My baby is fugly!

[paintedpony]

What to do?

I have a coming 3 year old, who in theory should be quite nice. Should be 16 +, should be pretty, should have nice movement, and a jump. Unfortunately, she has turned out nothing like either parent, forget the desired sum of the carefully planned breeding.

Jess at almost 3 is oddly small at just 14 hands. Not pretty, or even cute to look at. Movement that I would describe as acceptable nothing more. Head is a little large for body, and somehow she just looks a little oddly shaped. I have come to accept that I will have a very costly, nothing special animal.

She is willing, smart, and loves attention. I think she could someday make an acceptable mount for a kid. As I know she will not work for the market intended, what do I do that will not cost me a fortune, and will be good for Jess? I have her booked to commence ground school this spring.

[Equibrit]

Wait until she is fully grown to make such a judgement. That could be several more years.

[Beentheredonethat]

Can she jump? I would not worry about looks right now. It is an ugly time. My eight year old is a beauty, but OMG, from 1 to 3, it was bad, bad, bad. Her full sister stayed beautiful throughout.

If your intended market is for her to jump, and she can, then she should grow into it fine. Movement tends to stay the same, but can improve with correct training.

[stoicfish]

Have you had blood work done on her? That is a bit unusual even for a fugly stage.
Are her legs unusually long for her body? Is she disproportionate?
She might have a deficiency or health issue that she is that small. There are some bloodlines that have small (15hh) offspring once in a while but they usually do not look “funny”.
Has the mare had other normal offspring? Does the sire have lots of offspring on the ground to compare her to?

[paintedpony]

Good thoughts stoicfish. I have discussed her size with our Vet, however the conversation was in passing. Conversation was " I thought she would be taller" “Yeah, she is kinda little isn’t she” and on to the next task. Size will be an agenda item for next visit.

First time mom. Aged Hanoverian mare. Lovely head and neck, nicely made, good movement, great jump, competed 1.40 in her youth. Faults: little light in bone and lacking in height, measures 15.3-16H. Sire was chosen to add bone and height. Excellent movement, good jump. Multiple offspring in the show ring, all very nice, good size.

Jess is not bizarre in shape, just not what I had hoped for. Not pretty. Front end is heavy with a head that looks just a little too large, and as if it should be on a different body. Not feminine. I expected more refinement in front and I am disappointed. A couple of growth spurts may bring her to an acceptable height, but will be unlikely to improve her movement, or make her beautiful.

Beentheredonethat, I have my fingers crossed, as it is bad, bad, bad. Here is hoping my ugly duckling will become a swan.

[Foxtrot_s]

Turn her out on a big ranch to grow and play (don’t look at her). You may be surprized. WB’s take longer and some even longer than longer. I think mine grew and changed until she was at lease seven. Hope she can jump!

[Displaced_Yankee]

My homebred has only just started looking like the sport pony he is at 5 years old. Between 2-4 he would best be described as a yak. I started him under saddle at age 4 (still yak like) and my trainer, saddle fitter and farrier have all commented on how much he has filled out in work (intro level, now training level dressage) and finally looks like a sport pony. I would not underestimate the change when they develop good correct muscling from riding.

On her size: I think I read somewhere on COTH that a horse can “grow” as much as 2 inches with correct muscling and development from riding. I cannot vouch for the validity of that statement, but it is an interesting train of thought.

[BeeHoney]

I agree that a WB isn’t done growing at 3, but I also think that at age 3 you should have a decent idea of what you have. If she’s 14 hands at 3, I think it is very safe to say she’s going to be a very small horse. It would be great if she would stay a pony, but I don’t think that is likely either. I do think there is some hope for improvement in type and shape, and I think most likely when she is done filling out her head will likely fit her body better. Keep in mind this is also a bad time of year to evaluate your young stock too closely with all the hair and mud going on.

No matter what she looks like, never underestimate the value of a good temperament. If she has a good attitude and sound legs, plus knowing that she is reasonably well bred, I think you can have some faith that she should be a very useful animal even if she isn’t going to earn you any money.

On a practical level, I would get her going under saddle and plan to give her at least one more year to develop. I would plan to focus her program to capitalize on her good temper–take her places, expose her to things, take her on trail rides, etc. so that when you do go to sell her she will appeal to a wider market. Unfortunately training is expensive even if she’s not at a show barn, so if you aren’t willing to make that investment, the other option is to get her started under saddle and then sell her inexpensively as a prospect. Definitely try to give her at least 6 more months before selling, though. Also, don’t underestimate how much value a beautiful show level grooming/ trim job can add to a horse.

All breeders periodically take losses on horses that don’t turn out as desired. I would be happy that she is kind and healthy and at least reasonable in her appearance and movement.

ETA, for what it is worth, I’ve had a couple of these small, late bloomers turn out to be really nice horses. Maybe not beauty queens, but handsome in their own way and with athletic potential that wasn’t obvious until they were in work.

[beowulf]

when was she born? AKA winter or summer foal?

i had (granted, a TB) a 2 y/o coming 3 that was a late foal and he looked so hawkish and disproportionate as a 3 and 4 year old – pencil necked, barely 15h, butt-high and all-together just absolutely awkward - he would have given Bucephalus a run for his money in jug-headedness. if you compared him to other horses born the same year (they had a few months on him) the difference was astounding. his fifth year he hit a growth spurt, evened up behind, developed a nice neck, and suddenly became this nice, compact horse. he finished out at 15.2 so not huge, but his 8-9 y/o form was downright unrecognizable from his 2-3-4y/o form.

he was a late bloomer, like BeeHoney mentioned above - and he was the best horses I ever had. I miss him every day. he wasn’t beautiful or traditionally handsome, but he was incredibly athletic and very kind.

in your position, i wouldn’t worry too much - keep an eye on her, stay on top of her condition and care, and she will likely blossom in work. i think at some point all breeders take a loss on what they thought was a good pairing - that’s where the term ‘crapshoot’ comes from, i think. so long as she is healthy and good natured, i think you did alright.

[paintedpony]

Thank you everyone for the encouragement. She is an end of May foal, so I will hold hope that she “catches up” a little. 15.2 would make me happy.

I take pride that she is a good citizen and views new experiences with curiosity not fear. I believe she will be quite sensible. I guess sometimes that is as good as it gets.

[red_mares]

The mare I had was not a pretty baby. She was seriously built like a giraffe - long legs, very short coupled, long straight neck, and a small head. She had one hell of a trot, though. At 4 she found herself, even her head grew to fit the rest of her 17.2 self.

She still looks better moving than standing still.:lol:

[Elles]

When I brought my colt to a place that would make him ready for the stallion inspections it was at the beginning of May 2015 and he was born in April 2012. However he looked like a two year old and he did not look very pretty: hairy, thin, a little disproportional. Very much still a baby in everything. Also he was not particularly tall either, I think around 15.2 or 15.3 h.h… Now he is five and still growing and filling out. I think in the end he will be 16.2 or maybe even 16.3 h.h. The people that prepared him for the inspection did a wonderful job but they had seven months to work with him, feed him well, groom him, etc. But he is a slow maturing horse and I think he will finally be finished growing when he is seven.

[svvdressage]

I purchased a filly as a coming 2 year old, she was 14.1, both parents were 16.1. I had hoped she would make 15.1 but she topped out at 14.2, she was not ugly per say but wasn’t stunning either. She had horse legs below the knee and a horse size head. She had a great brain, though. I ended up selling her as a 5 year old to a small adult ammy. She did fill out to be a nice looking mare! I think there is a market for a small horse with average gaits and a great brain…the gaits you can improve.

[JoannaHCR]

Don’t loose faith! We had one mare that would throw these beautiful babies–then at like 5 months they would get so ugly I didn’t take photos of them until they were over 6. Obviously we quit breeding her b/c no one has that long to wait… but all 3 of her babies turned into beautiful horses by 7. The would look “Ok” from 5-7, but until they were almost 5 they were heinous. Huge looking heads, short poorly shaped necks, downhill, short front legs, just uglier than sin, then one day you’d look out and think you were looking at their mother (who was lovely) and it would actually be the other 7 year old. They all were 14.2ish at 3, and all finished up 15.3-16.1. I do have a few photos I could share privately of her last baby taken at 6.5 (still very ugly) and then at 7–she looked so lovely!