2025 MFTHBA Rulebook

92 a) The horse is to be shown in a well fitted, western style halter with an appropriate lead line, with or without an attached chain. Silver trim shall not count over good working equipment. b) The horse’s body condition and overall fitness should be assessed. The hair coat should be clean, well brushed and in good condition. c) The mane, tail, forelock and wither tuft may not contain ornaments (ribbons, bows, etc), but may be braided or banded for English. d) The bridle path, long hair on the muzzle, ears, head and legs should be clipped. 4 . Performance: a) The exhibitor should perform the work accurately, precisely, smoothly and with a reasonable amount of speed. Increasing speed of the work increases the degree of difficulty, however, accuracy and precision should not be sacrificed for speed. The horse should lead, stop, back, turn and set up willingly, briskly and readily with minimal visible or audible cueing. b) The horse should be led directly to and/or away from the judge in a straight or curved line, as directed by the judge and track briskly and freely at the prescribed gait as instructed. The horse’s head and neck should be straight and in line with the body. c) The stop should be straight, prompt, smooth and responsive with the horse’s body remaining straight. d) The horse should back up readily with the head, neck and body aligned in a straight or curved line as directed by the posted pattern. e) When turning the horse 90 degrees or less, the horse may be turned to the left. On turns of greater than 90 degrees, the ideal turn consists of the horse pivoting on the right hind leg while stepping across and in front of the right front leg with the left front leg. An exhibitor should not be penalized if their horse performs a pivot on the left hind leg, but an exhibitor whose horse performs the pivot correctly receives more credit. The horse should be set up quickly and smoothly. D. Scoring: 1. Scoring will be on the basis of 0 to Infinity. A score of 70 denotes an average performance. Each maneuver in the pattern will receive points from + 1 ½ (Excellent) to -1 ½ (Extremely Poor). These points will be added/subtracted from the base score of 70. Appearance of horse and exhibitor will be given a score from 1 to 10 (1 being poor and 10 being exceptional) and added to the score. Penalties will then be deducted to arrive at the final score. Penalties shall be assessed separately from maneuver scores. All ties will be broken at the judge’s discretion. E. Faults/Penalties: 1. Faults can be classified as minor, major or severe. The judge will determine the appropriate classification of a fault based upon the degree and/or frequency of the infraction. Listed below are suggested point allocations that may be applied for various faults. a) A minor fault will result in a ½ to 4 point deduction from the exhibitor’s score. b) A major fault will result in a deduction of 4 points or more. c) An exhibitor that incurs a severe fault (5), such as failure to follow prescribed pattern, knocking over or working on the wrong side of the cones, or severe disobedience avoids elimination, but should be penalized severely and the exhibitor should not place above an exhibitor that completes the pattern correctly. d) A minor fault can become a major fault and a major fault can become a severe fault when the degree and/or frequency of the infraction(s) merits. 2. Faults in the overall appearance of exhibitor and horse include: a) Poorly groomed, conditioned or trimmed horse – 3 points. b) Dirty, ragged or poorly fitted halter or lead – 2 points. c) Poor or improper position of exhibitor – 1 point. d) Excessively stiff, artificial or unnatural movement around horse or when leading – 1 point.