Sporthorse conf critique ?

[kirribee]

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo269/kirribeecustomcovers/Belle-shrunk-feb-11.jpg yearling

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo269/kirribeecustomcovers/Belle-trotting-4.jpg photo at 6 mths old


What do you think of this purebred yearling filly as a sporthorse prospect ?

[silvia]

Well you already know what I think about Belle :D

But I'd like to point out that at this age she will be spending the next year developing her chest and girth, and it won't be until she is 2 that her shoulder will start to develop and catch up. So while the angle of her shoulder is open at the moment, it will close nicely next year and show off the quality of her shoulder.

[ASBJumper]

I am GREEEEEN with envy. Seriously, hating you right now. I want that filly soooo bad.

She is spectacular. I would KILL to have a pure ASB filly like her for my breeding program. Gorgeous conformation PLUS bay PLUS bling?? Gaahh!! JEALOOOOOUS!!!

Australia really seems to be doing the breed a great service, breeding well-conformed, quality animals that can shine in any ring - why aren't there more Saddlebreds in the USA that look like her?! :blink:

[D_BaldStockings]

Very attractive filly with a lot more growing to do.

Like her front legs and her depth of body. Lovely neck, perhaps a tad high for 'sport'.

I look forward to seeing how she matures, especially as she develops more muscling.


Which sport?

Expecting people to judge without a video? hmmm. Not the way I pick young horses. Assuming she has the good mind needed, too.

[kirribee]

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo269/kirribeecustomcovers/Belle-pedigree.jpg

This filly unfortunately hit her shoulder when she was younger and now has nerve damage and some muscle wastage, which you can see in the photo.
I was hoping for a dressage career with her but all I can hope for now is that she will be sound enough to be happy in the paddock.

She has a good mind, a little too smart for her own good ,she is not a hot type ,we do not have too many of those here,probably because we breed for performance.

I have attached a copy of her breeding just out of interest for those who follow bloodlines ,as you can see close up on her dams side is all Aussie breeding .Her dams sire was a good performance horse competing across a range of disciplines.

I own her sire and dam so I can try for another like her in the future.

We breed for performance qualities as in Australia we do not have gaited classes so all our horses go out and compete in open competitions against other breeds etc.

It would be nice to see other yearlings that have been bred for performance :)

[D_BaldStockings]

Hi,
I had been meaning to get back to this thread as I think it is interesting that some of the horses in your filly's pedigree have been known to produce 'hot' here in the US and perhaps what we are talking about are somewhat different definitions of the same word.

But that is another story; what I want to encourage you to do is, so long as there is not actual bone reforming on your filly do not lose heart.

If she is young there is a very good chance that much if not all of her nerve and muscle use can be rebuilt with gradually increasing challenges to use over time if that is your interest.

I had a mare with facial paralysis on one side due to injury and although it looked odd for more than a year did eventually resolve. (No, I did not give her any special exercises, it was just time)

There is an old book The Will to Win about the US horse Jay Trump, winner of the Aintree Grand National that documents his recovery from a horrendous crash through the fence during a work in his early flat racing training.

No one thought the horse would walk right again, let alone gallop and race; only his owner doggedly kept pushing and working. The horse regained soundness, was sold as a timber racer and eventually proved worth entering in the greatest Steeplechase in England.

The run to the finish after the final fence:
http://www.sporthorse-data.com/horse/10556645/960/Horse_Jay_Trump-_2big.jpg

Maybe your filly won't be a 'miracle'. But then again...

[ASB Stars]

Jay Trump hit his knee, and they were able to do surgery on it- and his owner rehabbed him.

Shoulders are more problematic..IMHO.

But The Will to Win is probably my favorite horse book, save one.

And I like to think of the time I actually saw the horse, after his retirement, under saddle. He was amazing!

[kirribee]

I have not locked this filly up as I think that she needs to be able to exercise freely and I also massage her shoulder, we do lots of stretches through clicker training which also keeps her brain active.

She is not as lame as she has been and I see her running around the paddock daily she almost does not look lame at all.

There is hope for her yet,she has such a huge personality too.

[D_BaldStockings]

I only read the book, and that about 30 years ago, but surgery in 1965 wasn't what it is today, especially for non-winning young TBs, and I recall part of the treatment was forcing the horse to hobble along as best he could for some time with a trailing person bopping his butt; not something you'd likely be able to do to a horse under current welfare abuse law ...

At any rate, the sentiment of time can fix much with regard to young horses and nerve injury stands.
http://www.neurovideos.vet.cornell.edu/Video99.aspx?vid=99-01#
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10363099

How wonderful that you actually got to meet him!


Jay Trump hit his knee, and they were able to do surgery on it- and his owner rehabbed him.

Shoulders are more problematic..IMHO.

But The Will to Win is probably my favorite horse book, save one.

And I like to think of the time I actually saw the horse, after his retirement, under saddle. He was amazing!

[ASB Stars]

Actually, his owner beat on him with a chain shank, to keep him moving. PETA would have put a stop to that!:oops:

However, his damage wasn't really nerve related, but he did need to keep moving to avoid adhesions, and the like. His owner, Jay Sensenich, was well ahead of his time with the idea of keeping them moving- they are only recently realizing that you need to rehabilitate bowed tendons with careful exercise.

You could still see the scar on his knee, and he had to be all of 20, when I saw him. And still, he was a handful!:wub:

[D_BaldStockings]

"But The Will to Win is probably my favorite horse book, save one."

Black Beauty?
My Horses, My teachers?

you can't just leave us hanging, you know

[RoxannCain]

Gorgeous! Exactly the shoulder/neck set-up I'd like to see in an ASB sporthorse. She even appears to have a bit more of a downwards-sloping croup, too. Please tell me you're going to be jumping this horse :drool: