Critique - My freebie horse (Pedigree Added)

[WSL]

I hope this works - first time I’ve done the critique thing on here so I apologize in advance for any faux pas! First of all, I have only hunted once in my life. I was a PC-er at the time and had an absolute blast! I lost my once in a lifetime gelding in 2006 due to ehrlichia. He was about 29 and in excellent health up until 2 days before he died. I was and still am heartbroken from the loss and have not been as involved in horses due to this and finishing college. Anyway, the day my guy died, my aunt and uncle called me from MO and said that I could have Cody. He was originally bought for my grandpa as a pleasure/trail horse but my grandpa isn’t able to ride much anymore. They purchased him for less than $500 as a skinny little weanling at a sale because he was “flashy” and had a nice temperament. They were just starting to get into horses at the time and did not know much at all. They ended up getting some guidance from other knowledgeable horse people and now have reining horses that are of nice quality and their stud is a fairly nice show horse for them. Anywho, I had ridden him a bit the summer before I moved to WI (a year before they gave him to me) and he was an absolute doll. He was green broke as a young horse by a good western trainer specializing in reined cowhorses but then put out to pasture for a few years. These pics are from one of the first times I rode him (only had about 15 rides before I had to move). I had lunged him for a day or two before I started riding him and he was just as good as can be. He was a bit rusty but as good as gold! He is around 6 or 7 in these pics.

On to my main point - I will be moving back to the KS/MO area late this fall and will be starting to ride again!! I have only hit the trails a few times on borrowed horses since my boy died, so this is kind of like starting over. We will probably put him with a trainer for another 30 days as a refresher and then I plan to start again with my new partner. I am NOT looking for a horse that I can show at “A” shows, just local. I would like to be able to jump, do a little bit of XC, and maybe the occasional hunt or even just hilltopping. Really not looking do anything much over 3’. Do you think this horse could have any potential for this? Obviously we have to find out if he can jump first. He is about 15 hands, maybe a hair over, 9 years old, and is a QH with performance lines (cutting mainly). He is not what I would chose for a top show prospect but as they say - don’t look a gift horse in the mouth! I am posting on this forum because I’m a little scared to even put the pics up on the H/J forum.:eek: Please excuse the less than pro quality pics - my mom was taking them and it was right after we got the horse. My arms/hands look horrid but I swear I don’t usually ride like that. It was our first time trotting and I was trying to be extra careful to not bump him and then in the walking pic I was adjusting reins (I look like a moron:lol:). I don’t claim to be the best western rider!

What I see:
First off, his feet were horribly long in the toe and low in the heel when I started working with him. The farrier hadn’t been out yet in when these pics were taken and he had previously been on pasture 24/7 with a sizeable herd of broodmares at my uncle’s farm - just the basics for him. He is standing under himself funny in the front and looks somewhat back at the knee but I think some of this is due to the foot issue as I don’t remember it being like that in person. He is a bit light on bone but then again, he isn’t a huge horse. More of a hony! He is a slight bit downhill but not as much as he appears in the one pic. Maybe a hair long in the back? Pretty average shoulder and his neck could be a bit more refined and higher set. I don’t know what it is about him though because I still think he is kind of cute! I may be wrong but for a small horse, I think he is a nice length from the point of his hip to the point of the buttock. He has a personality to die for - sensible, calm, kind, and he is a people horse. He will leave his buddies to come see you because he would rather be loved on.

Ok, enough rambling. Sorry about that. Here is the link to his album. (I hope?)

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/iamwhitneyiam/Horses/Cody%20-%20Critique/?albumview=slideshow

[WSL]

After the H/J dress code post - I am feeling really embarrassed about my choice of attire & lack of helmet! To my defense - that is our old farm, so I can “technically” wear whatever I want and I am shamelessly rocking the good old Mission Valley PC polo, complete with the Greg Best autograph on the back!:D:D Did a clinic with him as a pony clubber and it was one of the neatest memories of my life. And yes, I was properly turned out for the clinic!:lol:

[Frecklefacedfrannie]

I have absolutely no idea about conformation but I do like to trail ride and do foxhunting. In those disciplines, to me, the mose important part of the horse is the brain. Sounds like this horse has the most important aspect. If speed is not the issue, as you will be fine hilltopping if necessary, the rest all comes out in the wash.
Free horse with a good brain, healthy. You are the WINNER!
Congratulations.
Fran

[strawberry_roan]

Get him in shape and see how it goes! He looks very nice and hopefully will make up into a great foxhunter. Get him out on the trails and with other horses and give it a go. My first hunt horse had been a barrel racer–she was so handy out in the huntfield! I think it is great if the horse has some western training. Good luck! :)

[wateryglen]

woooohoooo!

