obviously not legs
[QUOTE=caffeinated;2957819]
The ad photo “taken as a 2 year old” is quite photoshopped, but the other ones I think are real.
damnit, you got me looking again.[/QUOTE]
The other ones were the ones I was referring too!! WOW!
So, how to they get these horses to look so “blown up”? Do they actually use steriods, or could it possibly be natural?
Please tell me that there are still functional QHs being bred, too. If this is the future of the breed, what a loss. I really liked the QHs of my youth. Now this seems to be the only type that I see advertised for stud anymore. 
Quote from the sales page …
“On her papers, Ima Cool Skip is the sire of three of the four grandparents in her pedigree”.
And this is a good thing HOW?
They are deliberately breeding a horse with the potential for HYPP! Are they NUTS? And then INBREEDING?
I need some mind bleach.
I’ve read that these horses have a kind of double muscling genetically…I once saw an explanation of it existing in certain cattle breeds too.
Repellent.
Dee
OK I’m going to defend the AQHA - not that I think any of you are bashing the breed but individuals I know - but from someone who has showing AQHA and owned QH’s for 13 years now I’m just going to explain. However, I do not endorse all.
Halter horses - They are kept in 65-75 degree barns in order to keep the show coat short short short. They do NOT body clip their show horses, they simply do not allow any winter coat to grow - this also means lights on about 14 -16 hours a day. This is also the reason these horses dont go outside in the winter, although many barns do turnout in the summer and let them get muddy and stanky! Most horses that are kept in all winter go on an indoor hotwalker, or get lunged inside. They do lunge for a long time, because it is all the exercise that horse will get, it also produces more muscle, and sweat defines the muscles. You will also see neck sweats to keep the necks “pencil thin” and a tight throatlatch. The muscle is inheritently bred 99% of the time. Foals pop out with muscle mass. BUUUTTT!!! This is NOT limited to halter horses. Many foundation bred horses are bred, born, and grow with massive natural muscle as well. (** If anyone care to see links ask or google “foundation QH”)
The difference is, foundation QH’s are typically bred for ranch they develop longer thick muscles. Halter horses are bred for standing square, therefore the muscles are specific and since they do not use them in a normal (galloping, working) fashion, the muscles never elongated, stay short and grow out. Halter horses are also fed More Muscle or Fat Cat, and high protein sweet feed. More often than not, its not the size of the feet that puts these guys crippled. (though some crappy lines have 00 feet) it’s HOW they are shod in combination of overweight too young. The feet of a halter horse are modified to be uniform and square with just the perfect degree in angle (aka none) with no regard to the horses conformation. Combine bad shoeing on ANY horse and then add the fact most of them will be close to 1000 lbs by the time they are long yearlings… and there’s your crippling factor.
Now as for pleasure horses, yes crappy trainers use weighted bits, tie heads up, lunge to death. But that fad is seriously going out the door quickly. Many ammy/junior owners will not stand for antics like that anymore.
Hunter Under Saddle horses are at the most risk these days. They are breeding for for height. Anything over 16.2 is a must to win. This results in crossing w/ TB’s who have bad conformation, leaving foals with some craptastic legs. They also keep HUS horses leaner than ideal to make them appear more fluid and elongated.
Now I have owned a former Congress winning halter horse (bought him as a 4 yr old after his win since the market for Aged Geldings in halter is nil), he had NO Impressive blood but due to his shitty feet he was chronically lame at age 8 (luckily I sold him before he had issues. But he did go on to be a nice Children’s Jumper for a while. I then rode and showed another Halter winner (not big time) in Western Pleasure sucessfully for 2 years, he developed navicular at age 9, again No Impressive blood.
My current AQHA is actually Foundation bred 91%. His great-grandsires include Mr. Trouble Step (AQHA Halter Champion), Zippo Pine Bar (AQHA WP Champion) Take Care O Neall (Money Earning in ranch horse events). My gelding has shown in halter, and beat Impressive bred horses. He will show USEF this year as a 3 yr old in undersaddle classes. And next year he’ll hopefully he’ll be doing some ranch work his 4 yr old year as well.
So now that I’ve rambled… I don’t want to stand up for these people but just trying to fill in the blanks… if I can find it I will post a link to a really horribly sad HUS stallion
More often than not, its not the size of the feet that puts these guys crippled. (though some crappy lines have 00 feet) it’s HOW they are shod in combination of overweight too young.
