Whatcha think of this boy?

Serena · #1 04/11/13, 12:42 PM

We are being given a friends Welsh pony. I wanted to see what you guys think of him. Critique away... Hes going to take a little refresher training, hes been turned out for over a year and is hard to catch. Whatcha think of this boy? - Equine

My son is excited that eventually he will have his own horse to ride. Hes a sweety when caught... and going to be penned up in a small area once hes moved to our place so there isnt any catching issues until he learns we arent horse eaters...

RaigenB · #2 04/11/13, 01:17 PM

Cute fella!

jennigrey · #3 04/11/13, 01:43 PM

Good things I see:
He has withers to hold a saddle.
He doesn't have long hooves.
He looks to have sturdy legs.
He is not morbidly obese or crestfallen.

Hard to tell a lot about his conformation while he's in motion like that but beyond maybe having a slightly steep croup and maybe his neck tying in just a little low and maybe just slightly short pasterns, I don't see any glaring defects. Having the neck tie in low and the short-ish pasterns are commonly seen on ponies, I think.

Serena · #4 04/11/13, 02:58 PM

Here's another pic
Whatcha think of this boy? - Equine

Stonybrook · #5 04/11/13, 03:45 PM

Cute. I think he has a short back and a think neck. If I am right, finding a saddle to fit might be a challenge. Of course, I could be wrong. Conformation is not my area of expertise.

bergere · #6 04/12/13, 04:57 AM

He's cute!

saanengirl · #7 04/12/13, 09:29 AM

Very cute. A youth English saddle should fit just fine.

Serena · #8 04/12/13, 10:49 AM

He is leaner here in the pics than he was in the fall when we started discussing getting him. To me he still seems chunky.... I was expecting to have to cut him back a little feedwise. Does he look lean enough to you guys?

Being a Welsh (no papers just word of mouth info) would he be gated? He moves different that the Quarter horses. More glide to him... not sure how to describe it. Watching him trot and walk I'm hoping he will be nice to ride.

BackwoodsIdaho · #9 04/12/13, 10:50 AM

He needs to lose weight. Welsh ponies are not gaited.

jennigrey · #10 04/12/13, 11:35 AM

I agree with the other posters who said short back, thick neck, overweight. He will fit into a small English saddle but probably not a Western saddle. The skirts of any but the tiniest of Western saddles will rub him in the hip/stifle area. You might be able to find a small barrel racing Western saddle with a rounded skirt that fits him. Maybe a 13" or 14" small barrel racing saddle with a short, rounded skirt.

Something with a skirt like this: http://www.dailyequine.com/horsesadd...ing-saddle.jpg

LisaInN.Idaho · #11 04/12/13, 11:38 AM

My daughter's Rex would fit him beautifully, but I agree with Jenni that a western saddle would be much harder.

TroutRiver · #12 04/12/13, 12:18 PM

A little chubby, he looks out of shape but I think he's cute. Actually, he looks a lot like my first pony, a welsh/QH cross. If he's a welsh pony then he is definitely not gaited, but that doesn't mean he won't be nice to ride

EDIT TO ADD: How tall is he?

Will you be riding him english or western? I agree with the folks who said that an english saddle would be easier to fit, but you could find a western saddle that would work for him, it just might take some searching.

LisaInN.Idaho · #13 04/12/13, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TroutRiver

A little chubby, he looks out of shape but I think he's cute. Actually, he looks a lot like my first pony, a welsh/QH cross. If he's a welsh pony then he is definitely not gaited, but that doesn't mean he won't be nice to ride

I agree with others who said that an english saddle will be much easier to fit to him than a western saddle, unless you get a tiny little western saddle or one with a small, rounded skirt.

My older daughter's first pony was a Welsh/QH cross too. He was a good one.

Serena · #14 04/12/13, 12:50 PM

Diet it will be.... That was really what I was thinking was chuuuby. Plan is western. a friend has a small western saddle that she thinks will fit. She made the same comments about short rounded skirt.
It will be about a month before he is actually in our hands once I have him I will get size measurement. I have only handled him once, he's currently loose on 10 acres and near impossible to catch. We have a couple of trainer friends lined up to help get him "trained" again since he's been loose for so long. Plus hes bullied sooo much by the rest of the horses out there I think he will be a lot easier to handle when hes just one on one at our place.

Maura · #15 04/12/13, 03:36 PM

you write that he's hard to catch. When you get him, keep him in a confined area for a few days and have your son whistle whenever he goes over to the pen. Bring water, whistle; bring hay, whistle. When you need to catch him, just whistle and let him run over to you. Even better, you whistle, he comes to you and when he gets to right in front, turn and have him follow you (hold hand up so he comes up to son's shoulder and walks with him).

Serena · #16 04/12/13, 03:46 PM

Thanks for the pointers... so simple but I didnt quite think of it. The paddock he will have eventually is large but when he comes home he is going in a small pen about 16X16 expandable to 32X32 as we see how he will react. Im hoping that my son is as good with him as he is with our mini... he rules that little bratty mini and the mini obeys and follows him like a puppy... let an adult get in there and hes a pain in the patootie..