We, on this forum, care less about how a horse LOOKS and care more about how a horse DOES. I’m sure he’ll do fine. Just do it! Go for it!! Have fun!! and who cares what THEY think!!! It’s what YOU think that matters. I thing QH’s are great fieldhunters; well most breeds are! Sometimes we riders overthink it. Foxhunting is about fun! Be part of it!!

[SLW]

Photos don’t load for me since I’m on dial up due to the storms of the week jacking w/ our wireless internet provider. That being said, the brains are 90% of the hunt horse operation, the remaining 10% is comfort and looks. The caveot being the comfort of the ride the horse provides which might be important to a rider w/ bad knees or hips. Sure, we would all love to own a Currier & Ives type TB that hunts in any flight on the buckle but the reality is, we work with what we have. If your guy can mentally handle hunting the rest will fall into place.

I describe my own hony as this “She has the brains of Condolezza Rice, handles like a Ferrari but has the suspension of Fred Flintstones car.” She’s a rough ride but we arrive safe, tidy and most importantly, happy!

[HFMini]

He looks like a cutie to me! I’m certainly no expert, but he has a nice shoulder, cute face, and clean legs. Too much knee action for AA hunters, but that isn’t what you want anyways. And I actually LOVE his neck

[WSL]

Thank you everyone! I appreciate the kind responses and positive encouragement! SLW - I LOVE your analogy! LOL, that is hilarious! So does anyone see anything that looks like a potential soundness issue or any major performance limiting conformation issues? I know that hunting can cause some wear on the legs and to me, he isn’t “bad” but not what I would look for exactly. I will say this, he has never been unsound because in reality he has not done much. I would say less than 2 months of riding in his entire life which is why I was so surprised that he was so mellow about being ridden after 2+ yrs off. I heard a rumor when they purchased him as a weanling that his brother or half brother did have some issues due to long, sloping pasterns but I am sure he was a western performance horse (cutting or other cow work I suspect) and was started and worked pretty hard as a youngster and was aiming for futurities. I am planning to try to do a little more homework and find out from my aunt who his breeder was, etc. I am trying not to get my hopes up too much but I will be honest with you - I would love to have a horse that could do the local shows. If not, he will make a lovely trail horse and I may loan him to a therapeutic riding school at some point. I am an instructor in training at one currently and he would likely do well at it.

[Beverley]

Hard to tell if he is truly back at the knee or just a victim of long toes, my impression is mostly the latter. Pasterns look a tad long which can lead to greater wear and tear in some horses- on the other hand I had a long pasterned mare that STARTED hunting at age 26 (just hilltopping, she was never a jumping horse).

I’d say on the whole though he looks like a really nice sort of horse, I’d go for it. My 5 yo has a really ugly front end- straight shoulders and knock knees- and so I never intend to jump him (except I sort of forgot to tell him that, he happily jumps sagebrush and ditches out hunting). But out here in the west, there are few hunt countries with jumps anyway, and where there is paneled country, gates are nearby- so it doesn’t slow me down any! Besides which, it’s awfully nice to hunt a horse pretty much on the buckle at any speed- he’s figured the game out quickly, and likes it.

One of the many mysteries of horses is, you can have a horse with perfect conformation that NEVER seems to stay sound for long, and one that has every major flaw in the book that will putter along happily for decades, as though someone forgot to tell the horse that he/she shouldn’t be able to ‘do that’ (whatever ‘that’ might be). As has been noted, the most important thing about a good hunting horse is its brain.

Have fun, and keep us posted on your adventures!

