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 | | From: | Dana Compton | | Subject: | big rider itty bitty horse | | Date: | 22 Jan 2005 00:14:11 GMT |
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 | I think I am about to get myself into trouble with my big mouth. New horse at
the boarding barn. LITTLE horse. 600-650 pounds or so. Registered QH I am told
"Western Pleasure Horse". No one knows the horses name so he is called the
Western Pleasure Horse.
I am thinking this horse is a yearling. Scrawny little legs and small not
horrible but small, yearling size.
last night I see this big guy 6' at LEAST 200 pounds. taking some stuff in the
barn. So I guessing it's his horses (it's a small barn).
Today I ask around and sure enough it's his horse, it's supposed to be 3 and he
rides it with this huge 50 pound western saddle.
WTF I honestly don't know how this little horse could possibly canter with this
guy and saddle on him.
I realize I have big horses and it's waht i'm used to but holy cow, is this the
norm at the QH shows? Anyone know? How do you all judge what a horse can carry?
Dana
Azthor - 8 year old Saddlebred gelding
Juan's Magic- 17 year old Thoroughbred gelding
The Urantia Book a Logical/Scientific Christian Book
www.urantia.com
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| | From: | cindi | | Subject: | Re: big rider itty bitty horse | | Date: | 21 Jan 2005 20:58:31 -0800 |
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Dana Compton wrote:
> I think I am about to get myself into trouble with my big mouth. New
horse at
> the boarding barn. LITTLE horse. 600-650 pounds or so. Registered QH
I am told
> "Western Pleasure Horse". No one knows the horses name so he is
called the
> Western Pleasure Horse.
Western pleasure quarter horses are typically pretty large - often tall
and lanky, but not small like your typical QH cutting horse. In fact
you can't even sell a nicely bred, nicely trained western pleasure
horse for top dollar if he's under 16 hh. Now, for the lower levels,
the shows that aren't as competitive, you often see 14.3 hh or so
horses with kids on them doing their version of western pleasure. But
the big time WP horses are tall.
> I am thinking this horse is a yearling. Scrawny little legs and small
not
> horrible but small, yearling size.
> last night I see this big guy 6' at LEAST 200 pounds. taking some
stuff in the
> barn. So I guessing it's his horses (it's a small barn).
> Today I ask around and sure enough it's his horse, it's supposed to
be 3 and he
> rides it with this huge 50 pound western saddle.
> WTF I honestly don't know how this little horse could possibly canter
with this
> guy and saddle on him.
>
> I realize I have big horses and it's waht i'm used to but holy cow,
is this the
> norm at the QH shows?
I haven't seen horses ridden based on size in the Western world. I see
them ridden based on age and regardless of size. I am very surprised a
horse that small is being called a western pleasure horse, but if it
were a cutting-bred horse I'd not be surprised at all that the horse
looks too small to be ridden. If you have a cutting, reining or
working cowhorse futurity prospect, they are started under saddle at 18
months or so. I have one who's coming-2 and is only 13.2 hh or so and
still scrawny, but with a stellar cutting/working cowhorse pedigree,
and I already know from previous conversations none of the bigtime
trainers would take her this late. It doesn't matter because I
wouldn't send her to training this young - that's my philosophy now,
and it pretty much ensures I'll never have a bigtime cutting/cowhorse
operation because I'll never produce a futurity horse. Oh well.
> Anyone know? How do you all judge what a horse can carry?
Honestly most pro cowhorse type trainers break them to ride at least by
two. Some working cattle operations wait until the 3 year old year,
but from what I've read, even most of them will start them lightly in
the fall of their 2 year old year and then turn them out for winter and
bring them back in in the spring as three year olds. You read stories
all the time in all the trade magazines where the bigtime trainers and
ranchers say things like, "Yeah, that Peppy Leo San O'Lena, he was real
scrawny as a two year old, but he sure had heart", or whatever... They
seem to start them anyway.
Like I've said before, I'd love to see some actual data on lameness
rates of these western horses who are started early versus horses in
dressage barns who aren't started until age 4. There would be some
bias since the types are so different, but I'd still like to see a big
study on it.
cindi
http://www.allisonacres.com
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| | From: | Emily Brooks | | Subject: | Re: big rider itty bitty horse | | Date: | Sat, 22 Jan 2005 15:54:46 -0500 |
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"cindi" wrote in message
news:1106369911.425057.112340@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> Western pleasure quarter horses are typically pretty large - often tall
> and lanky, but not small like your typical QH cutting horse. In fact
> you can't even sell a nicely bred, nicely trained western pleasure
> horse for top dollar if he's under 16 hh. Now, for the lower levels,
> the shows that aren't as competitive, you often see 14.3 hh or so
> horses with kids on them doing their version of western pleasure. But
> the big time WP horses are tall.
>
I can back up Cindi from East of the Mississippi - the local Paint futurity
guy, no longer at my boarding barn, drooled over my big Paint precisely
because LPFG wanted the SIZE for Western Pleasure. This after I bought from
a real Paint breeder who was advertising this particular horse to the
"English folk" - because of his size. But the breeder was more into speed
classes like barrels than rail classes.
Emily
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