Conformation Gurus! wee update

[OnyxThePony]

Go ahead...

Two Yr old, since gelded:
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/PondDucks/poweras.jpg

[Equinoxfox]

Although he is attractive. You could have stood him up better.
Have his head and neck stretched out better. Have him squared up better.
Present him in a nice Bridle. and get a more leveled conformation shot of him.
I must say he is very well cared for. He is in good flesh. I like his shoulder and his hip looks nice also. And his coat is very healthy looking. I can not tell much about the neck from here I just wish the picture was at a better angle.;)

[OnyxThePony]

Thanks Equino! Bump for morning crowd.

[rileyt]

I like his overall balance.

His limbs seem a bit "upright" to me though. Both the hind leg and the shoulder look a little too straight, and his pasterns also look upright.

My suspicion is that he wouldn't have the long flowing stride you'd want in a hunter... but might make a good jumper?

[Addison]

A hunter breeder once told me that you don't want them to have "great" conformation when they are two or three because that is not what you will wind up with as a four and five year old. Different parts grow at different times and sometimes their hind end can be completely out of synch with their front end....

I am in no way a conformation guru-just passing on the comment.

[jetsetter]

I have to agree with Equinoxfox.

Good looking horse but the picture is doing him no favors. If you were to take another picture I would try to get his front legs out a little bit more as they look too far underneath him. Can you see that? Also, is this how he holds his neck all the time? To get a good view of his neck ratio you should not have him looking at the camera but get a true side profile. Also encouraging him to stretch down we will be able to look at his ratios a little more clearly. I can agree with the previous poster about pasterns being too straight but I can only see that in his back legs I can't quite tell in his front legs due to the picture.

Would you be able to take another picture? I would love to see some more angles.

Other wise he looks like a very cute horse! I love his markings!:yes:

[findeight]

He seems nice enough to deseve a better picture. Can't tell a thing except he is a little butt high here...note I did not say downhill. The way his neck seems to tie in says he will even out or be uphill. Or he is standing on a hill.

Spend a little time teaching him to relax on the line and stretch out and down in front. Stand him on level, hard ground, like pavement, and show him in full profile. here's ahint from one that used to show at Halter in the breed shows-teach him to stand up after you work him on a nice, hot day. take the next set of pics on the same type day also after work. Takes alot of the work out of it.

Then we can have at it;).

[Showsheen]

TERRIBLE picture, sorry but the horse is actually really nice. Great shoulder, nice topline and butt. But, not a Hunter type unless a Coyote just ran across the field, he is too upright and no hunter ever holds it's head that high. LOL! He is upright angle wise in his pasterns but he is still growing so I would wait and see a bit before getting too critical. If he is a daisy cutter, I want to see a video. I would suspect he would be a good Jumper. It is impossible to determine if his head is decent or a bit too plain from this picture. Like his color and socks. Is he your's?
BTW, an old wive's tale that you don't want a good conformation horse looking too "finished" early on, the best looking horses are great looking as babies. No stunner grows into it after having bad angles or weird growth spurts, as a baby.

[Chall]

I zoomed in, is it just me, or does his hind legs white look odd, almost painted on? The lower legs seem too wide and the white pops out. It could be the camera doesn't handle the glare of white well.
On second look, the camera doesn't handle white well, his forehead star also pops out.

[Jessi P]

One suggestion for better pics - stand opposite the horses hip, not the shoulder. Does wonders for making them look as proportionate as they are in real life.

Also, a dog squeaky toy or a peppermint wrapper can make enticing sounds, often helping the horse to reach or stretch the neck. But remember not to let the horse lean forward as it reaches to investigate the source of the noise.

[unclewiggly]

To straight to upright, pasterns shoulder neck..............

[asanders]

As usual (not always, but usual), this board has supplied great spot on comments. So many were about the picture, I did a search for conformation pictures/photos, and finding nothing in the reference forum, started a thread on Off Course (to avoid being discipline specific) to collect the wisdom of COTH on getting great conformation shots. To those that commented here, please add your wisdom for the ages:
Taking (Great) Conformation Pictures (http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=193660)

[VirginiaBred]

Go ahead...

Two Yr old, since gelded:
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/PondDucks/poweras.jpg


Remove the above picture and stand him on a more level ground and have your camera person take a direct side on shot.

Look at other conformation photos and have his head facing you.

No one can access this photo (legs-neck-rump high-built uphill-anything) until properly stood up.

[OnyxThePony]

Thank you each and every one. Same thing I said over on Dressage forum: many views and opinions on an issue that I very purposefully did not clarify.
Just threw up an old photo to sort of feel it out and see if everyone saw what I saw. (he is now rising four..that was not meant to be a confo shot). Will update later if there's an update to be had ;)

[OnyxThePony]

I DO have an update! He came home Monday. (squee!) Amused himself today by trotting up and down the jump chute which was set in tiny x-rails.

I hate bad photos; yes, he is stood up quite wrong and the pic was taken at a bad angle, *but* I just wanted a general impression from others. And there shall be no better photo anytime soon :lol: Reason: it's been -24 here for the last week and he's a shaggy yaklet. Photo? Fuggedabuddit!