I think the other big component is the whole front end conformation. I’ve seen a lot of pictures of horses with straight shoulders, a tight angle to an almost nonexistent armbone, along with very straight pasterns. To me, that’s a recipe for disaster regardless of foot size- there’s just NO apparatus for shock absorption there, which means a lot of stress and shock on the joints- just asking for lower leg/foot problems, IMO.
Would be interested in the HUS issue- I know I’ve seen at least one stallion that just looked strange, but appeared to be very popular because he was over 17 hands.
What is sad is that it is the people. There are those kinds in every discipline but I think we need to keep it so they are ashamed of what they are doing. The problem is that in the TWH and QH Halter realms too often it is rewarded and that is a stinking shame.
Thanks for shedding some light on an already disturbing topic. The horses naturally have wonderful muscles they should just show them like we do our halter horses…just polish them up and go.
The HYPP thing is disturbing…I can’t get my mind around why you would continue to breed them. I know they are bulkier but come on people.
http://www.hiddenrockranch.com/zippy.html - Almost 20 yr old foundation QH still has muscle definition, and good legs!
http://www.hiddenrockranch.com/bud.html - His foal, my guy, top 2 pics are at 5 weeks (look at the sexy bubble butt!) … and lower pics are at 2/3 weeks.
http://www.hiddenrockranch.com/rocky.html - Their new stallion - if you scroll down to the bottom there is a pic where he looks just as huge as some of those “halter horses”. I’m hoping to buy his foal out of the same mare as my guy this year.
Some other nicer QH’s http://www.runningvranch.com/stallions.html
Just wanted to give everyone an idea that not ALL AQHA people, breeders or disciplines are bad. A lot of these ranch horses easily cross over into the “fancy” events if given the chance and are pretty competitive (as long as there is not a fad involved)
Talk about getting the worst of both TBs and QHs…
Disgusting. He belongs on FHOTD. :dead:
Here is the stallion I was referring to
[QUOTE=eqsiu;2958035]
Talk about getting the worst of both TBs and QHs…[/QUOTE]
I think QHs are great little horses. My friends and I all started out on a QH. We event them, pony club, dabble in dressage (often with comical results) etc. They are much better than the little shithead green ponies that some people buy for their beginner children. It’s just unfortunate that the breed has developed into so many specialized branches. Type wise they should be good working ranch horses that can dabble in other stuff. I am always amused when people are insulted that I point out the 3/4 TB in their 18 hand QH. :yes:
Yes, I know. He moves like crap, has sharkfin withers, spindly legs, and a huge ass. He looks more like a hyena than a horse.
I started showing Quarter Horses before going to hunter/jumper-land and I think that the Performance Halter class is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. The specs for the original halter class are supposed to pick the “ideal” Quarter Horse, but it’s gotten out of hand, so instead of revamping the classes and cracking down on the judging (for the better of the breed), the AQHA makes a new class. A new class that is impossible to judge because, ostensibly, they are looking for the exact same thing that the original halter classes are supposed to reward!
They’ve created a whole new kind of animal that is just judged against itself, not against any breed ideal I’ve ever seen! Not only that, but it pits many different types of horses against each other, and the class will, ultimately, either end up just like the other halter classes (look at the 2007 world champions in those classes) or they will reward horses that have a “name” in other divisions/classes. By trying to avoid pissing off the halter people, the AQHA has dealt a pretty tough blow to the overall longevity of the breed!
I’m very glad that others, too, think that the “new” hunter under saddle horses are pretty scary.
It’s just sad, in my opinion.
[QUOTE=eqsiu;2957471]
DLSD, here we come!
Or bulldog on steroids. Four of their six stallions are HYPP N/H. One of the N/N boys is for sale.[/QUOTE]
HOLY MOTHER MARY OF GOD… I have NEVER seen a horse look like that - are those horses? Those stallions look like they are part bull or something… what an awful life.
heh… someone from litterbox made a picture, that cut off the butt of one of those bulls, then cut off the butt from a big old halter quarter horse, and put them side by side. It was really hard to tell which was which, LOL
[QUOTE=europa;2957223]
Okay I know that I will probably offend someone (and I don’t mean to) but I recently visited a QH Halter Horse barn and I am still mentally damaged from the experience.
