My new gelding

Mudpie became a gelding finally yesterday!! I am very relieved it is done and can't wait to get him back with the herd.
He's making a wonderful horse in all ways and I am prejudiced but I do think he is beautiful! He was a year old
the end of January.

Poor brainless guy...

I really like Mudpie, as you know. Unless he develops some issues he should have a lot of potential in a variety of disciplines...

Thanks face. He is put together very nicely I think and he is one of the reasons I can't decided to sell his dam just yet.

He's a good sized boy, what's he stick at for height?

We have not sticked him lately. We are going to bring him to the front pasture this weekend. I'll stick him then but he has grown A LOT in the last month or two it seems!

Another question for input. I have had mudpie for sale for a long time with a price tag that I knew was more than I could ever get due to worry that he might go on a slaughter truck. I always figured if the right buyer came along, I'd be very negotiable and in fact, I did find what sounded like a great home for him out West but that deal fell through, I think due to shipping. Anyway, I wonder if I shouldn't just remove him from the market until he is 2 and maybe get him started under saddle? I don't know if that would be better than trying to sell a long yearling or not and also don't know about the financial differences by keeping him versus getting more serious in trying to sell him now as a gelding. There should be more buyers interested in him gelded I would think. I'd honestly LOVE to keep him but I know he will be bigger than I need and I have enough riding horses too. Still, it's so hard to think of selling him because I just love his personality so much. I'm beginning to wonder if I wont' feel that way about all of them. It's very difficult and much more so than you think when planning this stuff. I'm also not certain the best direction to market him. Any ideas appreciated.

Everyone has their own method. I didn't sell mine till they were about 3 1/2 and trailbroke, so buyers could test their capabilities. The problem with Mudpie is he is capable of being much more than a trailhorse, but it would take an old timer like me that knows Appie pedigrees and conformation well enough to know it...Ideally, he should be placed with a good trainer when he is 3 or so to assess his capabilities, but that of course is not what most people want to do, and likely doesn't fit in with your situation...

Spotted Face wrote:

Everyone has their own method. I didn't sell mine till they were about 3 1/2 and trailbroke, so buyers could test their capabilities. The problem with Mudpie is he is capable of being much more than a trailhorse, but it would take an old timer like me that knows Appie pedigrees and conformation well enough to know it...Ideally, he should be placed with a good trainer when he is 3 or so to assess his capabilities, but that of course is not what most people want to do, and likely doesn't fit in with your situation...

We have been starting our young horses lightly at 2 but not riding them very hard. No Canter at all mostly walk with a trot here and there. It's a little more difficult for us because we have to pay a trainer. We're too old and I'm too fat to try to do it myself ;o).. Even if I lost all the weight i hope to lose, I still don't have the skills I need to do our own training. So that makes it harder. We do ground work and try to make sure our young horses are respectful but we still have things to learn even in that area.

As you know, we have been wanting to downsize for some time now because we spend all our time and money on upkeep and training and vetting and haying etc... and don't have the time we used to have to enjoy our horses but it seems the more we say we are downsizing, the more our numbers increase..lol.. I don't really know which direction would be best for Mudpie or Rascal and I'm still trying to decide how to best get them prepared and into a good home. I would not be surprised if we didn't still have them both at 3 because I don't want any of mine to go to just anybody. THAT is a freaking curse..lol.. Just kidding. It does make things more difficult though. Once again, I'm trying to think ahead and am just too tired to be making the attempt. We are going to add him back to pasture tomorrow if it is not raining buckets and I'm going to stick him then and get some more pictures. I think he is going to make an awesome horse.

Spotted Face wrote:

... The problem with Mudpie is he is capable of being much more than a trailhorse, but it would take an old timer like me that knows Appie pedigrees and conformation well enough to know it......

I wish you would consider taking him on as a final pre-retirement project! I'd make you an awesome deal on him! He really does have the best disposition of any horse I own with the possible exception of Dottie - who is a freak of nature and perhaps Joy, my orphan. But I'm partial to that little brat from having her nearly in my house for 4 months! I would absolutely love to send him to a home where he could be trained to the take full advantage of his capabilities. I am finding myself having a hard time selling ANY of my babies because I haven't found homes that I KNOW would be stable and secure. Ugh.. it's so hard.

Edited to add,

We are getting him out of the stall today for a couple hours of grazing and I'll try to stick him then. I totally forgot about easing him back onto pasture after two months on hay and grain! Kudos to my hubby who normally NEVER thinks of that stuff for remembering..lol..

Mudpie measures only 14.1. Pretty tall for just over a yearling but I thought he was taller.

Those pix show off his pretty head much better! 14.1 is pretty good for a long yearling; Indy is at 14.0 - he'll be a year old in 7 days.

I think I may have measured him wrong because Biscuit is 13.3 and gypsy (quarter horse) has FINALLY grown an inch or two taller than Biscuit but she is very definitely much shorter than mudpie. way more than an inch. So we are going to measure him again. We don't have many good level places here to do it and I was on a hill when I measured him but I thought it would still be accurate using the bubble. Maybe the bubble is off.

[quote="Clippity Clop"]Mudpie measures only 14.1. Pretty tall for just over a yearling but I thought he was taller.

14.1 is very tall for just over a year.

It's hard to tell at that age how big they will be. Some samples of mine in order of yearling height...

