Horses w/ my new XTi *C&C please*

Second outing with the new XTi and the FIRST time I've ever shot in RAW. Hoping that some of you could provide some insight about my WB and coloration adjustments.

Out of the camera these both had a very blue color cast (because of shooting in the shade i'm guessing?) I took the white balance sample off the white on the horses nose and then made some brightness/contrast adjustments. Please let me know what you think and how these could be improved. Thanks in advance!

1.)

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Maybe its just me but I cant see the pictures.

Thats odd... they load on both my pc's and my smartphone. Hopefully others will be able to see them.

I appreciate you trying to have a look though!

I see the images.

The first one seems underexposed to me. I like the exposure on the second better.

Both just feel like snapshots though. Nothing about them grabs me.

Good for a first attempt with RAW, although your skies are a little blown out, but this will come with practice. Next time think about the background of your image as well as the foreground. Without the car and human in the background you can concentrate on getting a really nice horsey portrait. Or even just without the car and getting a nice wilderness shot.