We're Judging You...

Hi! I started this blog to get some practice for my horse judging competitions through 4-H and spread knowledge about the contest. I love judging horses of all breeds and disciplines, and someday hope to visit the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup for a third time in Horse Judging. (I previously went for Horse Bowl and Hippology.) Submissions are welcome and encouraged, see the Submission Info link for more information.

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Submissions?

Haven't had a submission in a few weeks, anyone feel like letting me judge their pony? :D

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Western Pleasure Reasons

A practice set of western pleasure reasons I did - this is by no means an example to go by, just something for me to gauge my progress by. Enjoy, CONSTRUCTIVE critique is welcome but PLEASE don't be rude!

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Submissions? Will also be posting a reasons video later today as soon as I finish my homework!

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Abit

Have fun picking him apart >:D

Abit, Halfinger gelding, hunters

He's a nice lookin' pony! I'll start where I always do, with balance - His shoulder is a teeeensy bit small, but that's because it's too steep - that always makes the shoulder smaller and the back look longer than it is. He's got a nice, even topline, and although I always prefer an uphill balance over downhill, this guy's balance is preferable to a downhill balance - although uphill may be better for a horse competing over fences, it's not always beneficial. He's got a nice hindquarter but it's a teeny bit small, and his croup has a nice angle but looks too steep because of the size of the hindquarter.

GORGEOUS neck, that's right where it needs to be for a hunter - medium-length, sleek, and tied in well. I do wish it was a TAD longer but his mane is down, which tends to make necks look short. His legs are really nice, although I can't see much because of the image quality and the amount of HAIR - from what I can see, though, he looks a bit post-legged because of his short femur and long tibia, and his pasterns are steep because of his steep shoulder. I like his heart girth, although his legs are a little too long for it, which is actually pretty uncommon for ponies - especially Haflingers, who were bred for draft purposes. He has a good amount of muscle, although I'd like to see his topline strengthened just a little.

His breed characteristics are pretty good, he is a little bit refined for a draft-type pony but for a hunter you'd want that - I'd place him higher in a hunter in-hand class than a breed class. What worries me is that his head is WAY too big for his body - while it's well-built on its own, it's much too long and rather coarse for the level of refinement in his body. He looks like he'd have a bit of trouble holding it up in a decent headset. He's also pig-eyed, which is never a good sign - generally the larger the eye, the better the temperament. You can definitely tell he's a gelding though, which is good.

Thanks for submitting!

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Posts have been nonexistent for a few weeks! Any submissions?

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judge this sexy beast ;)

First of all, NORM. :D Secondly, this guy is a BEAST. He's one of the nicer stock geldings I've seen, so I'm gonna have to REALLY pick him apart.

He's SUPER balanced, having a near-perfect shoulder-back-HQ ratio - his back looks a little short but I think that's the angle of the photo. His hindquarter is STELLAR, and I'm a big fan of the angle where his femur meets the ileum at the hip. You can almost draw a perfect equilateral triangle from his hip to his stifle to his point of buttock, but again, the angle makes his hip look longer than it is. Great gaskins, but his hocks worry me - they're a bit small and he looks quite sickle hocked, although he could just be standing weird. He's back at the knee, and his steep shoulder makes his pasterns steep as well - although nowadays that isn't uncommon in stock horses. GREAT underline, much longer than the topline and nice and smooth. He's a TAD mutton-withered, but again, the angle is a little funky. His muscle is well-delineated (horse judging vocab! ;D) into his forearms and gaskins, and his neck is - well - SEXY (although it does tie in a little low). He's nice and masculine and very typey. Congrats on your amazing pony!

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A thoroughbred colt I might be getting two weekends from now if he hasn’t sold by then. This was at 10 months old, he was 15hh. Now he’s a few weeks away from being a yearling. If you could judge his confo, I’d love you forever! He looks scruffy because of winter coats and they had just pulled him out of the pasture.

