Get Yourself a Stonewall Super-Find April 10th

• Name:  Warrior’s Image
• Registration #:  115859 (Road Warrior x Stoney’s Diamond Girl by Stonewall’s GTX)
• Date Foaled:  5/1/04
• Height: 17h
• Gender:  Gelding
• Location:  The Ranch Program at Salem 15161 N. 400 East Road  Flanagan, IL 61740
• Cost: $2000, Lot #31, Auction April 10, 2010.  Proceeds from this benefit Salem Children’s Home.
• Contact:  Phone bids and sealed bids welcomed if you can’t make it to sale.  Please call Jo, 815-796-4561, Ext.121 to arrange.

What I see:

This is a green horse, and I think that some of his lack of experience can trick the eye.  His muscle development is not great, but I like what I see when one considers that he’s green and not been taught to use his body fully.  Right now, he travels inverted.  He has a slight false ewe neck and a weak back and loin.  His lack of muscle makes me think that he’s longer than he really is, although for jumping sports he falls into a length which I find acceptable.  His shoulder is slightly upright, which I tend to prefer for jumping, and he has a nice high point of shoulder with good length of humerus.  This tells me that this horse will be tidy over jumps, and with his length of body, he might have some style in terms of scope.  I’d like to get a better look at his lower legs, specifically his fronts.  It’s hard to tell what’s going on around the transition from his knee to lower leg, and I’d investigate that further.  Also, he’s standing in deep sand which has him rotating a bit forward on all four feet.  I’d prefer to see  his angles on a more solid surface.  He appears to have good bone, but I’d like to see a bit more up front.

His length of neck is nice for his overall shape, and once he stops pushing his neck up from below, and begins working over his topline, I think it will fill out and muscle nicely.

I wish he had more depth to his hip, with a steeper angle to his pelvis and more length to his femur.  This would push his stifle further forward and lower, which is ideal, but he still falls into what I consider acceptable for a horse who warrants consideration.  As we all know, the hindquarters are the weakest point in saddlebreds today.  I like that without proper or regular work, his hindquarters haven’t wasted away.  That tells me that they are efficient enough to maintain, and can only improve.  Also, it’s important to remember that once he starts working over his back , he will strengthen the ring of muscles which comprise his loin area and begin to engage his hind end more.  This will give the appearance of rotating his pelvis downward as he starts to step further under himself, and he will build more power that way.  He will then look less flatter in the croup.

As far as gaits, I think he has potential.  I didn’t get a chance to watch all of the videos, and was disappointed to not see any footage of walking.  Anyone who asks me about a horse knows that I feel very strongly about the walk.  You can tell so much from a horse’s walk.  So, I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to see the “whole package”.  In terms of his trot, he trails a bit behind but, as I said before, I see a horse who maintains at a decent level without regular or correct work.  This will improve with correct work.  He also had promising articulation in his hock without really engaging his hind end.  I like that at lot.  His canter was balanced enough, and would only improve once he (again) got his head down and worked over his back.  Basically, he would be a different horse in all aspects if he would just learn to work over his back.

If I were looking for a project, or maybe even an additional horse for myself, I’d really consider this guy.  His basic structure helps him to maintain at an acceptable level on his own, but he would need to transform through proper use of his body in order to excel in a sport discipline.  His size bothers me a bit, as I prefer a horse to be around 16.2, but he’s not built like a monster and is in good proportion.  He stands a chance at being more quick than other horses of a similar height.  I would absolutely point this horse towards a career in jumpers, and think that his conformation suggests that he may do well at the mid levels.