Does he look confirmationaly correct?

[Leeana]

Okay here is my 5-year-old Classic gelding who stands in at 38''.

This is the best picture i could find of him and its from his first show, i think it gives you a pretty good view. Do you see any confirmation faults or anything that he needs work on? Weight? Neck? ext ..

(I know his ears are back, they perk up in the ring so i dont worry about that)

I appreciate anyones opinions,

I have my own views on him and what we need to work on, but i'm interested in what other see.

Leeana H.

 

[Colagirl]

It looks so uncomfortable to stand like that no wonder his ears are back :lol: I`m not an expert so could be way wrong here but are his knees a bit over or is it just the angle of the photo??

 

[Jess P]

I am not a shetland person but...

He does look over at the knees, it could be the photo. I think he is too far stretched out. Bring him in a bit more, the poor boy looks like he is going to pull his stomach muscles! He appears to toe in in the back. His butt is a bit too high, because if it is high when he is stretched out, it must be higher when his legs are back under him.

I do love his neck and the way it ties in!

 

[kaykay]

this is a great example of a picture taken at a bad angle and what it can make a great looking horse look like. I have seen royal up close and personal and he is not over at the knee

And this pic doesnt show what a beautiful head and eye he has. Also keep in mind that shetlands do show more stretched then a miniature although to me in this picture his back legs are too far behind him.

Attributes on this horse

Beautiful head, neck and throatlatch

Nice short topline (tight back) and long underline

Nice deep barrel (shows room for big lungs and heart etc)

The biggest fault I personally find on Royal is his upright shoulder and that shows when he moves. Horses with an upright shoulder dont have a nice long stride. Theirs tends to be shorter and choppier.

Ps conformationally or conformation

 

[Leeana]

I am not a shetland person but...
He does look over at the knees, it could be the photo. I think he is too far stretched out. Bring him in a bit more, the poor boy looks like he is going to pull his stomach muscles! He appears to toe in in the back. His butt is a bit too high, because if it is high when he is stretched out, it must be higher when his legs are back under him.

Shetlands show stretched, Royal is one of those horses that stretch naturally, basically you say stretch and he will stretch by himself ...i do think he should go in a hoof length or two, i wouldnt show him this stretched though ..this was just us snapping pictures.

Also im not seeing his butt being high ...?

Kay, i was talking to the judge and i asked her about his movement and she told me almost the same thing you just said. I've said it before and i will say it agian, i cant take a decent photo to save my life :lol:.

The knee thing was also getting me, when i look at him outside he doesnt look over at the knee and then i look at his pictures and he does. I've spent so much time just staring at pictures of my royal and my other horses and it gets confusing after some time lol.

Thanks everyone!

Leeana H.

 

[kaykay]

leanna that judge was really great! I feel she was one of the most fair judges i have ever shown under. And I loved that she always took the time to talk to people who wanted advice. Now thats a judge!! I will for sure look for shows shes judging at!!

Just always keep in mind that there are NO PERFECT HORSES. I think Royal is an oustanding gelding!

 

[Jess P]

See?

I told you I'm not a shetland person (although I do admire them) :lol:. I do agree that he needs to take it in a few steps because from what I have seen from other shetlands he is too far out.

I am still learning, so I do make mistakes but the angle is not great which is why I saw those things.

He is beautiful and I hope you continue working with him and showing him, as I saw him on the sale board....

 

[Colagirl]

Isnt it amazing how a photo can make a good horse look like he has faults!! I`m rubbish at taking pics too and have often had to go running out to the barn to see if the fault in the photo really is there!! ha ha.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I have always liked this gelding a lot so I admit my bias at the start...but, I can see what people are talking about- he is too stretched, even allowing for the fact that they are shown this way.

What I would suggest is you get him stood up as you want him then get someone else to photograph him, and then stand him up, as a Mini would be shown, and do the same and then strength out by increments, taking pics each time, until you have covered it right back to where he is in the photo.

That way you can see what others in the ring see, and what we, who are showing the horse, never see.

What would REALLY help you, as a future and ongoing aid, would be to get the biggest mirror you can, a garage sale or a thrift shop (you could ask them to hold any they get for you ) would bring it in at affordable.

I am looking out for one for myself, right now.

This way we would be able to judge our horses all the time and, with a little practise, we would also be able to judge them trotting towards us , too.

I do not think he is over at the knee- I think you need to get his feet trimmed differently- just a thought, but as he is also a little toed out behind, and I know he does not, I would suspect the foot person!!

I agre with Kay about the shoulder but, there are a few "wheezes" that you can use, even at his age (ie not a baby) that will help him learn to extend his leg a little.

Obviously he will never extend like an Arab, but, hey, he's not an Arab so why worry??

He's a lovely little gelding, now, when are you starting his harness career????

 

[Leeana]

I never thought of getting a mirror, actually thinking about it ..we have a large one out at my brothers house that has been in storage since i was a baby. He moved months ago so i will have to check with him and see if they took it with them, i am deffently going to start looking into that!

He's a lovely little gelding, now, when are you starting his harness career????

I've already started looking into that actually. I already know he has country pleasure movement but what i PERSONALLY would like to see him try is roadster, he would do best with roadster. But if he was going to start some driving classes i would get him in Country Pleasure. He drives nicely and i've put allot of ground driving hours on him since i got him from Nicole and he has been in the cart multiple times and has done very well. I just dont have a cart that i would take him into the ring in (we have a easy entry cart that is okay to drive him in sometimes, but its a bit small ..hes refined enough for it but if i were taking him into the ring it would need to be larger). Also lack there of a actual show cart.

If i had some extra money at the moment i would like to get him to a trainer for 2 or 3 months and get him (and i) trained. I wouldnt even know where to start teaching him a extended trot, working trot and all the fancy stuff. Currently he can walk and trot slowly and i wish i could teach him all the fancy trotting but if i cant do it right im not going to do it at all, i dont want him to remember the wrong way i taught him if someone else is going to train him the right way.

What i'm looking into at the moment is an Obsticle Driving class at our local fair toward the end of Aug. I figure its simple and they have used the same pattern for the past 4yrs. Nothing hard at all (mailbox, cones, pivot or keyhole, back into the barn and a few small other things that he could handle) ...thats all it is, they dont do any water hazzards ext. Plus the fair is about 5 miles away, i can take him to the arena anytime i want and get him in there and drive him and go over the pattern there.

I really wanted to see if Mike McCabe would work with him some, but at the past clinic he said that he was getting out of training others horses. I might call Mike or email him and see if he could give me some tips or if he would even go for working with him (and me

: ) a day or so.

Agian, thank you all!

Leeana H.

 

[alphahorses]

He's not over at the knees .. he's just not "flat knee'd" ... i.e. not tied in tight at the knees .. there is a difference and as many have already pointed out, a bad angle in a photo can make things look different from what they really are.