# Pimp my horse (no offense intended)



## susanne (Oct 30, 2007)

Do you ever look at show (or other) photos and think, if only they had done_______?

Since show season is over, I thought it would be fun for people to post their show (or wannabe show) horses, and others can say (nicely!) what they would do differently. Perhaps you see a way to accent a particularly nice feature or de-emphasize a flaw (not that any of our horses have those!)

I'll go out on a limb and go first. As most of yu know, this is Woodwinds' Mingus, my 38" gelding. These are phhotos from the past three show seasons, in various states of condition. He has a nice, long neck that he doesn't use to best effect, and a sloped croup that he hides fairly well at times. He has a bad habit of waaay overstretching. He sheds out slick on his own, but that also means that leaving a V above his tail won't work! I/m not looking for pats on the back, and I won't be offended by any suggestions...just would like to hear what you would do if you were showing him.







This was a spring show, so he was clipped











This next pose is very overstretched.






not a good photo, but it still shows "the goods," esp his hip and shoulder angles, better than the other shots.






Anyone else brave (or silly) enough to add yours?


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## Marty (Oct 30, 2007)

Hard to improve on that boy Sus.....but I would love to see him in a super halter of jewels because he is solid.


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## ohmt (Oct 30, 2007)

sorry I don't have any pics of my show horses for you as even though we have been breeding for about 20 years now...we've never shown ourselves! BUT I do attend quite a few shows and my grandpa used to show quite a bit and always points out what little tricks people could do....

Your boy has a bit of a ewe neck...love the length (not too long and not short) but I would sweat his neck and keep his neck at the angle you have it in the second picture because putting it up too high makes that lower part bulge. In the first and last pics his hip is a little higher than it should be and he needs to be a little bit stretched even though I usually don't like it when people do that. I would also work his hind end A LOT. Getting him going up hills or get him driving. Because of how he's built back there he's a little weak so I'd definitely make that my number one---work that butt!! But he is a very beautiful boy...LOVE



that slick, healthy coat on the first pic!


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## Leeana (Oct 30, 2007)

Okay on Mingus



...

Not that he NEEDS this, but i would work his neck lower considering he has a slight buldge on the base of his neck.

I prob would have also put a more glitzy halter on him. He's bay (which i like btw!!! Bay lover here!) and i wouldnt put a plain leather halter on him. He has a really nice coat on him, look at that shine!

I prob would also thin out the forelock a little and take off a little bit more mane or do a undercut, or both lol.

I think he looks great !!! I've never seen that second picture of him














I'll play along and put a few of mine up



. I'll just post two or three.

Royal Salsa 39.5'' Foundation Shetland and 37'' at a Miniature ..











Westwind BTU Crown Prince Narko Yearling 32'' Colt

With an embarrising 30 minute first clip of the season Eeek!





















I'll add Coco in just for fun. You all should have fun picking him apart, i did no training or conditioning with him at all before these pics and they are horriable lol.


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## ClickMini (Oct 30, 2007)

Okay, Susanne, I'll play! I think the first photo of him is pretty good. His forelock is thinned nicely, but I think I'd slick it down the front of his face to downplay the straightness of his profile. I am fine with a straight face, but it isn't the most desirable in today's show ring. The next thing I'd point out is that if you get him to lift his neck is a good step one, then have him bring his nose down and just a bit forward to de-emphasize the lower neck bulge. If you watch the good halter trainers, the get the horse to follow their suggestion to bring the nose down a bit from a horizontal plane. I agree with the other posters that say get a nice show halter with gold accents, maybe some conchos to dress him up around his eye area. I do love me some Mingus!



Can't wait to see his driving pics!


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## JaniceZ (Oct 30, 2007)

Ok, I will play!!

I dont really have any advice for you guys that have posted, I will leave that for those who are more experienced then me. But i will ad some pictures of my own horses!

Littlefoots Spring Siobhan











And my mare Kera's Summer Baby

From last year ago






and from this year


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## susanne (Oct 31, 2007)

Thanks, guys for the helpful comments! I can't wait for our show season to begin so that I can put your ideas to work. Wanna come with us?

I have to admit that I have been guilty of asking him to hold his head too high, exascerbating that lower neck bulge. His driving training is helping with that, as he develops a good frame, but I need to do my part as well.

I see -- duh -- that you are all correct about the show halter -- not much show in that one. I like low key, but seeing it through your eyes, it's just plain dull.


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## mininik (Oct 31, 2007)

On Mingus I agree with what's been said about slicking the forelock straight, baiting lower and using a "showier" halter. I, personally, would not go with a cable style, or lots of extra decoration like furrels or conchos. I would sand and polish those feet as well as thin and shape the mane as it is the first picture. Bays can look awesome razored, so I would try it on him or at least do his face in a 50-40-30 up to a 15 to blend into the body (when he's clipped).

I'd post my Classic gelding, but the show pictures I have were taken before I entered the picture.


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## Jill (Oct 31, 2007)

The easiest thing I'd do is razoring (which I figure -- not gonna happen!). It could really help his eyes to look larger.

But, mostly, practice getting Mingus to "give" you his neck and ears. If you can work on having him stand and give the neck w/out leaning into you, it will probably greatly improve the look of his neck. NO horse's neck looks good when they are kind of rocking back. It can make even really nice necks look ewe-ish / upside down.

Just an example, see how much better it can look when they pose just so? Smarty Bacardi's not perfect at all in either example (just quick snaps after unloading at home from a show), but maybe you can see how much nicer a picture the bottom shot presents. Bacardi was not sweated and not exercised for the preceeding 2wks (and only lightly lunged prior to then). Clipped 7 days prior and look....... no facial but he looks better with one.