WTF is that all about…someone explain this to me![/QUOTE]
Well there is what the halter horse used to be and what it has evolved into (sigh). What it used to be was much like the in hand classes for and discipline today…dressage, hunters etc. It was something to do with young horses destined to be riding horses until they were of riding age. Then along came Impressive. He was massive. He was of course not know to carry the whole HYPP thing at the time. And he won a lot. So everyone (APHA/AQHA) went out and wanted to jump on the bandwagon and breed something that looks like that because it won. SO…now the vast majority are massive horses with bubble butts, frequently straight hocks and teenie tiny feet to not hold all that up. A few of them do in fact go on to make a decent riding horse, but not most of them. They are no longer designed for it. It is no longer a functional riding horse. It is Mr. Universe of horsesdom. (Has anyone ever watched musclebound human guys walk?? Not too athletic looking once they have to move. Same thing. About a year ago or so in the APHA magazine I saw an ad for a halter stallion and his logo was “breed to the halter stallion that you can RIDE!”. I think it’s kind of sad that it is such a big deal that it is a unique advertising point…that you can’t assume the beast is actually rideable! Horses in the stock horse breeds that are working horses (the reining/cutting/barrel racing horses) look nothing like their buddies in the halter ring. The are smallish, athletic and quick.
You should have seen how funny we looked when I was showing my pinto TB colt in APHA halter classes…a halter Paint he ain’t! I just took himm because it was an inexpensive way to get him show miles before Devon and it worked out great for that. How we did depended on the judge. The show that had a hunter judge that day we won first place. The day it was a dyed in the wool stock horse judge we were last!
[QUOTE=RheinlandPfalzSaar;2957779]
Wow. Those websites are freaky, those horses look like bizarre alien horses - how does anyone even think that looks good? I don’t get it at all… Would someone please tell me what exactly a halter horse is and what a WP horse is? I mean is a halter horse a halter horse like and that’s it - they wear a halter? They just stand in a stall all day, look like their on steroids, never see the light of day, don’t get ridden but do go to shows and get bred? I feel so bad for those horses and those little babies they are producing… this has to stop. This is horrible type of abuse.[/QUOTE]
In short, yes to the halter horse, for many of them. WP is another sport that “DE-volved”. It used to be judged on the horse having an easy going gait that was easy to ride. Something suitable to spending long hours comfortably in the saddle on the plains. A relaxed horse goes with it’s head set low (ish). That has a purpose. It DEvolved into the winner dragging it’s nose in the dirt and moving sooo slowly it drags it’s toes in the dirt and shuffles. The AQHA/APHA have done better of late in discouraging this trait that got termed peanut rolling. (The poor horse could roll a peanut along in front of it with it’s shuffling toes). It didn’t used to matter how big the stride of a horse was…all that mattered was that it was easy and comfortable. Some horses moved bigger or faster than others and that was OK. It DEvolved into “the horse that moved the slowest wins”. Gosh, can you imagine HOW LONG it would take a cowboy to get across the prarie at that rate? And his horse would have no toes left when he got there!
So…another intially good thing gone horribly off track.
Those WP horses look so incredibly painful, and totally miserable. If I saw one of my horses looking like that, I would know it was time to do the right thing for it. <flame suit on>
How can anyone WANT their horse to move like it is a SEVERELY crippled animal. That is not pretty. Just sad.
Red Hot Impulse is a WP horse, a very nice mover with a nice owner who really tries hard to place her babies in ‘good’ show homes…not hock & mind wreckers. His colts are slow to mature but tend to stay sound and honest as a result- you can’t push them so they are lasting longer c/o not fitting to baby-race to the show ring approach.
http://redhotimpulse.com/
there are good owners who send horses off to ‘good’ trainers only to have them wrecked. Haven’t you all met some 8 YO 17H warmblood/other fancy breed that’s had his legs jumped off? Abuse is NOT unique to QHs. Careful with those stones.
The Congress HALTER winner I dealt with took third his 2nd year their with his ear mangled from a buddy gnawing on it over the fence. PLENTY of halter horses do get good turnout.
Don’t paint the entire industry with the same brush. It’s narrow minded, wrong headed, and unfair. I could turn around and write off SH breeders as arrogant witches who hate QHs based on this thread. That wouldn’t be right, now would it 
?