Rocky - 13 1/2 at 12 months - final height 15.0
Misty - 13.1 at 12 months - final height 15.0
Goldie - 13.1 at 12 months - final height 15.1
Rambo - 13.2 at 12 months - final height 15
Peanut - 13.2 at 12 months - final height 15.2
Cody - 13.2 at 12 months - final height 15.2
Star - 13.3 at 12 months - final height of 15.2
Casper - 13.3 1/2 at 12 months - final height 15.3
Chip - 14.1 at 12 months - final height 16.0
Cheyenne - 14.1 at 12 months - final height 15.2

He should be tall by Appy standards, though - somewhere between 15.2 and 16.

Clippity Clop wrote:

Spotted Face wrote:

... The problem with Mudpie is he is capable of being much more than a trailhorse, but it would take an old timer like me that knows Appie pedigrees and conformation well enough to know it......

I wish you would consider taking him on as a final pre-retirement project! I'd make you an awesome deal on him!

I don't have the expertise - my discipline is trails and I am a good trainer for that type of work, but he has more performance potential...

Spotted Face wrote:

Clippity Clop wrote:

Spotted Face wrote:

... The problem with Mudpie is he is capable of being much more than a trailhorse, but it would take an old timer like me that knows Appie pedigrees and conformation well enough to know it......

I wish you would consider taking him on as a final pre-retirement project! I'd make you an awesome deal on him!

I don't have the expertise - my discipline is trails and I am a good trainer for that type of work, but he has more performance potential...

I have the fear I will never find the right home for him. If I keep him another year or two, I will likely send him to my trainer friend for saddle training. He's going to be big enough for a rope horse and I may send him to a trainer for that. I do have a deal to discuss with my farrier - who ropes and likes mudpie. I figured a free lease for 3 years to see if he likes him and wants to buy him and in that time, he would be training him. Not sure if he'd go for it but that might be something we could do. I'd love to keep him local so I could track his progress and care. If I knew how to market him to other circles, I'd try it but I'm just not familiar enough with what they look for to attempt it. Wish us luck finding him a good home. He's a sweet horse and we think he's pretty awesome.

Hi All, I'm new here and happy to have found this site.

I have a suggestion on how to get a more accurate idea of equine adult height from measuring the youngsters after 4 months old...

If you use a soft tape (like a sewing tape) and measure the middle of the knee (at the joint) to the coronet band, however many inches you read is translated to height in hands. Every quarter inch relates to 1" towards hands.

For instance, my 4 month old colt measured 16" on his leg so I suspect him to reach 16.0h at maturity.

My 2 yr. old filly who sticks now at about 14.1h has a leg measurement of 15 1/2 inches. She should mature to ~15.2h.

I have measured my adult horses that have been done growing for many years, used a rigid stick on a flat hard service (garage pad ) so know their height. Then measured their leg from middle of knee to coronet band. The inches of that measurement corresponded with their true hand measurement.

I would guess it's not an exact science, but will get you pretty darn close, generally within 1/4".

AppyNoey wrote:

Hi All, I'm new here and happy to have found this site.

I have a suggestion on how to get a more accurate idea of equine adult height from measuring the youngsters after 4 months old...

If you use a soft tape (like a sewing tape) and measure the middle of the knee (at the joint) to the coronet band, however many inches you read is translated to height in hands. Every quarter inch relates to 1" towards hands.

For instance, my 4 month old colt measured 16" on his leg so I suspect him to reach 16.0h at maturity.

My 2 yr. old filly who sticks now at about 14.1h has a leg measurement of 15 1/2 inches. She should mature to ~15.2h.

I have measured my adult horses that have been done growing for many years, used a rigid stick on a flat hard service (garage pad ) so know their height. Then measured their leg from middle of knee to coronet band. The inches of that measurement corresponded with their true hand measurement.

I would guess it's not an exact science, but will get you pretty darn close, generally within 1/4".

Thank you AppyNoey and welcome to the forum! I may try your tip on mudpie. Thought I'd share a cute pic of him from this morning. We have Siouxie - one of our favorite mares - and her baby in with the yearlings because all have similar dispositions. Today we added Dottie - mare who has been stalled to treat some skin issues. She is a docile mare and has been pastured successfully with all the horses in the pasture. Mudpie and Joy (orphan long yearling) seem to be protective of Angel (Siouxies baby)... JEEZ>... sounds like a soap opera..lol.. So anyway.. as the appy turns.. we put Dottie in the pasture today and Mudpie kept himself between Angel and Dottie for what seemed like forever and Angel was hiding behind him..lol. Joy went on the attack - surprising both me and hubby. What a brave soul she is to have been orphaned herself! So.. I got this pic that I think is cute despite not being in the best of focus.






.

Man, that is a good pic! Looks like maybe he has some maternal instincts?

Thank you Rachel! I wish it were in better focus. LOL..re maternal instincts. Little Angel really loves mudpie. Joy too really. They are like the 3 musketeers..lol..

He is VERY handsome. and she's cute.
Wonderful photo.

Here's another pic from the other day. He's such a regal fellow! Was on a benefit trail ride this weekend and saw a couple of black horses being ridden. One was a nut but so beautiful! Both were beautiful actually. I am wondering if Black won't replace buckskin as my favorite color. Mudpie will be two the end of January. Farrier wants me to send him to a local trainer that I've not used before and says I need to get on the waiting list now. I haven't decided yet. I want him started right because he is such a gentle soul.