What makes a horse a good/cute mover?

Question

What do you look for?

Answer 1

A fluid smooth movement, that the horse picks its feet up, its sound and its head carriage is good.

You want them to be using both their hind legs and shoulders, not one or the other, they bend nicely and trandsitions are pretty smooth.

The horse looks happy and comfortable with it's movement.

It should be well balanced and stretch when moving, they also musn't drag their feet but pick them up.

They should move with a purpose and listen to the rider.

Hope i helped!

xx

Answer 2

well basically they first have to be sound. they also have to have rather long and floaty movements and when you are on a "good mover", they tend to be really smooth. also, when they jump and such, their knees should be tucked, and square and they should be rounded and use their back legs more than their front

Answer 3

You want them to look like theyre flaoting across the ground. You want them to not bend their legs much, and carry their heads even with their body. They should naturally move off their hind end and really stretch out from the shoulder.

Answer 4

They have to be sound and healthy. Top quality care! Also doing Hunter will help. Collection is amazing for horses to look cute over jumps. It just comes natrual to a horse to be cute or a good mover. (I dont really understand your question???)

Answer 5

An athletic, elegant well balanced mover without grevious conformational faults.  

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SyP1mtZARfM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HvLR54xtBjg&f...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2b42-IDED7o

In a nutshell.....

I look for "swing" from the shoulders, a daisy cutter way of moving in front and a good, deep step forward from behind (impulsion).  I don't want popping knees and hocks.  I want very efficient movement.  I don't want a horse that looks like a "stern wheeler" from behind.  (knees and hocks that move sideways and forward at the same time)....yup, they're out there.....one particular breed is guilty of this but I decline to say who.

Many all arounders, those horses ridden both english and western, are not as effective in their forward motion or impulsion.  You'll find these horses ridden incorrectly by their riders in english as the riders do not have good contact with their mouths.   Nor do these riders truly understand the effectiveness of a proper frame and impulsion from behind.

They've acquired little understanding into the applied principles of dressage....nor do they have an understanding of the  doctrines of dressage.  So, you'll have horses moving in the show pen with little impulsion from behind, a very flat, uncollected, unattractive way of moving with very little, if any contact with their mouths.  Sadly enough this movement is promulgated by those who know little of dressage and its influence in the movement of horses.

Horses on turnout and at play demonstrate many of the movements that we see in dressage while under saddle.

Answer 6

I look for correct conformation..otherwise you are fighting the physics of the horse's body with everything you try to do.  This is not to say that you can't work with conformation flaws and still achieve your goals..very few "perfect" examples of conformation exist...just like with people.  But I try to get as close as possible.Good conformation is good conformation in any breed.

Answer 7

to me, the horse would have a great headset, and leg movement! Along with good conformation, and well-balenced. uasually they are smaller light breeds, such as an Akhal-Teke, and a TB. Uasually stocky horses are to stocky to have good movement, but they can still be nice movers. The head set should be nutral, not to high or low.

http://sommerponyfarm.com/sprocket072806...

This horse is a perfect example. The head is carried well, with the nose equal to the shoulder point. the conformation is good, and his legs look strait. Along with the beautiful color!

http://www.hedgesshowhorses.com/images/l...

This horse also looks good, from that view. His headset is nice, and he carries himself well. He is a little stocky, but still nice. Again, with that beautiful coloring!

Hope this helps!

Answer 8

some horses are naturally talented movers. however if you notice colts and fillies when they are loose you will notice that they are all cute and good movers and that their muscles are visible. it is when they get older and then we start to ride them that they get slower fatter, or skinnier and they're natural pases become not so good.

If you want your horse to be a good mover, you must exercise your horse with gymnastics. Classical dressage training is in my opinion the best thing you can do for your horse to be a good mover. natural talented horses will almost never loose their movements, but there are some exeptions.

Answer 9

How the horse holds himself, his expression, how high he picks his feet up (make sure he doesn't drag em), How high or low his head is (naturally)

Hope this helps...please best answer!

Answer 10

What a good question!  I know that all answers are subjective, we all have our own opinions and descriptions, so I will share mine. A good and cute mover is a horse that is naturally collected.   I like to see (and ride) a horse that appears to be moving naturally, without aids...a natural headset that comes with being totally collected (by that I mean, knowing where their feet are, picking the up and laying them down deliberately and delicately looking right through the bridle, and even at a walk, looking like they have a purpose for being there.  A way of moving that simply compels a judge to let his eyes follow a little longer than on the next horse.  It doesn't matter is the tail isn't plastered to their behind, if they are using it slightly for balance...that's what it's for anyway and I don't like to see the rider having to constantly "cheat" his horse by having to remind them to stay put together.  This is a way of moving that you can actually pick out when the baby is on it's mama, then make it consistently theirs for the rest of their lives by riding a balanced seat, not hindering the horse in it's natural collection, keeping the horse's mind clean and his body sound.  Collection is collection, no matter what discipline you are referring to...it's a matter of a horse being ready physically and mentally to do what you ask, right when you ask it and do it with a willing mind and heart...I like to think that a western horse that is truly collected could trot by you and you wouldn't even hear their hooves touch the ground, you wouldn't see a hair in their mane move, you wouldn't see an ear that wasn't forward unless one occasionally twitched backwards to show that their attention was on their rider.  I truly believe that one can achieve this collection without ever taking the slack out of the reins (speaking western now).  A truly collected horse is to be admired, they are few and far between.

Answer 11

Its kind of a loaded question, because it depends on what breed you are looking for.  If I was looking at a Quarter Horse, I would want it to be slow legged, flat kneed, and deep in the hocks.  I would want them to look really floaty and soft when they moved, and if it was for a hunt seat horse, I want a huge scopey stride at the trot.

If you're looking at a Saddlebred for example, you need huge action, lots of presence, and big lift in the shoulder.

If you're looking at an Arabian, you want lots of action, arched carriage to the neck, level topline, etc.

So basically, you want the horse to move the best of their breed....if you're not particular about breed, then you need to evaluate their movement based on how appropriate it is for what purpose you want the horse for.

Answer 12

It depends on the discipline - the common trait will lie in the horse's conformation - are they built properly to perform the type of movement being requested?

A horse with too high a neck set will have an improper center of balance.  A horse with a neck set too low has the same problem.

A horse with too large a shoulder in comparison to its hindquarters is un-balanced as well.

So - let's say you wish to show in Western Pleasure classes - you must find a horse with the proper body build and conformation to allow the horse to move as the judge wishes to see.  Likewise for a hunter - they have a different way of going.  A horse that's to run barrels will have a different conformation than a pleasure horse but both individuals with proper conformation will move well.

Likewise, unsoundnesses like a horse that's "pigeon toed' or "cow hocked" will not move correctly, therefore not be a good mover.

If I were you, I'd visit a farm, stable or show.  Watch horses - see which ones appeal to you and try to figure out why the ones that don't don't.  Does this horse hold his head too high?  Does he hold his head too low?  Does he shuffle his feet or seem clumsy?  Watching many different ones gives you a feel for what looks good and why.

Answer 13

i look for expression, alertness, smoothness, and that stuff.

my best friends mom is a judge at our local shows and me and her always talk bout how to improve and what i should do with my horse and all that.

and also if the horse had beautiful movements and gaits highlight them, like my horse is a bay with 1 sock , she is beautiful so to highlight her movement i use legwraps in nice colors that match my saddle, like i use a light purple and its awesome and i also protects her while making her look better