Halter need and trail riding?

[kdow]

[QUOTE=Wnh100;8167528]
Is there anyway to do it from a mobile phone with pictures I have on my iPhone ? Otherwise I will have to wait until tomorrow when I am at work[/QUOTE]

Yup. You can access flickr (a photo sharing site) or Facebook, or any number of similar sites from an iPhone. Some of them might want you to use an app instead of the webpage on a mobile device, but usually in that case the app is free. You’ll just have to create an account, and then they usually walk you through uploading pretty clearly.

Depending on the site, sometimes getting it to cough up a URL you can put in the post is a bit fiddly, but it can be done!

(You should ask your vet about having him tested for HYPP if you don’t know and it doesn’t say anything on his papers or similar - it’s a nasty health problem for a horse to have.)

[poltroon]

You can test for HYPP on your own via UC Davis… you just pull some mane hairs and send it to them, you don’t need a vet to draw blood.

HYPP is a genetic defect that can cause neurological symptoms.

https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/hypp.php

If your horse is a carrier, there are some changes to make to his diet and some precautions to take for anesthesia etc.

[Bluey]

Any horse that may have HYPP will have it’s status listed on the registration certificate.
You may call the AQHA office and they will tell you if you need to test, or what the certificate can tell you.

OP, if you like your horse for his sterling disposition, that is worth very much, should make up for any other you may not like.

One of the best cow horses I had was a half paint, half arabian and he too was the roughest trotting horse I ever tried to trot.
That was just the way he moved, like a jackhammer.
All the longing and cavalletti didn’t teach him to move any better than he was born to move.
He was still an awesome horse, everyone’s friend, with humans and horses alike.
Helped me pony many race colts, he was a steadying influence on them, never needed a shoulder guard even with the rankest of them.

Learn as much as you can, but don’t let it bother you that he may not be perfect, no horse is.

[Cindyg]

Not to pick on the original poster, but it’s a very bad day when one has to wonder whether a halter horse can be ridden.

[kdow]

[QUOTE=Cindyg;8167787]
Not to pick on the original poster, but it’s a very bad day when one has to wonder whether a halter horse can be ridden.[/QUOTE]

With the way they look in the photos, I legitimately wonder if some of them can WALK.

[Foxglove]

At the barn where my granddaughter trains there are a handful (all owned by one man) of World Champion Halter QHs. The man who owns them takes them all around the country showing them. He seems to enjoy them greatly. He is always at the barn brushing and lunging and hanging out. He does not ride.

But, his horses have the most wonderful personality as the OP pointed out. They are the sweetest, gentlest horses. I love watching him with them, and I love talking with him about them. Each has a fantastic personality. If I didn’t ride, I’d love to have one just to keep around the place --like a big pet.

OP may never have a smooth trot, but I bet she’ll have a great horse anyway.

FYI my QH has a great trot, but he hates kids and will bite them if they get close to him. If I had little kids around, I don’t think I’d want him in my barn.

Foxglove

[Wnh100]

Photos

Whew! Finally at a desktop. Sorry for all of the spelling errors. And I want to thank everyone for their help with my question and for being patient. Here are some photos I took yesterday. I hope they will help!

I certainly do not expect a “perfect” horse, as I know one doesn’t exist. I guess my main concern is whether riding him will injure/lame him down the road, and also if I can expect him to ever be a comfortable ride. I guess I just want to know what to expect.Lesson learned, though, to do more research.

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/11214213_842659895808921_1941278769787775821_n.jpg?oh=b43d4f9568a98b457e757d513596892c&oe=55C2243E

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/11350653_842659922475585_118442827577293972_n.jpg?oh=a95e333a71a6af6939f365406aa2de84&oe=55FC9004

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/11011633_842659945808916_4022956025120076230_n.jpg?oh=1ff1c97e8613fb260e17ef26d9f53531&oe=560640EA

Please let me know what you all think. And again, thank you for your help!

[Wnh100]

Thank you! That was a lot of hep. I posted the pics

[Wnh100]

To me, he doesn’t look like a “halter horse”. I wouldn’t have thought so if I hadn’t seen his papers. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t an issue, and get others opinions on whether his rough trot is because he is inexperienced or because of his conformation. Or just because that’s the way he is. If he is just naturally rough, I will ride him anyway and deal with it. But I certainly don’t want to injure or lame him if his body isn’t built for riding.

