A year of Taran conformation shots: How far we've come

This time last year, Paddy had just re-injured himself (soft tissue in RF), and Brego, who was my plan B riding option, had just ripped off a huge chunk of foot that we were going to have to wait for months for him to grow out. I wasn't about to not ride, so I pulled poor Taran out of the pasture and he became my primary riding horse.

He was a pretty rough customer, since he hadn't been ridden consistently in quite some time. He was muscled upside-down, and had no topline at all. 

December 23, 2015

After just a month, his topline had improved dramatically and his butt was starting to fill in.

February 1, 2016

By March, the giant muscle on the bottom of his neck was becoming less prominent as his topline continued to fill in.

March 6, 2016

He started looking more like a normal horse in April, although this particular picture looks even better because his neck is stretched out...

April 10, 2016

Our May pic was kind of awkward, but you can see that he's continuing to fill in. The area right in front of his withers continued to be a challenge.

May 22, 2016

He spent most of July with my trainer since I was out of the country, and she evidently fed him extra as well as worked him: 

July 16, 2016

I think he backslid a little in August (you can especially see it in the base of his neck) since I was trying to figure out how to ride him more over his topline and not doing a great job of it.

August 20, 2016

He looked a little slender in the October shots, but this was after four days at Regionals where he didn't eat very well. The top of his neck, right in front of the wither, STILL hasn't filled in much, and you can see the hollow right behind his wither too.

October 9, 2016

Since October, we've been working on a lot more collection and laterals in preparation for 2nd level. I'm finally getting the idea of fluffing up his shoulders and really riding him through (sometimes, anyway), so this has helped fill in the muscles behind his withers and the top of his neck in front of his shoulder. His butt is looking more rounded and beefy, too!

December 14, 2016

Let's just have one last comparison look, shall we?

Damn. He doesn't even look like the same horse, other than the cute, kind expression!

Taran Confo Shots: October

Time for October's confo shot...

October 9, 2016

August 20, 2016

Compared to his August pic, I think he looks a bit leaner, although that could be the angle (and the fact that he didn't eat his alfalfa pellets for the entire 4 days we were at regionals). The top part of the base of his neck is also filled in a little more, which I think is because I'm doing a better job of riding him through his back and allowing the motion, instead of getting grabby and stopping it behind the saddle. However, his topline looks a little less defined, which may be because we recently discovered that his saddle doesn't fit any more (oh joy, another new saddle search. Ugh.)

But overall, he looks like a fit, normal horse. How weird is that???

Taran confo shots - August

Yay, back to monthly confo shots! I think he might have backslid a little this month, since I'm riding him instead of having my trainer ride him. 

August 20, 2016

For comparison, here he is in July:

July 19, 2016

The main difference I notice between July and August is that he now has less muscle under his withers. I'm not as good at riding T up over and through his back as my trainer is, so that seems to be making a difference. It's something I'm way more cognizant of now, and I'm working on it, but the moment I get a bit grabby with my hands, the hind end stops working with the front end, and his motion stops right behind the saddle. I think he might have gained a few pounds too, but overall it's not a dramatic difference this month. Maybe we've sort of evened out into what a normal horse looks like? Time will tell!

Taran confo shots: BEEFCAKE

It's been a while since I've posted any confo shots of Taran, which is kind of a bummer because DAMN he looks amazing. I know, I say that every time... I keep thinking that he's done changing but apparently not!

Here's the last pic I posted, in April:

April 10, 2016

He looked pretty good in April, but the angle and the fact that he had his neck so arched helped hide a few flaws.

His May pic isn't as nice - he's standing with his head cocked toward the camera so his neck looks a little weird, but you can still see how his topline is getting stronger (especially right behind the saddle) and his butt is continuing to round out:

May 22, 2016

 Unfortunately I missed out on a confo shot from June, but here's the July shot:

July 19, 2016

I swear, he looks like he's gained 50 pounds of muscle! His topline is really starting to get stronger - that divot under his withers is filling in and so is the area right behind the saddle - and he just overall looks much bulkier. His neck is a little hard to see because of his mane, but that big under-neck muscle seems to have all but disappeared.

For comparison, here's what he looked like back in December. 

I did end up changing his feed about a month ago. I'd switched him from TC Lite to TC Senior in May, but for whatever reason he didn't really seem to like the TC Senior (weirdo). So I switched him back to the Lite in mid-June, added a flake of alfalfa AM and PM, and started him on Platinum Performance. He's also been getting a lot of trainer rides in July, so that's helping him build strength and muscle too. Whatever's doing it, his body is still changing SO rapidly!

Anybody else got confo shots over time to share? If so, do a blog post! I love these progressions!

April Taran confo shots - still so many changes!

I just can't stop with the monthly comparison pics. He's still changing so much!

Dec 23, 2015

Feb 1, 2016

March 6, 2016

April 10, 2016

Is he even the same horse???

March Taran confo shots - he looks like a different horse!

Dec 23 2015

Feb 1 2016

March 6 2016

I didn't think there would be that much of a difference in the last month, but HOLY COW. Taran's got butt muscles on top of his butt muscles. His withers actually look HIGHER than his croup (whoa!), which is no longer sharp and pointy. Somehow he seems to have filled out underneath AND on top. He even looks like he's standing more balanced. He still has that weird lumpy muscle under his neck, but it's disappearing rapidly - and he seems to be filling in more in front of his shoulder. He's still got a long way to go with muscling right in front of his wither, but that will always be a challenge because of how low his neck is set. Still, it's filling in!

And just for funsies, here are some pictures of how his trot has changed:

Jan 27 2016

Feb 10 2016

March 5 2016

I can't even believe he's the same horse!

Taran confo shots - what a difference a month makes!

Dec. 23 2015

Feb. 1 2016

He still has a long way to go, but his croup and topline both seem to be filling in nicely. The muscle under his neck is on its way out, and his shoulder is stronger too. We've still got a lot of work on the area right in front of his withers, but even that has filled in a little. He's even standing better behind!

It's amazing how much difference just a month makes.