Seeing Stars' Site

In-Hand

Rules

Poses are typically required to be in GIF or PNG format. BMP and JPG are usually not allowed.
Editing the pose is REQUIRED. Horse must have a halter or bridle in keeping with its discipline, English or Western.
Editing the actual pose, such as eyes, ears, legs, tail, mane is NOT ALLOWED, including drawn manes and tails.
English In-Hand points may not be combined with Western In-Hand points. A horse may be shown in one or both types, though it is only allowed one entry per show.
Pose may face left or right.
Disqualifications include: editing of the actual pose.
Heavy faults include: none.

NOTE: Just because there are no official faults does not mean that using an unlevel pose or having angry eyes won't be faulted. Judges may have their own faults they count in their shows. Typically, a pose with angry, sleepy, worried, or surprised eyes will be faulted across the board unless the discipline specifically allows them.

Guide

To show in In-Hand, you must edit a halt pose so that the horse is wearing a halter or bridle. You must also choose whether you want to show the horse in English or Western In-Hand, as that will help you decide what tack you want to have the horse wear.

Achilles, below, is shown in an Iberian style bridle which falls under the English discipline.

Vintage, below, is shown in a classic English bridle and bit.

In-Hand judges look at the quality of the pose and may evaluate the pose with the same criteria as a halter pose. Some may be a bit more lenient than others in regards to the straightness of the pose or the expression of the horse. The judges also look at how well the tack looks, how well the tack reflects the chosen discipline, and how well the tack fits on the horse.

A horse can be shown in both English and Western styles as the points are not combinable. Some owners will choose to show in English first and once the horse is done with English they may switch to Western, or vice versa.

Advanced Shows

After earning 30+ points in either English or Western In-Hand, a horse is considered a Champion. An owner may then choose to retire from the discipline or continue on by competing in Advanced shows. Advanced shows accept horses that have earned more than 30 points. Once a horse has earned 50 points total, it will earn the title Grand Champion and may retire from the discipline.

To compete in Advanced In-Hand, you must add a second pose. It must be of the horse wearing a halter or bridle and it must be either a walk or a collected, extended, or working trot. Ideally, the two poses would look very similar in regards to the shading and the tack.

For example, below is Vintage's In-Hand gait pose.

Tips

When placing halters or bridles, it's a nice touch to erase parts of the halter or bridle that go over the forelock, so it looks like the forelock sits on top/over the halter or bridle. Also, adding reins or a lead is not necessary, but I highly recommend it as it looks much better.

Another way to enhance the image is to add a metal buckle or two somewhere if the bridle or halter didn't already come with some on it. I usually google pictures of bridles being worn to see where buckles might go.

For help on getting a quality halt pose, visit the Halt Pose Guide, How-To, & Tips.