It blows my mind that anyone, especially an organization, would allow horses to be bred to encourage traits that would not allow them to be ridden. It seems cruel to the horse and detrimental to the breed in general.

[Bluey]

Well, pictures standing there are only one second in time, the next one all may change, especially when a horse moves.
What we see may just not move as one the way we would expect otherwise.

Then, pictures is all we have so that is what we will use to guess what else is there.

Looking at the pictures, I wonder if he is rough because he has a lofty trot, more than a stiff one?
He has a very large, angled shoulder, almost race horse like, with a very short back, both make for the larger trot, that can feel rough, especially if the impulsion from behind is not smooth, the horse moves slower/shorter behind than in front.

His hind ankles are very upright, but the rest of the leg has nice angles and very large, low muscle behind tying it all nicely together, not overly bulky looking there.
He needs to get a little more fit and muscle up in the right places, which you can get with the proper horse gymnastic work, a trainer should be able to help you there.

For a trail riding horse, other than not being a smooth mover as per your post, he should be fine.
If he is a huggable, pettable, sweet horse, that really makes up for so much else we may have to learn to live with, if physical performance is not the goal, but a horse that is nice to live with.

[cutter99]

Welcome Wnh100!

The reputation of halter-bred horses, particularly Impressive bred horses, was they did not ride. I have never found that to be true.

I had an Impressive bred mare, who had a jog you could sit and sip champagne without spilling a drop. I currently have a cutting bred mare, with highly sought after cutting bloodlines and a tiny bit of Impressive waaaay back in her pedigree, who can move as well as any non-Impressive bred cutter. I rode with a cutting horse trainer for years who had two Impressive bred cutter that each earned over $10K in earnings in Pennsylvania, which is hard to do on any horse!

The real question is does the horse suit your needs? Will his conformation allow you to do what you want without causing you or him pain? Is he good minded to do what you ask of him? Do you and he get along?

You do not ride the papers. If you did not know what this horse’s bloodlines are, would you still ride him?

And about the papers… All AQHA papers for horses with Impressive breeding must have HYPP status marked on them as of January 1, 1998. On the current style paper it is on the back.

http://www.aqha.com/About/Content-Pages/About-the-Association/Services/HYPP.aspx

Wanted to add there is a time that the papers do matter in this situation- if the horse is N/H or H/H. These are horses that will need special consideration due to HYPP. The mare we had was N/H and non symptomatic, but we treated her and fed her as if she could be. Stress can bring out HYPP symptoms so knowing the status is important!

[beau159]

Something looks out of proportion with his back. Maybe it’s a very long underline with the withers set back somewhat (will make for a difficult saddle fit), and the shorter neck to contrast? Either way, it does not look very balanced and that is what may account for rougher gaits.

He does have small QH feet. Not that that is a bad thing, but it’s the smaller feet that are more worrisome for navicular-prone. However, he’s not heavily muscled so that will help matters.

Pasterns are a bit upright on his hind legs and he is a little cow-hocked.

Not the best conformation in the world (balance) but not horrible either. I would pay special attention to saddle fit as you continue to ride him and also make sure he has regular chiro appointments to watch for any back pain.

If you like his personality and find him to be a sweet horse, he should meet your needs just find for trail riding.

[Wnh100]

Thank you. Yes he suits my needs. I did not buy him because of his papers, they have never meant much to me. We got him from a friend of a friend who had been in a bad accident and wasn’t able to take care of his animals any longer. After meeting him I just loved his personality, and still do. Of course, he wasn’t broke then and I didn’t know how he would ride. If it will not hurt him, then I still plan to use him for trail riding as I planned. However, I of course would prefer him to have a smoother and more comfortable trot. It’s great to hear that his build won’t cause him to have any injury.

[QUOTE=cutter99;8168202]
Welcome Wnh100!

The reputation of halter-bred horses, particularly Impressive bred horses, was they did not ride. I have never found that to be true.