[Painted_Wings]

He’s very cute and looks like he has a nice neck. If he has a good brain he’ll do well for you.

[WSL]

Thank you all! I think he really has a great mind from what little experience I had with him. The only “naughty” thing he ever did was the occasional little crowhop (1 or 2) on the longe line the first couple days. All I had to do was grumble at him and give the line a little tug and he was over it. I figured I could live with that considering he hadn’t even had a saddle on in a couple of years. We never did more than 15-20 min on the line either. He just didn’t need it (except for his waistline but then again since I haven’t been riding, I could too ;)). He’s so mellow that he is borderline lazy but then again so was my old guy and he was like riding a freight train on a hunt. Looonnng story but the short of it is that my guy and another PC-er’s horse were getting too strong for us to manage right off the bat (mine was actually bred to race but the breeder decided he was too “pretty” so he became her Jumper) so we held them back. Well, the rest of the hunt took off and we just figured we would let the horses quiet down and then catch back up. Riiiigggghhhht… Well, we were lost for 2 hours, then got separated from each other but thankfully ended up rejoining the rest of the field a bit later. Our parents were terrified, obviously, when they noticed that the only buckskin and only loud B&W paint were nowhere to be found. The kicker is that I was only SUPPOSED to be hilltopping but at the beginning of the hunt, little fearless speed demon with the “point us at it and we’ll jump it” attitude, decides to tell the riders in charge of the PC-ers that she wants to go with the big kids and ride with the hunt. They let me!! It was still an absolute blast! Come to find out later, my gelding had been hunted before and his old owner/breeder (I have nothing but respect for her and she is very good) had hunted him with Ace and STILL had a hard time holding him. This sounds terrible but for the Jumpers and the hunt, he went in a full cheek copper double twisted wire snaffle and it was like riding in a hackamore. :eek: So… The quiet ones can fool you sometimes, but I’m hoping that this guy is maybe a wee bit less inclined to feel that he must prove that he could have been the next Secretariat!!

“No, really, we don’t HAVE to be in front of everyone else. You really will not get laughed at by all the other horses if you stay back here, I promise. Seriously! I’m sure! You may have wanted to be a racehorse as a colt but you almost 20 and you are NOT one now dammit!! Ok thats it - we are WALKING now - remember what that was?!?! NOOOO, its the OTHER 4 beat gait!!!”

[mortebella]

LOL, WSL, your old guy’s stream of consciousness on the hunt sounds exactly the way I imagine mine would if I ever got brave enough to take him on one (he’s only been a show ring boy all his life.) I just got him last fall, and I think I’m the first person to ever ride him in the pasture (and he’s 16 now, too) - holy smokes, I figured out why pretty fast, but it sure is fun! He is an AQH too, not even racing bred (his sire was a Superior Halter Horse) and I had gotten rid of the double twisted wire they had on him to keep him rated over jumps - I felt it was doing more harm than good. But out in the back field, I discovered a lot about “world’s fastest horse over a quarter mile” and “fastest acceleration time from the standstill.” That’s not a bunch of marketing hype!! Understand, I rode off the track TB’s from the time I was 9 or 10 years old - did NOT prepare me for this guy. I came back in the barn, grinning and shaking from head to toe, and the barn owner rolled her eyes and said, “I told you he was POWERFUL, didn’t I?”

That said, I’m now a firm believer in how sane the QH is. My dear boy has never once run into anything that would hurt us. And when push comes to shove, he’s always found his brakes in time. After about my third try riding him in the open, he let me turn him and pull him up. How teachable is that? For stamina, even when he was way unfit and carrying far too much excess weight (when I first got him) I’d match him against any TB I ever rode for “no-quit” ethic. Mind, he’s not a young horse. I am a total advocate of the QH for a serious working hunter. I believe they tend on the hardy side as far as soundness goes. The only thing that plagues them systematically is the gene that comes with the Impressive bloodline.

