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Horse judging consists of making a careful
study of animals, measuring them individually against a commonly
accepted ideal. Horse judging is an art where an authoritative person
expresses his or her opinion of a class, by his or her order of
placement. A educated judge should be able to express his or her opinion
orally to reinforce the order of placement.
Being on a 4-H judging team teaches youth the skills to
become an authoritative person. The commonly accepted ideal type and
performance should be learned for each of the various breeds (Arabian,
Morgan, Quarter Horse, Paint, etc.) by practices held by the coach. One
should learn the parts of the horse, blemishes and unsoundness, and
conformational faults. After they have the background on breeds, they
have to learn to evaluate and compare animals in a class of four, like
horses (Quarter horse mares, Arabian geldings, etc.). Taking notes to
weigh the differences in faults and blemishes assists young judges in
making the decision on how to place the class. At a contest, young
judges are allowed approximately fifteen minutes to do an evaluation on
one class. Young judges then must defend their placing in oral reasons.
To give oral reasons they must understand the various
breeds and know the terminology to describe the attributes of each
breed. It is very important that the coach know the basics of oral
reasons so that the 4-Hers know what they are doing. Oral reasons are
the most stressful part of being on a judging team, or judging at a real
show defending your placing to horse show parents! The coach must
prepare the 4-Hers to give a flowing comparison and contrasting set of
reasons. Judges should be able to describe the placing of the class in
two minutes or less. As always, practice makes perfect, and you can
never practice judging horses enough.
Anyone in 4-H can be on the horse judging team, they
don't have to be in the horse project. The coach should be someone with
experience about judging and giving oral reasons. Judging Teams can be
put together anytime of the year. The earlier you start the better of
you will be for contests that are usually held in the summer and fall.
To find information on horse judging you can go to your local extension
office or surrounding extension offices. Judging teams may consist of
individuals from various counties. To get educational material you can
write to your various breed registries. Arabian and Quarter Horse put
out wonderful judging material.
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