which_chick (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
which_chick) wrote2011-08-14 11:49 pm
which_chick) wrote2011-08-14 11:49 pm
(no subject)
Trys's company came and went. They seemed to have a good time.
Alyse rode Whimsy (Project Horse) on Saturday and Kat rode Nick (not-a-project-horse, my real horse) on Sunday. Alyse thinks Whimsy is fun -- and she is. She's a nice ride and a pleasant mare to boot. She's just... green, and thus does not set her head or have insta-response lateral skillz or any of that stuff. Don't get me wrong -- I like Whimsy and everything, but she's just not that interesting to me. *sigh* She's a Project Horse and I'll be done with her when we're done competitive-riding this year.
Nick, on the other hand, is not a Project Horse but rather a pearl of great price who does not yet bore me. She's been over at the other field since the middle of June (if she's in the field at the house, I will not work with Whimsy...) but I hadn't been on her since before that due to the 30K at Rothrock taking up all of my available time. I brought Nick back from the other field this morning (she was an ass in-hand for most of the way) and hopped on her this afternoon to go bombing over fences. She hasn't jumped anything since late last fall and neither have I. However, it went fine anyway. (There was some small bucking but I really think that was rider error (mine) and not her being more of an ass than usual.)
Convinced at that point that Nick would probably not kill anyone else, I hopped off and put Kat on to take my critter out for a spin. Nick didn't kill her, which was good. Kat seemed to think Nick was pretty OK as a horse, which was also good. Kat (more of a rider than I am -- better hands, seat, timing, rhythm) got all sorts of interesting and effective lateral movements out of Nick, the which I cannot exactly manage because my cues and timing and stuff aren't there yet. *sigh* Trysta helpfully said, "Yeah, she doesn't look nearly that cool when you ride her." All heart, that Trysta. :P
The most interesting thing I got from having other people our critters was that our critters, who are not huge, apparently ride like bigger critters. Whimsy, who is 14.3 hh, apparently rides like a "real" horse-sized horse. Alyse says "All her gaits feel extended." (They're not. Whims moves out nicely, not rushed, but not lollygagging. I like a brisk walk on my competitive trail mounts, dontchaknow. Also, she will extend the trot if asked, but the out-of-the-box trot is not real extended. I have not asked Whims to extend the canter but she apparently does do that now, having been asked by Alyse.) Thyme allegedly feels "kind of warmblood-ish" but she's 14 and a little bit.
Similarly, on a good day, with shoes, very upright and "terrified" by the evil measuring stick, Nick stands 13.3 3/4 tall. She's a pony. A lot of the horse world thinks I (at 5'7") should be riding a bigger horse. My pony lady in Altoona certainly thought so -- I never heard the end of it at lesson. The thing is that Nick does not feel like a pony when you sit on her. She doesn't have crappy little pony gaits, either. Kat, upon riding Nick, said she felt like a larger critter and allowed as how she totally got the "plenty under the hood" feeling. Kat also allowed as how Nick made a convincing argument for her re-evaluating the utility and athleticism of those back legs, but that was pretty backhanded as compliments go. See, Nick has cow hocks, rather evident ones. The cow hocks, allegedly "less useful" than straight hocks, are a conformation fault. They do not seem to hinder her everyday movement, though, and the everyday movement is pretty OK.)
As flattering as all of this "ride bigger than they look" business is, I suspect that a big part of the reason our critters feel like they're surprisingly big movers is that they don't see much ring time. They're ridden around the real world, for the purpose of GOING somewhere, typically over uneven ground and frequently with things of interest going on (like deer jumping out in front of them or some people four-wheeling past or whatever). This sort of outdoors activity contributes to a "working walk" that actually covers territory efficiently instead of the shut-down and deadened walk that many ring-work-only horses have. It's a lot easier to have a big, animated walk out there in the real world where there is plenty to see and do. Having an awesome walk going round-n-round in a ring is challenging in a different way -- lots more motivation has to come from the rider in that world. Just something to bear in mind when the comparisons are made, is all.
