Hello-
I would love to hear some thoughts on this horse’s suitability for western dressage. Sometimes it’s hard to get past the “omg pretty!” and see that’s really going on.
Her album can be found here.
Ideally, I’d like her to do a little jumping, too, but that would be a little ways into the future.
Wow, she’s sure eye-catching! She has that mustang “put together by committee” look that some of them have.
I’m no expert but I would think she could do basic dressage but at some point her low neck/course shoulder would start to inhibit her. Not sure about jumping, that’s totally out of my arena. I think she would do pretty well for just about anything lower to maybe mid-level, just to enjoy.
Can’t get over that mane! Reining would be a fun one with her too, all that flash.
She’s cute! Are you in the area? If so, you’re not too far from me! I have a mustang and love, love, love him. Have you had a mustang before? She looks like she has a nice temperament and is willing and not overreacting. From the short video clip, she looks like she moves just fine. Flashy gaits aren’t necessary in WD as it is they are sought after in traditional dressage, I think. Do you have a trainer to work with?
I think with any horse of this type (unbroke, feral, not purpose-bred), it is a crapshoot anyway. She may hate dressage, she may hate showing, she may be harder to bring along for any number of reasons. So the question is, if she doesn’t turn out to be a WD horse, are you okay with that and with doing what she decides she likes to do? If you specifically want a WD horse, you may want to find something that is already going.
My mustang has been (knock wood) the soundest horse I’ve had. He’s very sensible. He does a little bit of everything (dressage, jumping, trails, cows), but he’s not easy and wouldn’t be for everyone.
Good luck if you get her - she’s very cute. And that mane - wow!
Nope-I’m about as far away from her as I can get, all the way in Alaska.
I gave my wishlist to a trainer and this is what she brought home. She is so flashy! I worry that I’m not seeing past that. But in her video, she also doesn’t seem to over-react and she seems like a thinker.
I can’t imagine I’ll do high level anything, so her not being an over-achiever is fine. And my heart isn’t set on western dressage, we don’t even have shows for it up here yet. I sort of used that as an example to convey balanced, forward movement and athleticism. Yes, I would be fine going in a different direction. Trails or WP or maybe a little reining.
I have never had a mustang but it’s been a long-standing goal to give them a try. The mare will be with a trainer all winter, learning about civilization and then make her way north this spring. I think I’d like to saddle break her myself.
Thanks cowboymom. I’m not always great with articulating what I see in conformation, or understanding what other people see. Could you explain better about your observations of her neck/shoulder?
Also, does her forearm look wimpy to you? Do you think that’s a conditioning thing, or structural?