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Hi! This colt does appear to be a little haphazardly built, but if you look past his overall clunky appearance he does have some very nice qualities. For one, his balance is impeccable. His shoulder-back-hindquarter ration is near-perfect, with each taking up about a third of the body. His shoulder is beautifully angled, giving him a nice, laid-back humerus and therefore a long, stylish stride, I'm assuming. The main thing that worries me about his overall look is his potbelly - either his ribs are too round and his flank is therefore too tucked up, or he's got some sort of worm problem - If I had a front view of the horse I could tell which but I can't say for sure. His legs are pretty straight, and although his cannon bones are long that's perfectly normal for yearlings - once his growth plates fuse they'll look normal. His hind legs are a little bit camped out because of a long tibia, but once he grows into his legs this shouldn't be as much of a problem. Other than that, he really is nicely built, especially for a yearling. He'll grow into his legs and head, and by the time he reaches 3 years old he should look like a nice show horse with some elbow grease. His neck could also use some beefing, but again, that comes from under saddle work and bitting up on a lunge line, and obviously he's a bit too young for that yet. Overall he is a very nice colt, and could make a fabulous dressage, eventing, hunter, jumper, or possibly even gaming prospect, depending on his personality and your interests. Thanks for submitting!

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4 year old TB/percheron mare

Hi! I have taken judging classes myself, but I just want another persons opinion and found your blog! I'm looking onto buying this horse, this is really the only picture I have of her. Do you see anything that would seriously affect her soundness or performance? 

Thanks for submitting! To me, she looks like quite the nice, sturdy mare. She's nicely balanced, depending on what her discipline will be. What worries me is that she has a very, very small hindquarter and a bit of a swayback, which makes her flank tuck up a bit too much, so she will lack power there, but whether or not she'll need it is the question. I'm guessing by her build and sloped croup that she'd be some kind of hunter or jumper, which to me looks like a great use for her. She has an AWESOME shoulder, and that means her pasterns are nice too, so her stride ought to be nice and long. Her neck is a little skimpy on the muscling, and she's ewe necked to boot, but give her some dressage training and that should beef right up, depending on how fit she is to begin with. Her legs are AMAZING though, and overall I'd buy this horse if I were looking for a quality foxhunter, show hunter, or even equitation horse depending on how level her jump is. Good luck in your horse hunt, and thanks for submitting!

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Hi new followers! :D Any submissions? I'd love to judge your ponies!

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Any submissions guys? I'd love to judge someone's pony if I get a submission.

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Sugar - 16-year-old Arabian mare

This is my friend's mare, I'm judging her conformation just as practice and to show y'all how this will work.

Let's start with balance. She's got a fairly okay proportion of shoulder to back to hindquarter, being long in the back and short in the hindquarter, but she's a bit downhill. (with Arabs you want their very prominent wither to stand just above the top of the croup.) Her back appears short because of her tucked-in flank but really it's a bit long for my taste.

Structurally, her loin looks weak, and her neck is very thick and ties in low. She does has a pretty steep shoulder but because of her nicely angled humerus, it appears that she should have a long, smooth stride anyway. (And in reality she really does, if a little snappy at times.) Her legs are really straight and well-defined in front, but her hindlegs aren't very great - she's camped out, has a pretty pathetic gaskin-stifle area, and appears a bit post-legged. She has nice, well-sprung ribs, although they might be a bit TOO round - she almost appears overweight because of it.

Moving on to muscling, she has a very nice amount of muscle, maybe even a little excessive for an Arab but because of her thicker bone structure that's acceptable. Again, I'm not a fan of her neck, but it's better than a ewe neck or a swan neck.

She's not too typey either - she's got a thicker throatlatch and a straighter profile than you'd expect to see on a purebred, and her tailset is very low for a hot-blooded horse. She does have the characteristic horizontal croup but it's very short in comparison to her back, so it virtually does nothing for the type factor. Her ears and eye are both nice and kind, and while her muzzle is nice I'd like for it to be a little more defined. As far as sex characteristics go she does have a very feminine appearance, which is good.

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Getting Started!

Hi all! I decided it might be a good idea to start up a horse judging blog to keep my judging skills in good shape, help me study for competitions, and help spread knowledge about the contest to people who might be interested in judging. I hope you all enjoy!