Alyse rode Whimsy (Project Horse) on Saturday and Kat rode Nick (not-a-project-horse, my real horse) on Sunday. Alyse thinks Whimsy is fun -- and she is. She's a nice ride and a pleasant mare to boot. She's just... green, and thus does not set her head or have insta-response lateral skillz or any of that stuff. Don't get me wrong -- I like Whimsy and everything, but she's just not that interesting to me. *sigh* She's a Project Horse and I'll be done with her when we're done competitive-riding this year.
Nick, on the other hand, is not a Project Horse but rather a pearl of great price who does not yet bore me. She's been over at the other field since the middle of June (if she's in the field at the house, I will not work with Whimsy...) but I hadn't been on her since before that due to the 30K at Rothrock taking up all of my available time. I brought Nick back from the other field this morning (she was an ass in-hand for most of the way) and hopped on her this afternoon to go bombing over fences. She hasn't jumped anything since late last fall and neither have I. However, it went fine anyway. (There was some small bucking but I really think that was rider error (mine) and not her being more of an ass than usual.)
Convinced at that point that Nick would probably not kill anyone else, I hopped off and put Kat on to take my critter out for a spin. Nick didn't kill her, which was good. Kat seemed to think Nick was pretty OK as a horse, which was also good. Kat (more of a rider than I am -- better hands, seat, timing, rhythm) got all sorts of interesting and effective lateral movements out of Nick, the which I cannot exactly manage because my cues and timing and stuff aren't there yet. *sigh* Trysta helpfully said, "Yeah, she doesn't look nearly that cool when you ride her." All heart, that Trysta. :P
The most interesting thing I got from having other people our critters was that our critters, who are not huge, apparently ride like bigger critters. Whimsy, who is 14.3 hh, apparently rides like a "real" horse-sized horse. Alyse says "All her gaits feel extended." (They're not. Whims moves out nicely, not rushed, but not lollygagging. I like a brisk walk on my competitive trail mounts, dontchaknow. Also, she will extend the trot if asked, but the out-of-the-box trot is not real extended. I have not asked Whims to extend the canter but she apparently does do that now, having been asked by Alyse.) Thyme allegedly feels "kind of warmblood-ish" but she's 14 and a little bit.
Similarly, on a good day, with shoes, very upright and "terrified" by the evil measuring stick, Nick stands 13.3 3/4 tall. She's a pony. A lot of the horse world thinks I (at 5'7") should be riding a bigger horse. My pony lady in Altoona certainly thought so -- I never heard the end of it at lesson. The thing is that Nick does not feel like a pony when you sit on her. She doesn't have crappy little pony gaits, either. Kat, upon riding Nick, said she felt like a larger critter and allowed as how she totally got the "plenty under the hood" feeling. Kat also allowed as how Nick made a convincing argument for her re-evaluating the utility and athleticism of those back legs, but that was pretty backhanded as compliments go. See, Nick has cow hocks, rather evident ones. The cow hocks, allegedly "less useful" than straight hocks, are a conformation fault. They do not seem to hinder her everyday movement, though, and the everyday movement is pretty OK.)
As flattering as all of this "ride bigger than they look" business is, I suspect that a big part of the reason our critters feel like they're surprisingly big movers is that they don't see much ring time. They're ridden around the real world, for the purpose of GOING somewhere, typically over uneven ground and frequently with things of interest going on (like deer jumping out in front of them or some people four-wheeling past or whatever). This sort of outdoors activity contributes to a "working walk" that actually covers territory efficiently instead of the shut-down and deadened walk that many ring-work-only horses have. It's a lot easier to have a big, animated walk out there in the real world where there is plenty to see and do. Having an awesome walk going round-n-round in a ring is challenging in a different way -- lots more motivation has to come from the rider in that world. Just something to bear in mind when the comparisons are made, is all.
no subject
I'm more concerned with her length of upper leg (something Phantom had, and Tin does at the moment) than her cow hocks. I (and I know the looks I get for this) like a little bit of cow hocked. Not that much, but a little.
