Got a weanling I'd like a critique on

[yankee_minis]

I am not emotionally invested in him so you can be honest. I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to hear opinions.

My main reason in asking is I am trying to be a better judge of horses.

This colt will be small, about 30 inches at the most. In this picture he is 4 months old. His head is turned toward the camera; usually you can't see his thin blaze, star and snip from the side. He still has extra hair on his legs and that butt thing is temporary! lol His bite is perfect and his legs are straight.

Sorry for the halter. It's the smallest I have (x-small) and the show halter I ordered isn't in yet. I realize it's hiding his throat latch.

I am not keeping him. His future is probably local shows (Maine) or as a pet-- mainly because that's the kind of people that usually buy from me.

p.s. His back feet are slightly buried in sand and you can't see his toes. They truly are nicely trimmed and he is not club-footed.

Thanks to my daughter, Kelsie, for holding him for me-- he was not a good boy and I was lucky to get this picture before he pranced around again!

Thanks,

Tracy

 

[disneyhorse]

Hello! While his "type" doesn't scream "STALLION!" to me he DOES look like a well-put together show gelding prospect for sure.

His head overall is very nice, it has a nice dish to it, it is a short head, and I am sure when he's not looking bored, has nice expression. His ears could be set on a little better, at least what I can see from the side.

His throatlatch is a touch thick, his neck is a LITTLE short but at a nice angle overall and I really like how it's set on. It isn't set low like a lot of minis are, there is a definite chest down there.

He has a really short back. His croup is a little more sloped than what I'd like to see in a halter horse (since we don't have anything to gage him by in the way of movement). His hip isn't huge but it's at a good balance for the rest of his body, since he's so compact. Leg angles all look okay except I'd say he's a touch straight in the stifle and may toe out a little bit in back from what I can see. His pasterns are a little short, which may affect his action.

That's what I see with my first impression.

Overall, a cute colt!

Andrea

 

[bluerogue]

Overall, your colt presents a nice picture. He appears to have straight shoulders to me, and a slightly lower tailset than I like. Also, I don't know if it's his head angle, but his eyes look small. His neck is on the shorter end, although not too short. All in all, I think he's a cute colt. He should make an awesome show gelding for whoever gets him.

Editted for spelling ;-)

 

[nootka]

Overall, he is what I would call "nice."

He is not of the quality I would like to see for a stallion prospect, for many of the reasons Andrea (disneyhorse) has already touched on.

Overall, his proportions are nice, though I will expect that he's going to appear very heavy boned for his height when he's mature, as a four month old will generally show a more refined appearance, IME.

His neck's a little short, though nicely set, and his head's cute enough though he could use a little "hook" to help with the short neck.

His hip's also a little shallow, but it's alright w/his proportions.

Overall, I would say he's a nice "average" type, and provided he is of a decent size, would make a very nice performance or pleasure horse, though not competitive in Halter maybe in a local/open or Youth and Amateur just to get their feet wet kind of thing. I would also expect him to stay reasonably sound even with his angles behind being a little weak (I've seen far worse standing up to pretty regular driving/hard use, not to say that it's right, it just sometimes doesn't mean disaster if a horse has poor angles behind, as every horse is a little different in how they deal with these things physically as well as the luck of the draw so to speak).

He is certainly not low quality, but he's not of the caliber that I would consider selling intact as an example of my breeding, but that's just me. He is a gelding to be proud of, though, and that's not a put-down.

Presented properly, he may well do fine as a halter horse, just not from what I've seen out there taking top ribbons at least in this region as well as Nationally and Worlds.

Liz M.

 

[yankee_minis]

Thank you very much for responding. I agree with everything said, for the most part, except I don't think he toes out in the back, but the picture does suggest that. I just think he's ready to spring in another direction. He toes out *slightly* on one front foot, but I think that is due to hoof work. We'll see. Watching him walk, he is straight in the back.

I'm not repeating the breeding next year. The dam produces better than herself-- I just need the right combination.

I'm surprised not more people jumped in. I seriously wanted evaluations. When I said I wasn't "emotionally invested" that meant I wouldn't get my feelings hurt. But I guess in the past these things can turn ugly.

Thanks again,

Tracy

 

[lyn_j]

The ladies have given a pretty thorough critique and most of what I would say has been said. What jumps out at me because Im a head and neck freak... his ears are large ,eyes small, eye to muzzle length a bit long. His neck is set in a nice place allowing him to have a decent chest. It is short and thick for my taste. He has a nice short back , his shoulder looks steep to me also but, it goes with his shallow hip, so sort of they are balanced but not where I would like them if that makes any sense???? I agree with Liz a foal at this age with this much bone is going to be a thicker individual as an adult. He could do pretty well locally because he is pleasant to look and and balanced for what he is.

Nationally probably not competitive in halter anyway. It will depend how he finishes out as far as driving capeability, I would lean to a lower headed country pleasure because of the thickness of his neck and throatlatch.

Lyn