My AQH -> For JackDaw (others welcome) Pic Heavy..

Garnet · July 2010

This is Dixie

My grandmother says she is a full QH >.> But for a 5 year old Mare.. she seems to.. iunno.. built >.> thats not the word I was looking for but it's close enough. We had just brought her in from the pasture where she had been kept for the last 2 years. So she was a little bigger in some of these pics. She follows me around like a puppy when I'm in her pen with her. She can be very stubborn at times, but shes also very playful and loves to be brushed. She will stand there patiently and graze while I brush her. She doesn't even jump when anything moves passed her face quickly. She isn't easily startled. She doesn't even kick out or pay attention when I walk behind her, (I put my hand on her side and run my hand along her the whole time I'm walking behind her to let her know its me and where I'm at.) Enough of my talking.. Here she is: This was before I brushed her.. <img src="http://i28.tinypic.com/ibhog7.jpg"; alt="http://i28.tinypic.com/ibhog7.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> <img src="http://i27.tinypic.com/512b1w.jpg"; alt="http://i27.tinypic.com/512b1w.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> She had just been brought in from the pasture with the pond.. She had lost a little weight and toned up a bit by the time I took this picture.. <img src="http://i29.tinypic.com/1z4blur.jpg"; alt="http://i29.tinypic.com/1z4blur.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> <img src="http://i26.tinypic.com/55jm95.jpg"; alt="http://i26.tinypic.com/55jm95.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> He was training her a little I THINK <img src="http://i27.tinypic.com/r03t00.jpg"; alt="http://i27.tinypic.com/r03t00.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> My dad is 6'0. Look how tall she is.. <img src="http://i27.tinypic.com/iveee0.jpg"; alt="http://i27.tinypic.com/iveee0.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> She has a thick neck. Is this bad? <img src="http://i29.tinypic.com/51ehyh.jpg"; alt="http://i29.tinypic.com/51ehyh.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> This is the boy we were going to breed her to. An AQH Stud. Sorry I don't have better pics of him.. His name is Back <img src="http://i28.tinypic.com/72dhmw.jpg"; alt="http://i28.tinypic.com/72dhmw.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> <img src="http://i26.tinypic.com/mm8nif.jpg"; alt="http://i26.tinypic.com/mm8nif.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> <img src="http://i32.tinypic.com/2zp38sk.jpg"; alt="http://i32.tinypic.com/2zp38sk.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> Sorry for so many pics.. I just didn't know which ones you would wanna see.. So.. Yea.. lol.. What do you think Jack? (Anyone's opinion appreciated) =D

Jackdaw · July 2010

I'm going to state right off the bat; This is another example of a mare that is far from breeding quality. Please don't take that to be an insult. I don't believe that any of my own horses are breeding quality either. However, that is why I've had my horses gelded and not one of them will ever have the chance to reproduce.

For comparison's sake, here is a photo of a very well conformed AQHA mare. This is a halter bred mare. I'm not sure what discipline you are interested in? Or what discipline your mare is bred for? If you have a link to her pedigree handy, I can find a mare of similar breeding to compare her to. Mare- <a href="http://chrisarentsenquarterhorses.com/updates/09may20/Sheza Cool Kid 1 copy.jpg" target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://chrisarentsenquarterhorses.com/u ... 20copy.jpg</a> This mare is proportioned beautifully. She has a lovely feminine head and a clean neck that ties into her body well. Her shoulder is laid back nicely and well-muscled. Her top-line is smooth. She is slightly down hill (hip higher than withers.) but I believe she is very young in this picture so she will likely level out as she ages. She is deep through the heart girth and has a nice, strong loin attachment. Her hip is long and shapely. I would like to see her knees and hocks lower set and a bit more bone in her lower leg. However, her front legs are nice and straight and for a halter horse she has a better angle to her hock than most. Her tail is set on nice and low, as is desirable in a stock horse. You can see each section of her body (shoulder, barrel and hip.) are roughly the same length. You can also see, if you were to measure from elbow to stifle and also measure from the end of her withers to the point of her hip, that her underline is about twice as long as her topline. Over all, this is a very attractive mare. Moving on to your mare- <a href="http://i29.tinypic.com/1z4blur.jpg"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://i29.tinypic.com/1z4blur.jpg</a>; <a href="http://i27.tinypic.com/r03t00.jpg"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://i27.tinypic.com/r03t00.jpg</a> These are the only confo shots. Thus, the only ones I can really critique. She doesn't have the most attractive head. It lacks the refinement of the bay mare's. Her eye appears somewhat small and her ears large. (They would look smaller if clipped. However, I think she would still be slightly mare-eared.). Her neck is one of her worst features. It is extremely thick and ties in very low. She has a classic 'nest', meaning that her neck runs right into her front legs with no chest to speak of. I suspect if she were conditioned and put on a diet, it would improve her neck quite a bit. (She is over-weight.). Unfortunately, even slimmed down and well conditioned, I don't think she will ever have the slim, pretty neck that is desirable. She has an upright shoulder with a closed angle. This is the worst combination possible in a shoulder. This may give her a short, choppy, concussive stride. Uncomfortable to ride. Not desirable in the show ring. Her front legs look fairly straight. I do wish her forearm was longer and her cannons shorter. Her pasterns are very short, another indication she probably isn't the smoothest ride. She is notably down-hill (hip higher than withers) and at five she probably won't be out-growing it. A horse that is down-hill will want to travel heavy on the forehand and will have a much harder time 'rounding up' and 'stepping under himself' than a horse that is built level. She has a very short hip for a stock horse. The Quarter Horse's defining feature is it's long muscular hip. Her hip would look nicer with some additional muscling but she will never have the long, square, hanging hip that is desirable. She is sickle hocked (hind legs too long.). I would also like to see her hocks set on lower. She appears to toe out somewhat behind. ______ . If you really want a foal, breeding this mare is not the way to get one. As I've said before, you can go out and buy an exceptional colt or filly for a fraction of the cost it would take to breed your mare and get a mediocre colt or filly. Hell, I can find you one if you want.

