Yearling now four

[ivy62]

A couple of years ago I bought a yearling Oldenburg becuase I liked her temperament. I now have some pics of her and she has just turned 4 and is starting the breaking process.. Can anyone tell me what you think of her? I am not sure what discpline I would use her for, the goal was an equitation horse for my daughter but that remains to be seen....
I am going to try and attach some pics...

http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg115/ivy62/?action=view&current=DSCN2902Trim.jpg

http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg115/ivy62/?action=view&current=DSCN2864Trim.jpg

http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg115/ivy62/?action=view&current=DSCN2871Trim.jpg

[trakehner013]

She is very cute!

[IsolaBella09]

She's adorable! She has a cute face and her conformation looks very correct. Good luck with her!

[ivy62]

Silly question, I have never worked with a baby before....does conformation lend towards a particular discipline? She is an in your pocket horse very sweet and doesn't seem o care about anything even the new rider on her back!

[besttwtbever]

Silly question, I have never worked with a baby before....does conformation lend towards a particular discipline? She is an in your pocket horse very sweet and doesn't seem o care about anything even the new rider on her back!

First of all it sounds like you found a winner! Congratulations!

I have broken a few horse and trained many more. I know a lot of people will disagree with me but I feel if the horse has the heart, they will do anything you ask. I have known some absolutely gorgeous horses with excellent conformation for what they do that have turned out to be really crappy horses with no athletic ability. I have also seen some horses with less than stellar conformation that outperform some of the horses that have perfect conformation and breeding. Because of this I don't really look for conformation as a general rule unless there are large conformation faults or I'm looking for an A or AA hunter. I do realize that in the A and AA shows for hunters anyway, (and I assume for a few other disciplines out there) that conformation does mean a lot in the judging aspect.

That said I think it is hard to tell which way a horse is going to go until you try it with them. I would just start working with her and see what you think. Maybe even wait until she's old enough to jump and then start making decisions from there. If she has nice big flowy movement and good extension and goes into the bridle well, then she may make a good dressage horse. When you start jumping her, if that is what you decide to do, and she is bold to the fences, then maybe jumpers or eventing is for her. Or if she has really cute jumping form and decent movement then maybe she would make a good hunter or eq horse. If you really had aspirations to her being an eq horse then try it out and see how it goes.

I think it is important though that the horse have good enough conformation that the particular sport does not cause him/her any harm. I do not see any blaring conformation faults that would prevent your mare from any of the english sports, although some front and back conformation and hoof pictures would definitely be helpful in that regard.

I hope that helps, I know you asked for conformation advice but I personally don't worry about that aspect too much. Anyway, congratulations again and have fun!!

[ivy62]

Thanks, that is just what I need to hear...actually when she was a baby running around in the indoor, it was winter and the fields were a sheet of ice so our turnout was now the ring, she was running around with the other yearling she cantered up to a little gate fence and popped right over it! she has a kind eye and is very sane it seems except about her feet being trimmed..Do not know why but that is what she is a butthead about but we are working on it.....
I know I did not pay a lot of money for her but the years of growing and training still add up so I hope she turns out to be nice enough to be worth the money too! I am hoping she will be a 12th b'day present for my daughter in 5 years...

[ivy62]

this is her a 3 year old

http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg115/ivy62/?action=view&current=VogueTrim.jpg

as a yearling

http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg115/ivy62/?action=view&current=Sabina2.jpg