Question about mini conformation photos

[circlesinthesand]

I never understood (and/or was never given a valid reason) this about Arabian halter and I see it in alot of photographs of mini's as well. Why are they set up with their hind feet camped out? Is there a purpose? With stock horses we like them nice and square and standing under themselves. I just don't get the stretched out look at all but there must be a reason since I see it so often. If some one would please explain it to me I'd appreciate it!

TIA,

Jen

 

[Riverrose28]

In AMHR they prefer the stretched look, it does level out the top line, in AMHA they are shown more quarter horse type, square. If you show both registries and train your horse to stretch, then you may need to move the hind legs in to get a more square stance so as not to be penilized. Some horses will assume the stretched stance, even in candid shots because they are trained to stand that way. Hope this helps, maybe someone else will chime in with their opinion.

 

[Mr.T]

I don't understand this either. In the rule books they show acceptable being squared and unacceptable as being parked out yet most horses you see winning are overly stretched out. I'm looking forward to an answer.

 

[disneyhorse]

A lot of breeds that focus on driving or "pretty" or "flashy moving" will park the horse out (stretch) in halter because it will drop the croup a little making the horse look "uphill" (the withers higher than the croup).

Stock horses are often more downhill in conformation (although any horse should aim for pretty level) so standing square is just fine. Many of them are also sickle hocked or have low set tails, which also doesn't look attractive when the horse is stretched.

Therefore, since many minis mimic an Arabian/Morgan/Shetland in type and conformation, you will see halters and show ring behavior similar. You don't see liberty classes for quarter horses after all....

AMHA requests a horse to stand more square than AMHR which just states to show your horse to its best advantage.

 

[circlesinthesand]

OK, I do understand that they're more like Arabian shows that was pretty obvious.

And making the horse look uphill makes more sense than the previous answers I've been given but then doesn't that give a 'false' read to the judge? if a horse is not already uphill, stretching him out will only lower his hind end...it will not make the horse more uphill. Shouldn't the judge be able to notice that?

What is the explanation of a 'level' topline? this is also something we don't use in stock horse conformation terms. Is this just meaning level out the withers? or are they talking about flattening out the croup as well? what's the benefit of the high tail set? Aside from aesthetics for those that prefer Arabians? Tailsets are really not discussed in stock horses. Typically they're lower because the hips are longer. The longer hip is for the power in a take off or roll back or stop. It has a purpose. TB's are not built this way because they're bred for stride and distance, not for quick bursts of speed. So I'm trying to understand what's ideal in a mini.

I'm just trying to get a grip on all this and there are some fundamental differences that I don't quite get yet. I never showed our drafts, we only evaluated them for strength pulling not 'park' types at all so all these terms, while not new, are not something I fully understand the purpose behind.

Thanks!

 

[LittleBittyBritches]

I don't understand this either. In the rule books they show acceptable being squared and unacceptable as being parked out yet most horses you see winning are overly stretched out. I'm looking forward to an answer.

I too have read this in the rulebook, and dont understand why it is allowed. Seems like what I'm seeing, is to cover a "flaw" or imperfection. What if the horse that isnt camped out has better confirmation, but the stretched horse wins because it "falsely" looks better that way. Just seems to be contradicting to the whole reason of judging halter horses....I dont know maybe its just me.

 

[Minimor]

Quite honestly the stretched stance does not really hide many flaws. It the horse has a short hip or a dropped off rear end or low tail set or sickle hocks...a stretched stance will not hide any of those things. In actual fact a stretched pose will probably make the horse look worse than he wood if he were stood square.

A judge worth his salt should be able to judge conformation even if the hose is parked out. All the pose does is smooth things out a little--it does not disguise faults. If you aren't used to the stance then it is probably hard to look beyond that stance and see the conformation. For those of us familiar with the show type breeds, conformation is obvious when the horse stands parked out.

In the show type breeds we like a long level croup as it contributes to a long flowing trot stride. Later when I am on my computer and not on this phone I will post a picture of what I consider good show horse conformation. He has a wonderful hip and wonderful movement-he can really get under himself and MOVE. He looks good when stood square but a stretched pose really gives him a professional, polished look. He can jump too--he can jump very very well. So definitely his conformation is what I like in a show horse.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

In AMHR they are suppose to be square. But I think with all the shetlands showing in R now you see them more stretched out then they should, but its the judges responsibility to ask the exhibitor to square up but many don't. I seen a beautiful stallion showed at Nationals a couple of years ago and the owner just had him so stretched out it was really a huge disadvantage to the horse. He still placed but instead of being in the Top 5 that he deserved he was placed at the bottom and I think if he was squared up he would have placed better. He looked awesome when the owner wasn't showing him when the judges weren't looking and he was all squared up and had so much presence

Also these minis are shown more like an Arabian then as a stock type class where you would have them square and move around the horse, also the Arabian type halter shows off their head better then a western show halter would.

 

[LittleBittyBritches]

In AMHR they are suppose to be square. But I think with all the shetlands showing in R now you see them more stretched out then they should, but its the judges responsibility to ask the exhibitor to square up but many don't. I seen a beautiful stallion showed at Nationals a couple of years ago and the owner just had him so stretched out it was really a huge disadvantage to the horse. He still placed but instead of being in the Top 5 that he deserved he was placed at the bottom and I think if he was squared up he would have placed better. He looked awesome when the owner wasn't showing him when the judges weren't looking and he was all squared up and had so much presence

Also these minis are shown more like an Arabian then as a stock type class where you would have them square and move around the horse, also the Arabian type halter shows off their head better then a western show halter would.

 

[susanne]

My horse loves to stretch and learned to do it all on his own. The only reason we show is because he's a big show-off who loves the attention, so I let him do it. If you drove into our driveway today, you'd see a very muddy, partially shed-out horse, all parked out and checking to see if you are looking at him. Who am I to argue?

 

[Lewella]

In AMHR they are suppose to be square. But I think with all the shetlands showing in R now you see them more stretched out then they should, but its the judges responsibility to ask the exhibitor to square up but many don't.

From the AMHR Halter rules:

B. The Miniature Horse is to be shown to its best advantage. It is preferred that the horse stand square. The Judge at his or her discretion may ask to have the horse stand square, which means all four feet are flat on the ground and at least one front and one rear cannon bone perpendicular to the ground.

Interestingly, the Classic Shetland Halter rule is identical.