New Conformation Photos

[bare it all]

Protonico is a lovely sort, to my eye at least. He looks like a bay version of his grandsire, Hussonet.

[Izvestia]

Protonico is a lovely sort, to my eye at least. He looks like a bay version of his grandsire, Hussonet.

He really looks like Hussonet, just the dark chocolate mold. He is handsome!

[Starine]

Protonico is a lovely sort, to my eye at least. He looks like a bay version of his grandsire, Hussonet.

He really looks like Hussonet, just the dark chocolate mold. He is handsome!

He looks like Hussonet for sure, and I really liked his granddam Wild Spirit.

Beautifully balanced and striking animal.

[Ridan_Remembered]

Here's a new short video of California Chrome's conformation. Scroll down about three items on the page. https://twitter.com/TomRyanKY?lang=en

[Ridan_Remembered]

There's another new conformation video of Chrome with comments by Duncan Taylor. This video is part of an article on the Paulick Report: http://www.paulickreport.com/features/i ... -new-2017/

Chrome has wonderful conformation. He toes out slightly, but that's such a minor thing. One thing that's really nice about him is that he's not a huge horse. At 16 hands, Chrome is the kind of handy size that reminds me of Northern Dancer and his tribe. For this reason alone, Chrome could be a good physical match for a lot of mares since many individual Thoroughbreds these days are on the large side.

[Retrospectiv]

There's another new conformation video of Chrome with comments by Duncan Taylor. This video is part of an article on the Paulick Report: http://www.paulickreport.com/features/i ... -new-2017/

Chrome has wonderful conformation. He toes out slightly, but that's such a minor thing. One thing that's really nice about him is that he's not a huge horse. At 16 hands, Chrome is the kind of handy size that reminds me of Northern Dancer and his tribe. For this reason alone, Chrome could be a good physical match for a lot of mares since many individual Thoroughbreds these days are on the large side.

[mariasmon]

There's another new conformation video of Chrome with comments by Duncan Taylor. This video is part of an article on the Paulick Report: http://www.paulickreport.com/features/i ... -new-2017/

Chrome has wonderful conformation. He toes out slightly, but that's such a minor thing. One thing that's really nice about him is that he's not a huge horse. At 16 hands, Chrome is the kind of handy size that reminds me of Northern Dancer and his tribe. For this reason alone, Chrome could be a good physical match for a lot of mares since many individual Thoroughbreds these days are on the large side.

Did you see the head-on video of him walking? Thing is, though, at least you know what you're getting with Chrome. He hasn't had corrective surgeries done, obviously.

[Ridan_Remembered]

Did you see the head-on video of him walking? Thing is, though, at least you know what you're getting with Chrome. He hasn't had corrective surgeries done, obviously.

Sure I saw the video. I don't claim to be an expert on Thoroughbred conformation, but am also not a total novice. I didn't see anything particularly bad about his front. Yes he toes out some, but not severely.

Perhaps it would be helpful if you could explain what you are seeing. I would sure welcome the insights of people who may have experience judging equine conformation. Again, I don't have such in depth experience but am very willing to learn.

[Izvestia]

This is what I see when he walks:
- his knees point in like this ><
- from his knees, his feet turn out fairly significantly
- he's narrow up front
- does he have big feet for his size? Or is it the 'chrome' creating an illusion?

Also, I find his back through to his tail quite flat.

[Ridan_Remembered]

Thanks Izvestia. Your explanation is clear. I will re-watch the video and look for those points. Yet Chrome always ran straight, true and sound (except for his last race). I will need to watch videos of other stallions walking to compare with Chrome in order to fully understand the differences. Thank you for this helpful conversation. Much appreciated.

[Izvestia]

No prob. There might be someone out there who disagrees and/or can see more than me, but that's a quick watch through opinion.
I may have exaggerated when I said his knees were like >< this, they aren't THAT bad, I was trying to emphasize that they do angle in. He's still an attractive horse, and can be bred to mares that put a straight leg on their baby. And, he raced through it no problem.

[bare it all]

LOL well, I guess it's function over form in this case. I've never seen a head-on of him at a gallop. Wonder what he looks like that way. I don't** recall seeing much wasted action, maybe a little high knee?

[mariasmon]

LOL well, I guess it's function over form in this case. I've never seen a head-on of him at a gallop. Wonder what he looks like that way. I don't** recall seeing much wasted action, maybe a little high knee?

He looks much better at a gallop than at a walk, for whatever reason.

[Izvestia]

He's all athlete!

[Ridan_Remembered]

So I've been on a hunt for videos of other top stallions walking and came across this excellent video of Dubawi with commentary about his conformation by John Ferguson, bloodstock advisor to Sheikh Mohammed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEwE72A6MPs

Even though Dubawi is from the Mr. Prospector branch of the Native Dancer/Raise a Native male line, he is more similar to the smaller, more compact Northern Dancer type, from whom he descends through Shareef Dancer and Dancing Brave. There is only one brief look at his front while walking toward the camera, but I noticed one point of comparison in the knees between Dubawi and Chrome. Dubawi's knees appear smooth while Chrome seems to almost have arthritic roughness.

Also, Dubawi seems to have stouter bone than many Thoroughbreds in the U.S. Dubawi is a truly gorgeous horse, but of a type that we don't see here very often.

[BaroqueAgain1]

IMHO, everything wonderful about Dubawi he probably got from his sire. It's been seventeen years since I watched Dubai Millennium dominate in the World Cup, covered live by the young TVG. I still don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful Thoroughbred. He really had it all...and was gone far too soon.

[Sparrow Castle]

I really enjoyed that video, Ridan, thanks. Dubawi and Dubai Millennium set a pretty high bar. Not too many race horses anywhere have perfect conformation, even very successful ones. The point is Chrome's flaws didn't keep him from being successful on the track. And breeders commonly match their mares carefully with strengths and weaknesses in mind.

I agree about his beauty, BaroqueAgain. Dubai Millennium left only about 60 babies in his tragically shortened only season at stud, but he won't be forgotten.

[mariasmon]

Texas Red

[mariasmon]

Firing Line

[Life At Zen]

Texas Red. Wow.