Before attending an evaluation, study up on things to look for which will help you make educated opinions and decisions about what you see.
Evaluations should be about good conformation and natural gait.
What is good conformation?
What is natural gait?
These are things that you will see, which are *past* the color of the horse, and the mane and tail.
Of course, they are much more important than any of those things!
So, we need to know how to evaluate, for ourselves, conformation and gait.
What tells you if legs are good or not? Good conformation of the legs leads to good movement, and *protection* boots will be unnecessary!
What tells you if it's a natural gait?
Natural gait is what the horse offers with no mechanical or artificial aids. Mechanical and / or artificial aids include:
[] tight, narrow, long saddles that pinch and dig,
[] "brida" saddles (icelandic saddles are "brida" saddles),
[] riders sitting anywhere other than the sweet spot of the horse, just behind the withers (brida, cantle or loin sitters are mechanical aids),
[] any weight on the distal limb, which includes shoes and / or boots;
[] nosebands, particularly tight nosebands;
[] bits: icelandic, gag, wonder, pessoa, single-jointed, whatever doesn't fit or bothers the horse;
[] intimidation of the horse with a whip;
[] concussive practices.
Things to look for:
[] Notice how much contact the riders have on the reins...
[] How much is the bit being pulled through the mouth, or how much it is stretching the lips
[] Is there a lot of head tossing? horse tipping his head at odd angles?
[] Is the horse opening his mouth? If not, is the noseband too tight? If so, we have to wonder why?
[] Is the rider sitting on the back of the saddle? does the saddle end past the last rib? is it sitting over, or digging into the loins?
[] Does the horse have boots on? Why? how much are they affecting his gait, and how crooked are his legs? Horses with straight (correct) legs, do not need protection.
[] Do the riders ever give the horse a release from the rein contact?
[] Is the horse able to stand still on a casual rein, or does the rider keep the horse behind the vertical?
[] Notice the horse's frame in gait... is he pulled up in the head and neck? are there wrinkles at the withers, in front of the saddle?
[] What kind of bits are being used?
[] How much does the rider yank on the horse's mouth to change gaits?
[] Does the rider pound on the horse's back at the trot?
[] How much does the horse's front legs wing? how much do his back legs cross the center line?
What is wrong with natural gaits? Mechanical / manipulated / artificial gaits are not inherited, so they do no good for evaluation scores that are used to determine which horse to breed to which horse.
Have you ever heard the old theory about breeding only four-gaited horses and you'll lose the tolt? That is entirely logical if the gaits are manipulated! The three-gaited horse can be forced into tolt to get evaluated and scored as a four-gaited horse (heck, enough weight, enough ventroflexion, and enough heavy contact will produce "gait" in any horse!), but he really doesn't have any natural gait in him!
There are so many things to think about, to learn about, to be able to make informed, educated decisions and opinions in the best interests of the horse and the breed.
As Gerd Heuschmann says in his book:
"I take my hat off to all people who have the courage to stand up, not follow the crowd, at times be "loud" and clearly point out deplorable states of affairs."
"Horses don't have a sound for expressing pain. Just imagine how loud the noise would be... if these wonderful creatures opened their mouths not only when facing a hand that is too hard..."
We want the best for the breed; the best tack, the best riders, the best riding style, the best knowledge and education, the best, most productive evaluations, so that the breed can be the best it can be!
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