The 12 rides and we can canter in an open field is really was speaks well of these horses to me.
Except Charlie.
no subject
The "length of upper leg" that you're talking about is ... from where the hind leg joins the body (the stifle joint thingie) down to the hock? Like, the gaskin muscle area? Analog in the front would be the forearm?
Referring to Tin:
To me, Tin looks kind of string-bean-y right now. Particularly, his cannons look too long for the rest of him. I'm hoping he grows into them. This picture definitely captures him at an awkward moment where he's butt-high. He's not like that all the time.
and to Nick:
Nick (as an adult) looks reasonably OK to me, nothing glaringly horrible. Her hocks are bad, yes, but the rest of the back leg doesn't bother me much. She's got nice, short cannons on front and back, which I was always taught was proper. I do think her legs in front are kind of stubby-looking (on the forearm part) but her stride is acceptable. (Distance from point-of-shoulder to elbow is good and probably compensates for the otherwise stubby front legs.)
Now, if we look at Whimsy:
She's built fairly well and tracks up beautifully (mechanically, she's a much better mover than Nick) and still Whimsy has longer upper leg than lower leg by a visible margin... with nice, short cannons for her size.
I'm not seeing the issue, here, and maybe my problem is that all my examples contain the issue. I need to see (by comparison to a more-ideal critter) what the issue is. Can you post a couple of pictures that do not have the problem so that I can see what "more correct" looks like?
no subject
I wouldn't have looked twice at Tin having it (as you say, most babies get that way) except for Nick & Phantom sharing that trait.
Again, its one of those "how much is two much". A little bit exaggerates any over track (in, say Tenn. Walkers), or that big flat halter trot in Arabs. Too much is supposed to get in the way. Except these horses don't seem to listen to what they aren't supposed to be able to do.
I'll see if I can ply with photoshop and add some lines & angles to photos when I bored this week because Alyse is visiting family.
no subject
Here are the steps I used.
Step 1: Level the image. I did this using gridlines in Gimp. Draw ground line.
Step 2: Put dots on picture for point of hip, point of buttock, center of ankle joint.
Step 3: Draw line connecting points of hip, buttock. Find midpoint of line (did this using the "measure" thing in Gimp, found total length of line, divided pixels by two for a number, went out that many pixels from one side, noted coordinates in x,y. Put dot at coordinates so noted.
Step 4: Draw horizontal line through leg, passing through dimple of patella on stifle. Find 3/4 of the way forward, that's the stifle joint. (Measure line, multiply by .75, go that many pixels from back of horse, note coordinates, put dot at coordinates.)
Step 5: Draw oblique line from point of hock through fat bulge on front of hock. Find midpoint of line, as this is functional center of hock joint. Put dot there.
Step 6: Connect dot at hip socket to dot for stifle. Connect dot at stifle to dot at hock. Connect hock dot to ankle dot, draw complete line through middle of hoof to ground.
Step 7: Construct ground lines (Red line vertical to ground from point of buttock, green line vertical to ground from hip socket joint).
Step 8: Examine image. You're going to be looking at THL (total hind length) which is the sum of your line segments (hip socket to stifle, stifle to hock, hock to ankle, ankle to ground) and comparing that to the standing hip height (the vertical green line you just drew). Ideally, your THL is between 106% to 108% of the standing hip height, says the magazine. Post legged critter THLs are 100 to 105% of standing hip height. Over-angulated hind limbs are 110% or more of standing hip height.
Also you are supposed to look at the angles of stifle and hock, sum them, and then divide by 360. What you want there is 79% to 87%, with near-ideal being 80%.
I wish I'd saved previous articles on things like "downhill balance" and stuff because I totally could do all that crap now that I have sort-of learned a small segment of what my graphics program can actually do for me...