Conformation 101 - The Start

From fhotd member Apples
http://standardbredhorses.yuku.com/topic/427

It's in our nature, when we look at a horse, to first catch our breath. What beautiful animals they are!! But when it comes time to select The One to Bring Home, we have to pause for thought. Take our hearts somewhat out of the equation, and look for an animal that will do what we need it to do, for as long as we need it to do it. Sound hard? It is.

But it doesn't need to be. Armed with your team of farrier, veterinarian and best horse pal, all you need to do then, is develop your own eye. Observation is your own best tool. What you see will speak to your gut if you have educated yourself on the conformation of a horse. When you go horse shopping remember 3 simple rules:

Horse conformation is about examining the STRUCTURAL make up of the horse - that is to say, the skeleton. The muscles of the horse are important too, but through correct conditioning and riding you have some influence over those. The bones however, you have no influence over. They are what they are. This is an important rule.

Bone lengths change as the horse grows. The angles between joints however, do not. That two-year old WILL get taller. But his closed shoulder will never open. This is another important rule.

And the third most important rule when horse shopping is this: Buy something you love to feed. If you don't love to feed him, you will be in dire straights when the day comes that the vet looks at his x-rays and tells you that he can no longer be ridden. This can happen after a long career over cross country jumps and hundreds of ribbons, or it can happen next Tuesday. Such is the regrettable nature of the beast.

So back to conformation. Assessing conformation (the structural "mechanics" of the horse) is something that can be learned if you take the time and practice. Start with photographs. Gather a pencil, pen, ruler in millimetres, and a protractor. The following articles will walk you through each quadrant of the horse and explain the ideal lengths, angles and slopes of the skeleton to start your learning journey. And although you are about to "tear the horse down" and examine the little bits individually, always remember that the horse is the sum of his parts. Often a conformation "flaw" is compensated for in another part of the body. I have seen horses who "look like they were put together by a committee, win big in performance. But that happens with much luck. The more you train your eye to find a brilliant horse, the less you will need to rely on luck.

Got your pens and rulers? Ok. Let's go.

First things, first. Although conformational assessment is about the skeleton, the muscles on the horse provide insight to how well or poorly those bones are placed. A horse needs to be as balanced as possible - front to back and side to side. From the side, the rear end (engine) "mass" should look to be the same "mass" as the shoulder assembly. Viewed from the rear, you should see the same amount of horse on either side of the tail. The hips should be the same height, and the muscle development should be the same on either side. Go to the front of the horse and bend down - are the shoulders matched? Is the musculature on the forearms both the same size? Stand on a ladder behind the horse - never skip this step - and look down on the withers. Make sure the shoulders are balanced from the top, and that they stick out an equal distance on each side of the withers. Make sure the spine is straight all the way up the neck. Look for blemishes and insults on the surface of the horse. Are the hocks the same size as each other? The knees? Are all the joints the same distance from the ground as the opposing joints? Do the eyes fall one on each side of the head?

Does the horse pass the symmetry test? Then you can move on to the next detailed assessment. Did the horse fail? Get in your car and go buy your self a coffee as a reward for dodging a bullet. Yes, that poor horse may never find an adequate home, and you could have provided that. But what is your goal? If it's not to be a geriatric/retirement home for horses, then be strong and move on.

Now to get to the details….