Does she look...

[Mini Wonders]

I know I've posted this before, but I can't find the topic anywhere!! Does this horse look show quality to you? This is an older picture of her and I'll try to get some new ones. She is really good at jumping (she clears hay bales), would she do well in that?? On my last post of her you said she would do well in performance, what all is done in performance? Finally, what features do you look for in a halter horse?

PS: Some of the pics disort her figure!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/zoeleeme/WHATZUP.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/zoeleeme/000_1242.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/zoeleeme/WHATEVER.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v738/zoeleeme/UDIDNT.jpg

 

[disneyhorse]

She looks like a pretty cute little mare! I bet she has some show potential... at the very least just get in there and do it and have fun! She looks healthy and well taken care of!

Andrea

 

[minimama]

Yes, what you were told before was true. She is not a halter horse. But would be fine for the performance classes. Which include, driving, obstacle both in hand and under cart, roadster (fun fun) and jumping.

A halter horse in the shows I go to which has included Nationals usually is very refined in teh head, long neck with a nice tie in top and bottom. Level topline with high tail set. Most judges ar enot looking at teh quarter horse style any longer but more of a sculptured Arab style horse, and this horse leans toward the quarter horse style.

I hope i have not offened but been helpful as that is what I have tried to do.

: :saludando:

 

[susanne]

While halter class may not be her true calling, I would still enter her for the experience. Do you have any local shows, perhaps schooling or fun shows, with less expensive entry fees? If so, I would try her in a variety of classes and see what you and she enjoy and how she does.

 

[Relic]

She looks like an alright horse to me and depending on your area and what type of shows you show in she could do well for you in driving obstacle jumper hunter who knows even liberty and l'd go in halter you never know if yours happens to be the best turned out one there that day and the judge likes that type no loss. We show a performance mare who looks like she should just be out in the field but my younger half feels she can compete and lots of times she's right in there and has many grands and firsts plus judges choice just because she tries and is in great body shape and well groomed. She isn't anywhere near to a halter horse in my eyes but has taken firsts times over the years for a chunky long type competing with ones who go on to the Worlds and do well. lf you condition and get some of the fat of her and groom her up nice with a good halter on and she's well trained and presented why not the idea is to enjoy the ring. Not everyone can show Worlds or Nationals or even wants to so enjoy the local area with her if nothing else. Good luck she is pretty and nicely marked but a tad on the chubby side. :bgrin

 

[Mini Wonders]

Thank you for all your comments!! Yes she is on the chubby side. She's pegnant. I'm really into jumping, but when I go to the shows and jumping class comes up, hardly anybody does it. Why? I've gone to the nationals in Tulsa and it's the same way there. What's liberty?

 

[midnight star stables]

Work her, Work her, work her. Get her in good shape and I think she'll do fine in many local shows! She is in no way, IMO, a National top ten, but I think she'll do pretty good! Also, just enter her in as many classes as possible, see what she LIKES and what she is GOOD at

: She's a nice mare

 

[Marty]

This is a subject that really rips me up.

This is a lovely mare that is obviously very well cared for and much loved. She's also gorgeous in color too.

She's not a halter horse because she is not the "right style" or the "right type" that the judges are looking for now. She's heavy boned. I know this well as I have a few very lovely "not right style" horses in my barn too just like probably 99% of the rest of us here on the forum. They are put together very well indeed and are not "coarse" but are also not "modern enough" and supposidly refined enough for a show and that really sucks the big one. Doesn't mean that their tail set is too low or their legs are crooked, or that their necks are on backwards........

If you want to show this little girl I say go for it. Get her out there and show your brains out! Ribbon or no ribbon, she's stunning.

By the way since she's pregnant I'd be watching out about that jumping and quit that and calm down on the working, and take things very easy with her now. We want her to be very careful about that precious cargo she is carrying.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I am SO with Marty! :aktion033: Your little girl is gorgeous and I get so tired of hearing something that sounds a lot like "Well, she's no prize winner but you can always do performance with her."

: Now I know that's not how it's meant, but that's how it sounds to me a lot of the time despite that knowledge. Do I look at your dainty little halter horses and say "It's pretty, but good gosh what a useless little thing! You can't DO anything with it!" No. I tell you it's a beautiful horse and mean it.