I just think the biggest help will be practicing getting Mingus to give his neck, examples of what a difference it makes...

*[SIZE=12pt]Little King’s BT Bacardi Gold[/SIZE]*
2004 37.25” AMHR Golden Palomino Gelding – Son of Ima Boones Little Buckeroo Too (“BTU”)

Supreme and Grand Halter Champion / First Place Solid Color


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## kaykay (Oct 31, 2007)

I love Mingus





If he was mine i would concentrate more on conditioning and building muscle. Driving will certainly help that!

The whole bringing the nose down slightly is the hardest thing to teach someone. You really have to have someone teach you in person. My experience when trying to show someone is they take it to the extreme and go to low. I bring the neck up and out and then bring the nose down SLIGHTLY.


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## Whitewave (Oct 31, 2007)

Okay I'll play too. Both need to lose alot of weight, working hard on that. We only show at Local club shows.

Excalibur 3yr old Aug 2007






Blue 13 yrs old Aug 2007


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## nootka (Oct 31, 2007)

You know me. I'd do a little face sculpting and some minor razoring. I'd clip him, depending on what season it was.

To condition him, I'd probably D-R-I-V-E him, and work him over jumps/up hills.

Hopefully we could grow his mane out just a tad longer, thin his forelock some and/or slick it down well over his forehead as was already mentioned.

I think some moderate razoring around his eyes and moderate oiling to bring up a sheen would help show off his eye, which is really not as small as the photos make it look.

I'd also put the shiny patent look hoof polish on him.





One of Showtime's new "victor style" closed ring halters would look nice on him. A navy or dark blue or even black plain nose with gold hardware. Just enough bling without being gaudy. He certainly doesn't need much in the way of pimping, just a few finishing touches, IMO.

He really does look nice in his natural coat, it is so shiny it glows blue!

Liz


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## hobbyhorse23 (Oct 31, 2007)

Drive him. Drive him hard and drive him properly, and in a year or two (yes, I know, it takes awhile) that bulge in the underside of his neck will disappear as his topline develops. You've seen what happened to Kody's neck this year!



Man, what a difference actually driving him frequently has made. The whole neck has turned rightside up to all appearances.

I definitely agree on a new halter. Mingus is far lovelier than those pictures show (if I were home I'd repost some of the ones I've taken of him, waahaha) and that plain thing does him no favors. You know me, I generally err on the side of natural and non-flashy in all things but I'm finally figuring out that my horse looks a lot better when I go whole-hog and bodyclip, sculpt the face, oil a little, polish hooves, etc.! I really should put Kody on this thread but then again I'm my own worst critic and already know what I need to do with him for next year. Keep on with the show grooming, thin his mane some more, get him a decent halter for performance, show him off by dressing properly myself, and GET A NEW SHOW HARNESS! I love my Ozark carriage harness but he needs something that will show off his shoulder better with the neck strap back over the checkhook. At least we have a show cart now and he's slowly learning to carry himself higher as we progress with our dressage training. Someday....

Anyway, as far as Mingus goes I'd say just decide to do the whole "show horse" thing during the summer and do it all the way. Maybe don't body clip as his natural coat really is fantastic, but certainly sculpt the face, oil him a little, and throw a nice halter on there. Don't be afraid to stand out with class! Mingus is up to it if you are.



Stop hiding him.





Leia


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## SirenFarms (Oct 31, 2007)

Ok i will play as im new to halter and i really want to set them up right

this is my halter / color horse. He is a silver dapple splash tovero. Dell Tera's Long Term #2 is his reg name and he is AMHR. 33 inches
















any help is greatly appreciated!


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## Shari (Oct 31, 2007)

Susanne he is handsome as always!

I do not show mine....and sadly never seem to take the time to get really good photos. But I am enjoying everyone elses!


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## Devon (Oct 31, 2007)

I might pinch the croup area little bit or give it a scratch to level up his topline and excentuate the tailset. I would also ask him for his neck in a curve kind of up then down creating a curve showing his windpipe. I would also slick the forelock and add a Black cable halter with silver piping & Conchos + Chin chain. Hes beautiful though!


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## mydaddysjag (Nov 1, 2007)

SirenFarms,

Over the winter I would work on growing his mane and forelock out longer, you can always thin it down in the spring right before show season. You dont want the mane covering his shoulder, but I would like to see it a few inches longer. From what I can see in the first picture I would sweat his throat latch, it will give it a cleaner look. Looking at the top picture I would say that he needs some work on his top line. He dosent have that tiny arab face that is whats popular now, but I would still sculpt his face a little. In thesecond picture you can see this really well - you have his front feet set very close together, and his back feet pretty far apart. With Midas I set his feet 1 open hand width apart (I put my hand between his hoofs with all fingers spread) I do that for front and back feet. It takes the guessing out, because you dont have all day to set your horse up. You can tweak the amount of space between depending on what looks best for different horses. I prefer how he is stretched in the first picture, I would just make sure you have all of his feet spaced evenly.






Heres Midas, nothing great about comformation, but we do alright for what we show. This is the best picture I have until the pictures come in from the photographer, so sorry you have see his throatlatch.

He will be my performance horse when hes older(hes a yearling) He loves to jump (jumps mounting blocks at will when turned out) has the movement for driving, and dosent mind obstacles.


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## countrycharm (Nov 1, 2007)

SirenFarms said:


> any help is greatly appreciated!


Beautiful coat



what a lovely horse i think you have him set up nicely


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