting after all the help you've given me!







jleonard said:


> Happy late Birthday Kody! I like the halter and I cannot believe the change in his color from the older pics, his coat looks so healthy now. He looks like a different horse!


Okay, now that's interesting. The one thing I would not consider an improvement from that first year is his coat!



His natural coat had this incredible walnut color thing going with an almost white mane and tail and now he's just your average frequently-clipped red-head. And currently a half-BEIGE red-head at that!



Ah well. It's nice to know he's healthy-looking.







MiLo Minis said:


> ...and you'll have almost as good a halter horse as my Willie!!!
> 
> 
> 
> Happy Birthday Kody!!!


From what you've told me, I think we've been darned with faint praise...*LOL* On the other hand the fact that you like him means a LOT to me.

Leia


----------



## Indian*R*A*I*N*Dance (Apr 20, 2009)

He looks great!!


----------



## MiLo Minis (Apr 21, 2009)

hobbyhorse23 said:


> MiLo Minis said:
> 
> 
> > ...and you'll have almost as good a halter horse as my Willie!!!
> ...


I think you and I both love our red heads NOT for their halter conformation and ability but for their many other assets.



Willie has actually taken champion stallion in halter at a few fairs over the years due to his look-at-me presence and ability to sucker judges in with that


----------



## nootka (Apr 21, 2009)

Checking in late!

I like it! Dang, it's not snakeskin or leopard print and it's not safe, either! *LOL*

You need to work with getting him to just stand, give him 30 seconds at a time, don't worry about anything except standing square. Same thing applies as the clicker training principle, just focus on getting him to stand with his eyes and attention on you, square with his weight over his feet. Once he understands that he will stop mugging you and leaning (looks like that's what he's doing in the pics and I know he can handle the suspense of getting that treat not to mention the work to earn it.). GTO was bad for that and we finally cured it with clicker training lessons.

If he moves, make him go back, but always be sure he's watching you. Don't let him look away and work up from 30 seconds at a time. I'd try for a few minutes' worth, but generally I don't bother much with more than about 3 minute increments . I let them relax in between times, but then he will need a cue (you probably already have these) for ears and neck or "posing".

I think he looks great!!!

9 years, you've got a long life ahead of you, buddy!

Liz


----------



## ClickMini (Apr 22, 2009)

Here I am! I very rarely come to this section of the web site so was missing it. I do think that you found "his" halter. It looks really great on him! Even the conchos!








So Stacy was out here last week and I was showing off Esprit. She told me to quit working so hard and let him just be pretty. Looking at your photos, I have to say I like the one where he is just standing up with happy ears the very best! So that is what I think she means. Kody is rolling forward over his front end. Can you get a mirror up somewhere where you can see yourself when you are working him?


----------



## hobbyhorse23 (Apr 22, 2009)

A mirror would be a good idea Amy,



the photos were the best I could do. All three of those shots were taken in series as he leaned forward, touched my hand on command then started to dull down and got pushed back. The other photos I have show him standing more square and not rolling over his forelegs so much but also didn't catch the moment he hooked for me so these are the ones I posted. (I'm such a neck girl!



) He knows better than to stick his lip out usually but the new environment made him forget the finer points for the first few minutes while we got all the pictures. He did, at least, stand still without creeping and ignored the nice "judge," aka Mom, which used to really freak him out. He's figured out that posing is a game and really likes taking a stance now. It's kinda fun!





I'm glad you guys like the halter, it really looks nice in person. Go check out our driving thread too! It's entitled "The Four Seasons of Kody."

Leia


----------



## REO (Apr 24, 2009)

Mmmmmm Kody!



I love that boy!

I enjoyed the fashion show!





You're right, that last halter is the best on him!





Give the Kodster a hug for me!


----------



## susanne (Apr 25, 2009)

That halter looks great on him! Your sequence of photos showing your choices and how and why you made your decision makes a great tutorial on selecting a show halter. (It would be great to save on the "Best Of LB" forum.)

He look like he enjoys working on his halter stance!


----------



## BigDogs & LittleHorses (Apr 27, 2009)

Happy Birthday Kody!





Give him some neck scritches from me, Leia!





I like the 11th photo down the best!





Daryl


----------



## MountainMeadows (Apr 27, 2009)

Hi Leia

Like Amy said - he/you are overdoing it! He needs to stand up square - not parked out - and be rocked back while his feet are pretty much glued to the ground and while his head is UP - ask him to break over at the throatlatch -- not just stretch his neck out as far as it will go -- you will get a far more professional look this way and not be penalized for overstretching.

A mirror is really helpful to see what I am talking about - you will get it - he is a smart boy and has a mommy with more patience than a saint and tons of training talent.

Stac


----------



## hobbyhorse23 (Apr 27, 2009)

Thanks Stacy! You want to see *overstretched*...man, I could show you some photos!



Those are nothing.





So between you and Liz, do I understand correctly that the idea is to get them mostly staring at you adoringly and only ask for that hook for a split second as the judge is looking, then bump them back to the adoring posture again before they shift their weight forward at all? I see I have my work cut out for me!



"Patience" isn't even going to begin to cover what will be needed....





Ah well. Off to the barn I go!

Leia

Edited to add: Okay, I surrender and ask for help. How do you keep a horse with an upside down neck, who sucks it back in order to stare up at you brightly, arching up and out without asking him to reach for something?? Do I ask but stop the minute he starts to hook the throatlatch (before he stretches out) and reward then? Kody's one of those who has to be doing something - posing or reaching actively counts - or he goes into impatience mode or shutdown mode. He'll watch me with interest for hours unless I turn and face him expectantly, then he's all business. Which means no pretty expression.


----------



## PrestigeMiniHorses (May 5, 2009)

Awww Leia... Lil Kody is all grown up. I love him and all the hard work you put into him. He really does look healthy...I know what you mean though about over stretching.... My shetland pony that I had was famous for that..He thought he was a morgan I think. The more practice you do the better you will get. Versatiity looks like alot of fun so I am sure you guys will have a blast.


----------

