Skip to main content

Due to decreasing use over the years, I have decided to disable the forum functionality of the site.

Forums will still be available to view but new posts are no longer allowed.

Curiousity Critque! coming 3 y/o

What do you think? Will be 3 on May 3. Also guess the breed for kicks! If you know him then obviously don't guess, but still feel free to critique! He does still have some filling out and growing to do. Be as brutal as you'd like. In fact, I encourage it! The most UTD picture with him standing almost square. Don't worry, his back legs are not cow hocked or sickle hocked. [img]http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/hs409.snc3/24734_380755432559_510832559_3…] Trot [img]http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs429.snc3/24734_379208302559_510832559_3…] [img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-sjc1/hs429.snc3/24734_3792092075…] Some fun ones.. [img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-sjc1/hs055.snc3/14259_2139882425…] [img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-sjc1/hs055.snc3/14259_2139882525…]

Jenks Tue, 05/04/2010 - 19:54

Honestly ? A crit with him saddled up and not square?! LOL He looks like he is coming along well! Can't say anything about a lot of things because he simply isn't square! I think he looks nice though! I will make a stab keeping in mind hints that let you know what you show:

His outside front leg being back and not perpendicular to the ground closes his shoulder angle (PS - It's still an open angle but would be moreso). His cannon bones are nicely short, close to half the length of his forearm which is really good. He does look toed out on that same foot, but it maybe because of the stance you've captured him in. His back looks long, but you really can't tell with the girl and the saddle. The length of back is from the peak of the withers to the lumbosacral joint. The point of the croup is not peaky, but will look better with weight and muscle. The placement of his LSJ is [b]really[/b]good. He is slightly long in the hip (but his rear outside leg also interferes with exact interpretation). Long hips make good jumpers, but a perfect triangle makes a sound riding horse, and were his hind cannon were perpendicular with the ground? He would be more likely equal back there. His hoof angles do not match his shoulder - but you have a weight on him - and visual obstruction to the shoulder as well as a stance that changes his scapula position to where it may not be a good angle to judge..... ") how's that?

I think he's a nice horse.

TwinCreeksFarm Tue, 05/04/2010 - 21:16

[quote]how's that? [/quote]
woo! pretty good!
what's the LSJ, and it's function? what makes it good?

also hoping to get more pictures soon. hopefully proper ones. :mrgreen:

ETA: I am the girl! That was my first ride on him. Couldn't stop smiling!! :lol:

Heidi Tue, 05/04/2010 - 21:50

LSJ = Lumbar Sacral Joint. That is where the spine joins the pelvis, sort of just above the point-of-hip.

Another thing I noted, at only 3yrs old he will grow a little more height through his barrel, from girth area up through the peak of his withers. I think he'll add at least another inch, with a possibility of just a touch more, over the next couple years.

No guess of breed though his coloring is very close to my former Paso Fino filly with the mane frosting.

Jenks Wed, 05/05/2010 - 09:14

I forgot to guess his breed! Warmblood? He looks really big too - or are you little? LOL

The LSJ is just below and often slightly in front of the point of the croup. How close it is to the croup depends on the length of the loin. The actual joint is deep in the back, around 4" beneath the surface. The closer to being in line with the point of the hip, the better. Seen from the side, it is best when the pelvic bone is long, and the peak of the croup is directly above the point of the hip, making the croup (the sacrum) as long as possible. Flexion in the lumbo-sacral joint is the main cause of bascule, and the longer the pelvic bone, the more leverage can be developed.

In contrast to the triangular area referred to as the loin is the lumbar span. It is the segment of the spine from T18, where the last ribs are connected, to the lumbo-sacral joint at the forward end of the croup, but not extending laterally to the points of the hips (Figure 2b to 2d). This lumbar span is the weakest area of the back. Unlike the spines above and below which have the ribs and pelvis attached, it has no other supporting bones. Unfortunately, this is the area where much of a rider’s weight is carried. When the lumbo-sacral joint is forward and the croup is lengthened, the lumbar span is shortened and the stress to which it is subjected is minimized.

excerpt from my books (Dr Deb Bennett)

Over and over again in this series of three booklets on conformation principles, I have emphasized the vital role of the vertebral column in determining a horse's athletic potential, and when it comes to discussing the hindquarters, the importance of the back certainly does not come to an end. The horse's hindquarters are joined to the rest of its body where its loins meet its croup. This point, called the lumbosacral joint, comprises about a six-square-inch surface of attachment. Consider the consequences of such and arraignment:
*The whole of the horse's massive hindquarters are attached to its rib cage - and the rest of its body - by a bony surface smaller than the palm of your hand
*All the thrust generated by the horse's hindquarter flows forward through this small junction
*The uppermost joint of the horse's hind limb is not the hip socked, but rather this, the lumbosacral joint.

TwinCreeksFarm Wed, 05/05/2010 - 19:30

hehehe he is a leggy thing isn't he? at his inspections as a yearling many of the bystanding comments were, "look at those LEGS!"

and I am 5'2". He is... 16 something lol. I have to measure!

Now: do you see breeding quality? (I know, I know... need new pictures... :D )