Garnet · July 2010

hah well thank you. My grandmother has other horses that are open for me to breed. I mean yea, whichever horses I choose to breed to get my foal, the stud and mare fees are going to be free since they are all my grandmothers horses. I just don't want to breed two horses that shouldn't be bred. I'm not really sure where my horse Dixie actually came from. Sad, I know. My grandmother told me that Dixie was purchased for breeding Mules. My grandmothers lines descend from Two Eyed Jack (Mainly), King, Grey Badger, and Doc O 'Lena. So, I REALLY want a foal out of one of those mares/studs.

Jackdaw · July 2010

Garnet wrote:

hah well thank you. My grandmother has other horses that are open for me to breed. I mean yea, whichever horses I choose to breed to get my foal, the stud and mare fees are going to be free since they are all my grandmothers horses. I just don't want to breed two horses that shouldn't be bred. I'm not really sure where my horse Dixie actually came from. Sad, I know. My grandmother told me that Dixie was purchased for breeding Mules. My grandmothers lines descend from Two Eyed Jack (Mainly), King, Grey Badger, and Doc O 'Lena. So, I REALLY want a foal out of one of those mares/studs.

What exactly is your reason behind wanting to breed a horse? What qualities are you looking for in a horse that make it impossible for you to go buy one that already exists? Even if there are no stud fees; it will still cost substantially more for you to breed a horse from scratch than for you to go out a buy a foal that is already on the ground. Stud fees are not the only expense to take into consideration when you breed. You have to keep in mind the costs of the entire procedure. Here is a great article to read explaining all of the costs that you should consider before breeding- <a href="http://www.horseinfo.com/info/faqs/faqbreedingQ1.html"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://www.horseinfo.com/info/faqs/faqbreedingQ1.html</a> You also need to keep in mind the value of the foal. It is selfish to breed a horse that has no value to anyone but yourself. Even if you plan to keep the horse that you have bred for it's entire life you have to consider that somethings may happen in your life that could theoretically force you to sell your horses. If your horses are quality animals to begin with, they have so much better odds of finding a good home. All of the names that you listed from your horses' pedigree belong to stallions that were born at least 40 years ago (Two Eyed Jack and Doc O Len). Up to nearly 70 years ago (King, Grey Badger.). I'm guessing they are not in the first three generations of your horses' pedigree. I know some will argue this, but the first 3 generations (sire & dam, grandsire & grandam, ect.) are really all that matter. Virtually EVERY quarter horse will have some famous ancestor if you dig back far enough into their pedigree. This does not make them special and it does not mean they need to be bred. Please, put some thought into this. There are so many unwanted horses searching for a good home. Why not save a horse and change its' life rather than adding to the problem of over-population? Here are some very cute colts and fillies I found just doing a quick search. All are less than a year old and cost less than 1,000 dollars. They are foundation and/or ranch work bred- <a href="http://www.equinenow.com/horse-ad-306090"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">Bay Filly</a> <a href="http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1559845&share_this=Y"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">Grey Colt</a> <a href="http://www.equinenow.com/horse-ad-300462"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">Black Colt</a> <a href="http://www.equine.com/horses-for-sale/horse-ad-1000241.html"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">Variety of nice foals.</a>

