Fitting Help...

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

My horse is not the spindly legged arab type. I just think it looks stupid to fit him like an Arab. Here's my question:

I show mainly pinto, but the competition is pretty stiff. I want to show AMHR as well. Can I fit my guy like a QH? With the traditional sized bridle path, and a banded, shorter mane? Or would that just be a big no-no and totally out of style and I would look like an idiot? Are there AMHR rules against it? Would I just plain be laughed at? I just don't think my horse is Arab like.





I know he's a tad chunky. Its a long story, but he's lost well over 150 lbs. His belly muscles and topline are slowing "getting there" - they were stretched by his "beer gut" LOL

 

[disneyhorse]

I like the fancy looking ones... But your guy looks pretty good to me! You can show him however you like... AMHR is pretty laid back if you are clean and tasteful.

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

Ok, thanks. I personally don't like the Arab-y ones they all look bug eyed to me (no offense to the people who like the arab ones!) , I love my mini "QH" with a bit of meat on his bones, and the judges do too I always showed stock breeds before minis, so it just feels wrong to fit a horse so gorgeous as a stock horse like an Arab!

 

[MiniNHF]

I think I read in the rule book for "R" the other day you can use any type of halter so it doesnt have to be the cable one. I think your boy as you said would look good outfitted in the QH style vs the Arab style halters. I think he looks fine with the halter he has on in the photos. Also I think the only thing you cant do to the mane is roach it completely as far as cutting it etc.

Every horse big or small is built different. I had a very well bred QH mare that had a throw back to an arabian; she was gorgeous but very petite and had tiny feet but had the athletic drive like a QH; in the end she made an excellent eventing horse.

 

[targetsmom]

I don't think you can roach the mane (check the rule books) but you could thin and trim it to look like a QH mane. I don't know if I would band it, but just see how it looks shorter. We found a halter at one of the mini tack suppliers (Star Lake or Ozark I think) that has silver on the noseband and rounded sides. It is not a "cable" halter and we find that it looks even better than a cable or QH style halter on some of our minis. Another suggestion ( although I realize you didn't ask for this) is to try some Remission to get some more of the weight off and maybe some neck sweats. Good luck with him at Pinto and AMHR - those are our favorite shows too.

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

I've actually considered remission. Please tell me more! I refuse to sweat. You won't talk me into that. How do you use remission? Where do I get it?

 

[targetsmom]

There was another thread on here this week about Quiessence which is pretty much the same thing. I use Remission and buy it on-line (e.g. Valley Vet or similar) for about $25 for a container that lasts a very long time. The real danger with an overweight horse and/or one with a cresty neck is they are at high risk of founder. My first horse that I had 50+ years ago had a heavy crest and she foundered over and over again. I DO NOT want to go there again... it was horrible. One of our minis has a cresty neck although she is not overweight and she was tested to be insulin resistant. She is fed NO grass, only a low starch hay, molasses-free beet pulp, a low starch grain, and her Remission. But she is also a great all-around show mare and earned Pinto Open Supreme Champion #248 last year after 8 years of showing.

I keep Princess in neck sweats just about 24/7 and I really don't see a problem with them. To me, they are a bit like us having to wear clothes - maybe a bit restrictive, but you get used to them!!

ETA: she is out in turnout (dry lot) with her equine buddies and yes they do sometimes take her clothes off. I agree that the way some show horses are treated is.. well, let's say I like mine where I can keep an eye on them. We each have to make the decisions that are right for us - no one solution for everyone.

 

[Norah]

not sure if this topic is about founder , neck sweats , or finding the right halter for your horse. Your horse looks fine , for his body type ... some of us humans have long skinny legs , are 5,9" and slender , some of us are 5 3" stocky , .... we all look nice. Look at your horse , and work with what you have , and know that your horse is very pretty ! will he compete with the ultra refined super skinny ones that are kept as a "show horse" ... probably not , because the judges seem to prefer the "vogue" twiggy horses lol

show him western, and dont compete with the others , just show him the best you can and be proud of him -her .

My own personal expierence is that I dont want to lock my horse in a stall 24x7 so he wont break a tail hair , and I dont want to starve him into a refined little horse that is so hungry that he eats his shavings ....( dont act suprised I see this at the shows all the time , horse wrapped up to his eyeballs in sweats on a hot day and left in the stall with no food or water and a muzzle )

so be proud of him, because he is very nice . I also let my bridal path grow out , and went a bit more Western with my horse... it was my way of saying this is how he was made , and he looks beautiful in his own way , big bones and all

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

The crest is half of what it was. Like I said, he is a rescue. I want him to lose more weight, but I want to do it the right healthy way. It took him 6 yes to get in the grotesque condition he was, it will take awhile for him to slim all the way down. He has not foundered under my care, is on a dry lot, etc.

I refuse to sweat. Sorry. I don't like to be sweaty, don't think he would either.

He's outside 85% of the time. No issues keeping him clean, paddock picked weekly. sunscreen applied to kewp his coat good. I like to show, but refuse to cram a horse into a stall and blow their mind to do it. Only inside in bad or extreme weather.

I know he's gorgeous! I wouldn't trade him for a spindly legged bug eyed one! However I just don't think fitting him like an Arab does his sexyness justice! I don't look good in yellow. He doesn't look good with a lomg bridle pth and cable halter. He would so rock a QH look, just wanted to know how the judges would take it.

 

[romewhip]

I am a total noob when it comes to what is right and wrong, so I have no opinion on what the judges would like but I personally would love to see a little more variety in the halter classes. I'd love to see a sturdier built horse fitted up like a QH, instead of trying to make it something they just don't really match. A nice tidy stock horse mane with a short bridle path and stock horse tail would look so nice on your horse.

On another thread I asked about pinto halter classes because I don't want to show my pony in a cable halter with a long bridle path. I think we'll try it, after reviewing rules- we may not win but he'll get good travel experience and we'll go in fit, clean, groomed, and probably braided.

 

[MiniNHF]

Your boy has the head for the "normal" styled halters so I would go with it. Ive seen some miniatures that dont look good in a full cable halter and ive seen ones that dont look good in a "normal" styled halter, so I think it all depends on the structure of the horses head. Same with colors of horses equipment, some coat colors dont look good with certain colors.

 

[amysue]

When showing a horse in halter you must show the horse off in a way that best compliments his/her natural look and capabilities. So, if he looks like a quarter horse, groom and tack him like a quarter horse. You dress the part too. If he looked like an arab, then you would want to use a cable halter and wear saddleseat getup. I think he is handsome. I do not believe that he can have a roached mane, you would have to check the rulebook. I think that it is not allowed though because I had to shave off one of my colts' manes this spring because he had a huge knot that was pulling at his skin and it was causing a sore, so I shaved it and a client of mine was like "omg you can't show him like that" and I was all like "I don't care I'm not showing him" and I never checked the rule book to make sure. Your horse's mane looks nice long and well groomed, so I wouldn't band it, only because it may make his neck look chunky or like it does to some full-sized horses, it may make his neck look like it does not match his body(jmo). I think the photo you posted looks great.