|
|
Post by Michelle Clarke on Jan 24, 2008 8:42:54 GMT -5
On another thread there was talk of horses going through the "uglies" and I thought it would be fun and we could learn lots if we shared experiences and even some picts of horses as they grew and how they turned out.
It is the HARDEST thing to pick out foals after they are weaned until they are about four or so. Iberian type horses don't really shine until they are 6 and 7 yrs. Many of mine will grow up to 2 more inches between 4 and 5 years old. We have had Lusitanos that will be about 15 hands as 3 year olds then get well over 16 hands by the time they are 6.
Besides looking at them at 3 days, 3 months, 3 years (actually 4 days, 4 months and 4 years for slower growing breeds like Kigers), anyone have any tips on the changes they go through and how to know?
|
|
|
|
Post by DianneC on Jan 24, 2008 12:15:03 GMT -5
Butt ups and downs of course, the old seesaw as young horses grow first on the front end and then the hind end higher. There can be a brief period when their backs look a tad long too. Meadow did that and grew out of it in a couple months. At the long yearling stage some Kigers heads grow out of proportion to their body. Chinny did that and I was asking him "you're going to grow into this head, right?" The parts are all nice, but they don't go together is the best I can describe it. Having seen that for a while I just have faith that they will be fine at three, better at five and awesome at seven if they were great when they are young.
|
|
|
|
Post by lindad on Jan 24, 2008 12:45:34 GMT -5
Boy Diannne, that is exactly how I described it when Bolero was a weanling! He looked like a conglomeration of parts. It was scarey to me because I had believed that he was going to be a really good horse, and he sure looked funny to me. Good thing that he has such a great personality was my thought! When we dicussed this on the message board at that time, someone said that the good ones don't go through the ugly misfit parts stage. At one year old a gangly but promising colt emerged that made folks around here take a second look. I have now seen about 7 Kiger stallions in person, and I would place Bo in the ranks of one of the good ones. Several, I woundered why they were stallions, because they still have parts that don't fit. The others ... they make your heart sing.
Linda D
|
|
|
|
Post by DianneC on Jan 25, 2008 0:19:57 GMT -5
That's exactly what I think is the norm Linda. Bravo was my first colt and such a charmer and good looking as a foal. As a weanling he was OK, but when he shed out as a yearling all of a sudden it was "who is THIS?" The change is dramatic, particularly in the boys. Not all of them do it, but I don't know that that makes them any better in the end.
|
|
|
|
Post by Michelle Clarke on Jan 25, 2008 7:51:55 GMT -5
Don't you hate when someone contacts you and asks for current pictures of some yearling?? Ugh.....a breeders nightmare! There is certainly some skill required in presented pictures and choosing the right ones to use. Someone emailed me once and said I needed conformation shots on my website of all the horses. Gosh, even the big Lusitano auctions don't do that, and they have horses selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars! There is no way to tell if the person looking at the pictures is halfway educated in correct conformation, much less looking at a gangly spanish horse at two years old!
|
|
|
|
Post by JoanMRK on Jan 25, 2008 13:29:48 GMT -5
Oh... you guys haven't seen ugly until you see some old photos of Sunnie. He was HORRIBLE as a yearling! His spine stuck up out of his back (regardless of what he was being fed), his parts didn't fit, his ears flopped out to the sides, his lip drooped, he was UGLY! But... thank goodness he blossomed and became what I had hoped for as a three year old. He'll be six in April... crazy to think it's been that long! But, I sure didn't take many pictures of him when he was young. There wasn't anything to take a photo of, especially if you didn't have a dark closet to bury them in.  |
|
|
|
Post by lindaf on Jan 25, 2008 15:15:37 GMT -5
Joan, speaking of photos, did you see the equine photo contest announcement?
Linda
|
|
|
|
Post by JoanMRK on Jan 25, 2008 17:27:49 GMT -5
Yes I did Linda, thank you. And... Mattie never did have an ugly day in her life.  My personal favorite photo of her, summer '07. |
|
|
|
Post by lindaf on Jan 25, 2008 17:41:29 GMT -5
Look at that sweet face! Such a gentle, kind, beautiful (and now in her adolescence, prissy) girl. : )
THANKS!!!!!!!
Linda
|
|
|
|
Post by fantasykiger on Feb 1, 2008 14:30:30 GMT -5
Well this is Fantasy all gangly looking, a face far to long and a body to slight for my taste. About the only thing going for her at this point was her lovely color, which we all know was soon to fade.  |
|
|
|
Post by nrly on Feb 7, 2008 22:21:08 GMT -5
Stormy had what I thought was a real long face she was out of sinc i thought but i would not say ugly. Just gangly, Now i feel she is such a pretty girl with such a pretty face. To some she might not be as nice looking a horse as she seems to me, it is all in the eyes of the beholder. She is perfect to me. yes i am prejudice. aren't all moms that way about their kids, and my horse's are my kids now that my kids are grown and doing their own thing.  |
|
|
|
Post by fantasykiger on Feb 8, 2008 13:38:04 GMT -5
The good thing is Fantasy grew into that face. She is a beefy girl now and very beautiful even in her chunky pregnant state today. ;D
Now it is her daughter Wickee who is the skinny girl that keeps getting taller but has yet to fill out. I just have to remind myself it is just a stage all teenage horses go thru' as Wickee will just be turning 3 this year.
|
|
|
|
Post by angelsdream on Feb 14, 2008 17:43:42 GMT -5
I think Mav is still in his ugly stage. I expect him to fill out this year. He's still a beatiful boy though.
|
|
|
|
Post by Michelle Clarke on Feb 15, 2008 8:37:03 GMT -5
we have had some purebred Lusitanos over the years and some don't even look like a decent horse until they are 5...then you see them at 7 and WOWSER! Right now Diva is going through such a ugly stage I hate to bring her out when clients are around!!! She is going to be four this spring and hopefully by next year she will shape up again!
|
|
|
|
Post by mustangdara on Dec 6, 2008 0:31:36 GMT -5
My moms mare was the same way ..we bought her as a older yearling and she was a doll!
Then came the spring of her 2nd year and yikes she got uglier and uglier!She had a head that was way too big and her sholder stuck out all the time. I really thought i had made a really bad choice convincing mom to buy her.The only thing she had was a shiny coat and that was about it at the time. It wasent until her sping of her 6th year that she REALLY blossomed!...she finally filled out got lots of muscle in the hip and rump and her head finally seemed to fit her body.
Do any of you have ideas on why kigers develop slower that other horses?
|
|