Under the theory that halter horses should represent the ideal of the breed AND form to function, I would agree that a horse that can't hack it in halter is probably a sort of second class citizen. But we all know that style comes into it a lot these days and some things that should be paid attention to aren't. So great, the halter horses are gorgeous. My hypothetical performance horse has a huge heart and a lot of training and can do five different kind of trots. And he doesn't exactly have three ears or two tails or feet sticking out of his ribs. I'd call that "equal but different" and be happy with either. If you've got a horse that can do both, more power to you. You have my admiration- truly. I want one of them! LOL. But so far halter has lost out for me because I find a horse I fall in love with and then do what that horse is built for or best at. And that tends to be performance.

Sorry for that totally off-topic rant, for once I just had to let it out. No, I do not think anyone on this thread was trying to trash talk performance horses intentionally or subconsciously.

: I just needed to get it off my chest so thank you for listening.

:

To be more on-topic, your girl is truly lovely. I'm never sure what to expect when I see threads like this and I said "Wow!" when I opened this one. I love her head and her markings and how neat her color is. She also looks very sweet and is clearly lovingly tended. Her coat and flesh are both in great shape. (Her feet could maybe use a little work though, just my opinion.)

My equine partner is an Arab that my trainer told me over and over would never be a Regional level horse or for that matter very good at western or hunter at all. This was not a negative lady, just a realist who was trying to gently tell me what she saw. I quietly ignored her and kept right on training and you know what? We eventually started winning everything in sight and kept right on winning until I retired him years later. Faith and love can do a lot; starting with an already nice horse like yours can take you even farther.

:

If she likes jumping and leads well she'd be good at it. Performance includes jumping (hunter and jumper both), driving (all sorts of divisions there), obstacle (both driven and in-hand), and liberty. These days they are looking for a very particular outline in halter so what everyone is saying is that your mare is beautiful but not currently in style. So much the loss of the "stylists!" LOL

Leia

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I have to admit I dread coming on these threads- and sometimes I leave very quickly with my mouth taped shut!! - but I do like your mare- she is a very,very nice "sort".

She is sound and she is beautifully marked.

Stop jumping NOW if you have not already done so, and if she is pregnant for this year do NOT start any sort of work regime, please. PLEASE!!!.

OK- put her in halter at local level, she will be better than a lot.

Put her in kids classes if you have a youth handler- she has a kind eye and will do well.

Put her in colour classes- do the Open classes at local shows, the judges are often very favourably inclined to Mini's- especially really nice, well marked ones like your mare.

Put her in Obstacle, Jumping (Driving

: ) at affiliated shows.

When she has weaned the baby, of course, and is ready to start work again.

And, above all...

HAVE FUN!!!!

:

:

:

 

[miniaddiction]

Gosh What a gorgeous mare! She really is pretty.

: I couldnt agree more with Marty, Leia and Fizzy.

I cant wait to see her baby....

 

[Margo_C-T]

EXCELLENT posts from Marty, Jane, and LEIA(girl, I could just HUG you; could use a young lady like you as a grandkid(I have one just a year or so younger than you...!)

Agree that the mare is a NICE looking little individual. Agree that she should be fitter/trimmer if shown, no matter what the classes, BUT, since she's in foal, her 'work' until she delivers should be light(NO jumping, perhaps just some trotting over poles/low cavaletti, for the exercise, now)until after the foal comes-then, she can gradually be put into a serious conditioning regimen. Once her foal is weaned, and she is conditioned and properly trained, show her in anything that appeals to you!!

I HAVE to add that I strongly believe that any judge worth their salt(and IMO, there are numerous who AREN'T...)should be solid enough in their knowledge to be able to recognize conformational excellence, regardless of BODY TYPE.Last time I looked, neither of the miniature registries had "Arabian", or any OTHER breed designation, in their name or standard of excellence. Leia is SO right, about the 'stylists'...and..is our breed, like certain others,to end up with 'high-powered' halter horses who are absolutely unable to 'do' ANYTHING?? Faddishness is SUCH a slippery slope; it is a sad comment on the foresight of any breed when so many hurry like lemmings to jump on the 'currently in vogue' bandwagon. Don't mistake my point-one SHOULD own/breed the type of horse one personally likes best(while knowing enough to be well-aware of what constitutes genuinely correct and functional conformation!)-but to purport that only one 'type' should be favored does the breed as a whole a disservice.