Jim, yes I think this angle makes him look a little short bodied too. Halter horses are usually shot total profile, (except some breeds like quarter horses which also have a typical shot 3/4 front or behind to show off their muscles) I like to take a small step toward the rear on a profile so it's a very slight angle to accentuate the hind quarters on most breeds (it's easy to get the hind quarters looking unbalanced to the fore like this otherwise). But I hate to paint a posed halter looking shot of horses, you see them all the time and they are so "canned" (my last Andalusian painting on my site is total profile which the client wanted).

I think I should "borrow" him for a few weeks so I can really study him! LOL! Something tells me the owners won't go for that...:)