Using different techniques and seeing what works for your eye is a great idea. I personally haven't noticed that images are getting "looser" but it all depends on the subject, the buyer and the objective of the images. There is no one correct imaging approach.

With pet portraits, I like to get as close as I can without distorting the animal. For me, ultra-close just doesn't work. For horses, I like to capture some of the environment but also do tight head-studies and classic body poses with OOF backgrounds. My only problem with these shots is that the backgrounds tend to distract a bit -- like on the B&W shot -- rather than enhance the subjects. I'd correct that shot for straight lines and if the horse is standing on a hill, then he should be leaning.

Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Jim