Garnet · July 2010

Well, I'm wanting a horse that is young enough to be around me as much as possible.. So that it is most used to me and isnt skittish around me. I want a horse that is going to be good for barrel racing as well as normal trail rides. I know a foal will cost a lot, but i just want a foal that is mine and always has/will be, ya know? My dad IS buying me another horse, but I have always wanted a foal of my own to raise. Think thats not a good idea? =/

Jackdaw · July 2010

Garnet wrote:

Well, I'm wanting a horse that is young enough to be around me as much as possible.. So that it is most used to me and isnt skittish around me. I want a horse that is going to be good for barrel racing as well as normal trail rides. I know a foal will cost a lot, but i just want a foal that is mine and always has/will be, ya know? My dad IS buying me another horse, but I have always wanted a foal of my own to raise. Think thats not a good idea? =/

I don't think it's a good idea if it involves breeding two low qualities horses together to create yet another low quality horse. I can understand wanting a young horse to bring up. But there are numerous responsible ways to go about it. 1. Buy a foal that is already born. 2. Buy a mare that is already in foal. 3. If you must breed: You say you are looking to buy another horse? Spend some time, find a high quality, registered mare, preferably with a show record. You can get some amazing deals in this economy if you hunt around. Breed her to a quality, proven stallion to create a quality foal that has value. I would be happy to help you if you have interest in pursuing any of these options. All of which would be perfectly acceptable ways of acquiring the foal you want. Without adding yet another unremarkable horse to the already over-saturated market.

I also think it would be a good idea for you to sit down and read as many entries from this blog as possible. I know a lot of people think she is harsh, but you can learn a ton about conformation and responsible breeding here- <a href="http://fuglyblog.com/?p=3"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">Fugly Horse of the Day: Original Blog Entry</a> Her old entries are the best. If you go to the archives and read her original posts from '07 and '08 she has some great posts about conformation.

Garnet · July 2010

Okay! Thank you! I'm definitely showing my dad the links to those foals you gave me. Absolutely gorgeous animals! We are on a slightly limited budget due to my wreck a few weeks ago so.. I know if I buy a horse.. I need to find some cheaper ones.. =/

Jackdaw · July 2010

Garnet wrote:

Okay! Thank you! I'm definitely showing my dad the links to those foals you gave me. Absolutely gorgeous animals! We are on a slightly limited budget due to my wreck a few weeks ago so.. I know if I buy a horse.. I need to find some cheaper ones.. =/

No problem! I'm happy to give you advice and I really appreciate the fact that you are open minded and give my suggestions consideration.

Another good place you can sometimes find quality, young stock for very reasonable prices is your local craigslist and classified adds. I know you were saying you wanted an opportunity to work with the foal from the very beginning. If you buy a foal close to home you might be able to work out a deal with the breeder where you can go over and work with the foal and spend time with it every day before it is weaned. That is exactly what I did when I bought my first colt. It worked out great!

Garnet · July 2010

I really dont know anyone around here that would have young foals like that besides Vampy xD I can look round though and see what I can find! I'm pretty open minded these days.. so i take the good with the bad. without bad things, then there wouldnt be anything good in the world

i found a mustang mare earlier that is about 2 years old and is only $800. im thinking of going to look at her soon. I'm having her current owner e-mail me some pictures. (if she is still for sale) and i may post those up here if you would like

RoyalRaccoon · July 2010

I really like her. Her proportions remind me of a pony. She's so thick looking, that I wouldn't assume she was as tall as you say she is. I couldn't personally say anything about breeding; my family did basically everything, but breeding when it came to equines. However, Jackdaw seems to know a lot, and have good advice. Good luck~

Garnet · July 2010

PrinceSushi wrote:

I really like her. Her proportions remind me of a pony. She's so thick looking, that I wouldn't assume she was as tall as you say she is. I couldn't personally say anything about breeding; my family did basically everything, but breeding when it came to equines. However, Jackdaw seems to know a lot, and have good advice. Good luck~

Thank you, and I know what you mean by the height thing. No one believes me until they see her in person, then they are all like "shes HUGE". That's why I tried to find allt he pics where she is standing close to my dad.cuz he is 6 foot exact. Her trainer, Glenn (former apprentice of Clinton Anderson), said she was large and well muscled for a mare that had been in the pasture for 2 years. Now that she is mine though, I don't plan on letting her become just another pasture horse.. I want her worked with and trained and given the attention she needs.. Of course if the time comes and she NEEDS to be released into the pasture. Then I will take responsibility and see to it that she gets put to pasture if need be. Ya know?

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My AQH -> For JackDaw (others welcome) Pic Heavy..

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