I know that babies are hard to critique but im going to put her out there and see what i get back!!!

this is my 9 month old APHA filly, Tara Apache Jac. (she is 5 months old in the pictures)

i would love for her to be my 'all around' horse when she is older

here is her pedigree: Tara Apache Jac Paint

here is a link to her pictures:

Tara pictures by dimmers_double - Photobucket

Well, I'm not as up on APHA conformation, but she looks pretty good to me. Could just be the angle, but she seems to be camped out a bit in the rear. Love the markings and she has a very sweet face! I'd love to see some recent pics, how tall is she now?

i havnet measured her yet but her butt is about at my 'chest' she is starting to look all gangly like a growing teenager

when she was born, her back legs were really sprawed out behind her. they were thinking about putting braces on her back legs but they straightened out......i was hoping her back legs would be more set underneath herself like a reining or cutting horse but i think she is going to have the legs of a halter horse with the body of a performance horse.....
looking at the pictures and remembering that day, she was trying to stay close to my fiance so she might have been a little stretched out in the back but i do think her legs are slightly camped. hopefully she will grow into her back end.

i love her coloring too...... her papers call her a tobiano but her facial markings are more typical of an overo?

what do you think?

here are some updated photo's of Tara....gotta love the winter woolies. the new ones are dated for the 28th.
Enjoy!!!!!

Tara pictures by dimmers_double - Photobucket


i cant wait till the woolies are gone.....i miss her femanine look. lol!!!!!

Hello!

Your filly is gorgeous and has such a cute little face! I love her furball appearance. It's hard to get a good look at her underneath it all haha. I enjoyed many years of Horse Bowl, Hippology and judging during 4-H; I'm not the greatest but I'll try

She does stand underneath herself on the back end, but I really like her hind legs and hindquarters are well built. Her hocks and knees are close to level which I like.
Her croup is a bit steep, but it is quite possible that it's due to her standing underneath in the back end. She stands a bit sickle-hocked and I see this quite commonly in young horses; sometimes it grows out with time.
I like her short back, sloping shoulders, and the way her neck ties in to her shoulders well. In one photo where she is shedding out, I can see her head and neck very well, which is very defined. Overall, I think she is a well formed little girl, all three of her sections tie in well with each other.
You have got a Tobiano. In Overo color patterns, white would not cross the back.
BTW I really love the little white streak over her right eye! Thanks for posting! She is so cute

thank you so much AQHABreeder!!!!!!!!!! its good to know that her faults are pretty monor in your opinion......i will have to agree.....i have also noticed that she is toed in in the front and a little cow hocked in back but she should grow out of that......

i will post more picts as she starts to lose her woolies!!!!

thanks again!!!!!!!

I don't know that toed-in will grow out for you. Have never had it happen, though cow hocked can. Toed-in can be fixed depending upon the severity, with correctional trimming. I didn't find any front-view pictures, but from the side and looking as best I could, I didn't notice at all. It must not be too bad... (?)

Like I said, I really like her form. There wasn't anything to really hack into concerning her, the only very noticeable thing I noticed was her tucked-in appearance on her back end which isn't bad at all. She really is a decent 'lil' brick house!

i dont know why i said toed in......i ment toed out. lololol

Oh, oops lol. I was beginning to feel sort of blind that I hadn't noticed at least a tiny bit of toed-in ness when you mentioned it...but hey now I'm glad I didn't go back and say "yeah I noticed she was a bit toed-in, just didn't want to hack on too much."

Really though, I'm way to good to be that deceiving (haha!)

I have to say AQHABreeder, you are the nicest person i have ever met on ANY forum!!!!!! thank you so much!!!! i now know for sure i will be sticking around here a long time!!!! i will keep everyone, espcially you, updated on Tara's training and progress. she knows more than alot of 2 year olds i have worked with.

i have a question that can be a little contriversal but here it goes..........
what would be your opinion if i wanted to take my pony saddle(only weighs 5 pounds) and a pony cinch and 'saddle my baby up? only that 5 pound saddle. would this be a bad idea or would it benefit her training any? she was a very touchy filly when we first got her.....
would that 5 pounds be too much for her to handle?

Oh wow! Thanks so so much for that complement!!!! You are so sweet! *smiling hugely* I really needed that today... *haven't stopped smiling* I can't say as I've ever had a better complement on a forum before ;-D

About the saddle: No, not at all! Start as early as you want. The only difference would be, babies are different than that of a grown horse. More sensitive, more short of an attention span, will definitely remember the good and the bad that they learn, can get more easily overloaded with learning than an adult horse.

I would take it slowly and gradually, starting with something such as a rag/towel and letting her sniff it, play with it, rub it all over her body to let her know it's friendly, tossing it over her back, and later starting to flap it a bit around her, getting her accustomed to a saddle blanket. Then a pony saddle blanket (or whatever you'll use with the pony saddle)...same steps, and last the pony saddle. To adjust her slowly to the girth, you can use a soft lead rope and quick-release tie it around her belly loosely at first and gradually tightening over several days, and putting her in a stall/small pen to let her get used to the pressure.

All of this will make it easier for her to adjust to carrying a saddle. You can make each step as gradual and slow as you want, or if she's not bothered, can move along more quickly. I would be careful not to "overload" her mind with alot of stuff in one day, or looooong training periods. The best reward is "release" and she will learn quickly from a few short, simple training sessions, than one incredibly long one in a day.

Nine months is plenty old enough to carry a 5lb saddle. I can definitely say you will not regret starting her ground/saddle work at a young age. It will make it easier for you in the long run, because when she reaches 2 years old (which is when most people start their horses in saddle work), she will already be quite accustomed to a saddle, and you can move more quickly. Another plus is that she will already be trusting you more than other 2 year olds because of the pre-riding age training.

So Yes! GO for it and let me know how it comes along! I always love to hear about her and love hearing from you too

Good luck!

(wow, that's a long post...)

i will definatly keep you updated on her progress. i wasnt able to work with her today.......i really wanted to work with my mare.....she is starting to accept her lost eyesight and let me lead her around and even roundpen her a little. i was amazed.....she was so in tune with me the whole time and was very consious of my voice when she couldnt see me.....it was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your mare. I have dealt with the same thing, though it was years ago I can still remember the adjusting. Is it age that is causing her eyesight problem or something else?

she is only 10.....she got kicked in the face a couple weeks ago and lost her eyesight in her right eye........at first she was not wanting to adjust but now she seems so willing. she has always been the kind of horse that wants to work.....she loves to get down in the dirt and work until she is dripping sweat.....she has a great stamina!!!!! i think that got the best of her because now, she is acting like the injury is years old.....im going to ask my vet, but i think im going to try and run her on barrels this year instead of next. he wanted me to take the year off with her but she looks so deressed when im not working with her....im going to have my vet out to see her and get his opinion today.

Well I wish you the very best of luck with her. My favorite riding mare has exactly the same temperament. Loves to work for you, but not sure what's wrong when she's left to have a 'long holiday' in the pasture haha. She's not even really a social horse, horse-wise. Not that she is aggressive, but just simply doesn't prefer being around alot of horses all the time. She is more of a loner.