First off well done to those that said they didn’t feel they knew enough to really pass comments! I thought you did really well, stick with your instincts.
Secondly, I personally don’t see either horse behind the vertical but I guess some think they are.
When I first look either if it’s teaching or judging I look at the centre of the horses, not the ends, that comes later. What ever is going on in the core area of the horse and rider reflects out into the extremities too. Also, the word roundness comes to mind frequently.
Does the horse look ‘up’ and round through his back, lifting his rider? Or does it look like the rider is sitting more into a hole or depression?
Do the haunches look rounded and lower than the withers?
Does the top of the neck look rounded and importantly ‘pulling out’ from the withers up into the brow band, or does the top of the neck look like it is slightly pulling back into the withers?
Is there a ‘roundness’ up and forward to the underside of the neck, or is it braced forward and down?
Is there still a roundness to the fore limb even in it’s most extreme point of extension?
Does the tail carriage look like a symmetrical part of the rounded top line, or is to one side, swishing or clamped down?
Other details are of course symmetry of the hooves and limbs.
The openness of the throat latch area, or is it tight, pinching the parotid glands and pushing them out?
And the basics; are the hind legs out behind?
Does the whole picture look like a smart air craft about to take off with the front part elevated?
And the BIGGEST most important point of all; would you like to be riding THAT horse at that moment in time?
There you go, a few of the things I look for. Obviously not everything is in my list, you’ll have your own observations too. But I hope this is helpful to some of you for when you are next appraising photos or indeed the real thing.
Cheers.
When I first look either if it’s teaching or judging I look at the centre of the horses, not the ends, that comes later. What ever is going on in the core area of the horse and rider reflects out into the extremities too. Also, the word roundness comes to mind frequently.
Does the horse look ‘up’ and round through his back, lifting his rider? Or does it look like the rider is sitting more into a hole or depression?
Do the haunches look rounded and lower than the withers?
Does the top of the neck look rounded and importantly ‘pulling out’ from the withers up into the brow band, or does the top of the neck look like it is slightly pulling back into the withers?
Is there a ‘roundness’ up and forward to the underside of the neck, or is it braced forward and down?
Is there still a roundness to the fore limb even in it’s most extreme point of extension?
Does the tail carriage look like a symmetrical part of the rounded top line, or is to one side, swishing or clamped down?
Other details are of course symmetry of the hooves and limbs.
The openness of the throat latch area, or is it tight, pinching the parotid glands and pushing them out?
And the basics; are the hind legs out behind?
Does the whole picture look like a smart air craft about to take off with the front part elevated?
And the BIGGEST most important point of all; would you like to be riding THAT horse at that moment in time?
There you go, a few of the things I look for. Obviously not everything is in my list, you’ll have your own observations too. But I hope this is helpful to some of you for when you are next appraising photos or indeed the real thing.
Cheers.