I had an Impressive bred mare, who had a jog you could sit and sip champagne without spilling a drop. I currently have a cutting bred mare, with highly sought after cutting bloodlines and a tiny bit of Impressive waaaay back in her pedigree, who can move as well as any non-Impressive bred cutter. I rode with a cutting horse trainer for years who had two Impressive bred cutter that each earned over $10K in earnings in Pennsylvania, which is hard to do on any horse!

The real question is does the horse suit your needs? Will his conformation allow you to do what you want without causing you or him pain? Is he good minded to do what you ask of him? Do you and he get along?

You do not ride the papers. If you did not know what this horse’s bloodlines are, would you still ride him?

And about the papers… All AQHA papers for horses with Impressive breeding must have HYPP status marked on them as of January 1, 1998. On the current style paper it is on the back.

http://www.aqha.com/About/Content-Pages/About-the-Association/Services/HYPP.aspx[/QUOTE]

[poltroon]

I think he looks like he should be fine for trail riding, and I hope you have many enjoyable times together.

[poltroon]

[QUOTE=cutter99;8168202]
Welcome Wnh100!

The reputation of halter-bred horses, particularly Impressive bred horses, was they did not ride. I have never found that to be true.

I had an Impressive bred mare, who had a jog you could sit and sip champagne without spilling a drop. I currently have a cutting bred mare, with highly sought after cutting bloodlines and a tiny bit of Impressive waaaay back in her pedigree, who can move as well as any non-Impressive bred cutter. I rode with a cutting horse trainer for years who had two Impressive bred cutter that each earned over $10K in earnings in Pennsylvania, which is hard to do on any horse![/QUOTE]

Impressive does have performance offspring, and he is not the source of that abominable hind leg we’ve discussed in this thread. He even raced briefly.

It really shouldn’t be hard for halter judges to choose functional individuals for their winners… AQHA had to make a new division, “Performance Halter,” in order for performance horses to get halter points for some of their lifetime awards that require both halter and performance points.

[Pocket_Pony]

Are you sure he’s a QH and are you sure he’s four? He looks to me like he’s either not a QH, or younger than four. He looks like he has a very lean body type (more like for racing than halter) and just doesn’t have that QH look to me. But I could be wrong. Maybe I’m used to seeing more ranch-type QHs . . .

[arlosmine]

OP, do you know how to post the trot? If not, I strongly suggest that you learn how. Your horse’s (and your) back will appreciate it, and it will help you cope with his "rough " trot.

[Bombproof]

IMO it’s too much of a generalization to say that halter-bred horses don’t make good riding horses. For one thing, if your horse had all the “best” (i.e., worst) characteristics of a halter horse, he’d be showing at halter and wouldn’t have been sold as a riding horse. From the pictures his conformation looks reasonably good. I doubt he’d make an endurance horse, but for normal trail riding he may do just fine. The small feet and relatively straight pasterns may mean you have to be extra conscientious about foot/leg care, but that’s not a deal-breaker.

It’s not unusual for QHs to have a relatively “rough” trot compared to some other breeds, but the shape of his shoulder suggests to me that it may be something which could be improved with training. If not, you can learn to ride it. I’ve certainly had horses with a rough trot who were excellent beasts otherwise so I learned to live with it. A good mind is the single most important trait in a trail horse and I’d be willing to put up with a rough gait if his mind is good.

[PeanutButterPony]

he’s built downhill with a hind leg that will tend to trail and stab at the ground at a trot- The best thing I’d recommend is get out of the arena and onto trails and varied terrain- build his musculature to better use himself. give him his head and long trot him. trot over poles. trot hills. walk and trot serpentines. he’s also going to continue to grow and change.

he’s a cute thing- have fun.

[ThatGirlTina]

I bought my QH gelding as a 3 year old. Halter bred (out of Impressive) but had 30 days with a reining trainer and about 6 months at home with an older woman. He threw her once and she put him up for sale. LUCKY ME!! :yes:

Now hes 12 years old and has one of the smoothest trots ive ever ridden! I did test him for HYPP, and hes negative. He is pretty but not anything like those pictures posted by others. Simply a nicely put together horse. He does trails, barrels, jumps, parades, whatever! I lucked out all those years ago and got a steal of a horse. Halter horses can be anything!