I am not scared as a rule by sloping pasterns as long as they’re not “floppy.” Weak, I guess I’m trying to say. If they’re springy and strong, a slope can be an asset as opposed to too upright. Better ride. The only problem I saw has been addressed, his forelegs standing a little too far back. I really liked his hind end and his head was very pretty. I think your biggest hurdle (no pun intended) is his apptitude for jumping is unknown at this point. But QH’s generally pack a punch over the jumps due to their builds. He looks quite a bit like my boy in length of back to leg ratio. If you’re putting him with a trainer I’d say your money would be best spent sending him to someone who could get him a good start over the fences since he doesn’t seem to have any other issues. And since you saved a pile of money on purchase price, hey!

Absolute best of luck with your new partner!!! May he carry you long and with a song in your heart.

[Rt66Kix]

I think he looks like a real sweetheart! Keep his heels low, but back his toes up. That will go a looooong way to keeping him sound, regardless of other conformation issues. He’ll also land heel first that way, and it will be a smoother ride for you.

Good luck!

[WSL]

Thank you Rt66Kix and mortebella! I will keep the trimming advice in mind as well.

Mortebella - The QHs are so fun to just take out and ride at full gallop across a field! When I was a kid, I was riding my old guy at full tilt across a field by our farm and my friend’s mom was driving on the road parallel to me. She said she had been pacing me and when she looked at the speedometer, she was doing 38 MPH! This was after riding several miles and then racing my friend and his brother on their horses. He was in his late teens at the time. That horse just loved to run, it was in his blood. The soundness aspect is a great bonus!

I just spoke with my mom tonight and she said his purchase price was closer to $200!!!:eek: I just think it is amazing that a cute guy like that didn’t generate any more interest. I remember him as a weanling though - he was pretty nice. What stands out the most in my mind is that he looked like an honest to God TB weanling. Not quite as big but was quite refined and elegant and very leggy.

[WSL]

F![](gured I’d add a pic of his face and that big blaze! His neck really isn’t as thick as it looks here due to the angle.

[IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/iamwhitneyiam/Horses/Cody%20-%20Critique/Cody-Face.jpg)

[scpezold]

WSL congratulations on the new guy! You do know there is no such thing as a “free horse” :lol: He is so cute and has great markings but it is definitely about the brain (what little I know but am learning about the sport). QH are great and usually have the substantial bone to handle the rigors of the terrain. How does he do around dogs? Many dogs? My guy (if I can ever get him out hunting) came from a previous home of 50 something other horses and almost as many dogs :eek:. I feel this has worked in our favor however just to make sure my guy will be boarding for a month or so where the hounds are kenneled. That way he can get used to the chaos and hopefully I will have very little surprises once the hounds are released with me on his back. We are also going to do hound exercises to help as well. Good luck with him. A safe, sane, sound horse in the hunt field is worth their weight in gold.

[WSL]

I got a hold of my guy’s registered name and pedigree. Any QH people out there that have any input on his breeding? Have you known any descendants from these horses that could jump? I know several names on there and I was kind of suprised that a horse that cost just over $200 weanling actually had anything recognizable at all.

http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/poco+tivio+clm

P.S. - Any recommendations for a show name? I’m not a fan his registered name at all!:eek: His barn name is Cody.

[Griffyn]

Can I just say hes cute as all heck with his pink nose?

1. You are all excited about a horse. After losing your pal and drifting without- I’d say if you can get excited you are ready.
2. In spite of conformation, “breeding” and everything else-- some horses just jump. I know a couple of QH here in WI that should not be able to trot over a broomstick with their pleasure pedigrees- but they got turned on and LOVE IT.
3. He seems to be sound AND sane. Harder than you’d think to find.
   4.If you decide you dont love him, well, he should have miles and training- all positives for him to get a good home after you.
   YOU are doing a good thing for HIM, and he is doing something great for your soul. ENJOY HIM, and good luck!

[Beverley]

In my experience, Poco Bueno descendants (including my 5 yo)- and the Hancock lines as well- will pretty much do anything you want them to do. My 5 yo has hunted though I’ll never school him over fences- conformation issues on the front end. On the other hand he did his first parade last week, and thought that the adoring crowds, the applause, the oohs and ahs, were a fine thing indeed. Disclaimer though, I have a working theory that he and my Great Dane are twins separated at birth.