What a looker! But is his name really Schmuckstück???? I guess it's German for "jewel." In the next few days I'll be posting some young prospects for our review. which one would we pick?
This is such a refined horse, and there is a fair amount of activity in front and behind. I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more elasticity, but maybe they're just pushing him a bit too much to bring it out....
The white wraps and bell boots on front are more distracting than enhancing. He's certainly a pretty youngster with tonnes of potential but I hope they're kidding with that name because he's hardly a trinket!
ReplyDeleteI'm suspicious that he's done a lot of work in side reins. I'd like to see him lengthen his neck a bit now and then, but what a nice mover! And an elegant looker too.
ReplyDeleteHowever, once again, I am distracted by the rider with no helmet. When will they ever learn?
Did they really give him that name? Eek. What would you call him, Schmucky?
Beautiful! Kind face. Interesting I've never seen this sort of turnout in a video before, taped braids, but rider w/out a hat?
ReplyDeleteHe is a cutie-pie! Love his face. But the name...oy. I can't get past the Schmuck part and he doesn't seem like a schmuck to me.
ReplyDeletewww.itsbraintime.blogspot.com
He is absolutely beautiful. On the other hand though I worry though about breeding for refinement in sport horses. They've done that so much in the Arabs and stock horses that they are refined to the point of being almost grotesque. The QHs have pretty little refined faces and delicate little baby feet with bulging muscles. The Arabs are getting so their faces are so small you wonder how all their organs fit inside the skull. I'd almost like to see these sport horses with more bone and perhaps not quite so much refinement.
ReplyDeleteall the fotage was tracking left wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteHe's not as light and elastic as Devotion but certainly seems to have a lot of power. I like the activity in his hind legs especially. I agree, too bad about the name!
ReplyDeleteGrrr...why only one direction? I wanted to see him go both ways, AND I agree with Janice on the white bells and wraps. It was hard to get a real sense of what was happening with each stride. Still, he has the refinement that I personally adore. He's a lovely, lovely boy with a stinky name. Poor guy. I hope his barn name is better than his registered name!
ReplyDeletei still think the word schmuck is funny even after being here almost 5 years (even though it's pronounced differently). but schmuckstueck means trinket or piece of jewelery. not a very nice name for a horse. jewel is edelstein ("fancy stone"). i'm gonna do a blog entry on the oddness i find in my german horse magazine this week. how long will it take before the weirdness seems normal to me?
ReplyDeleteAs a TB lover, I love this guy! He actually moves very similarly to how my guy was moving in videos of my first ride with Jeremy Steinberg yesterday (I throw his name in there just to encourage anyone who reads this - if you have a chance to ride with him, DO!), but that was with a lot of tension. I suspect you'd see FAR more elasticity and suspension from this guy if he had less tension - and the lengthening of his neck would help.
ReplyDeleteI find that while these horses are beautiful, nothing about their being ridden this way makes me want to buy one as a dressage prospect, because I don't want a young horse who already has so much un-training needed. (That said, I haven't ridden one of these horses, so don't know if it's really a one-off type of ride where they aren't stuck that way.)
Definitely pushing him too hard. That driving seat in the canter and as a result leaves his hocks trailing behind. The worst part of that though is that at age 4, his growth plates in his back are not closed. This is an example of placing too much emphasis on the right now and not on the long-term development potential of the horse.
ReplyDeleteI think he is magnificent! The european riders are incredible. Notice the free, truely soft, giving hand! There is no restriction in the whither or the hind leg. He steps right up into his footprint. Nice eye Stacey:)
ReplyDeleteNo helmet, no view of the other lead, and to me it looks like he overstrides in the walk? Hence the bell boots?
ReplyDelete*drool* I'd call him Schmucky :)
ReplyDeleteHe's cute, but I also think it's weird he only goes left in the video. Also did anyone notice on the slows down part of his overstep that he oversteps further on one side than the other? Is that just the normal onesidedness or something off?
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