Horse Conformation for Dummies - Part 1

Take a good hard look at your horse standing in the pasture. Study his legs, his back and neck, his hip and shoulder. What do you see? If your answer is along the lines of, "uh, well, he's pretty, he toes out a little, I think, and he's too tall but I still love him" then you are part of a very large club: horse owners who have only a marginal understanding of what constitutes good conformation.

Don't feel ashamed! True experts in horse conformation spend years of hands on learning and studying anatomy to truly understand what works and why. There are books galore on the subject that can help those of us who are conformationally challenged understand the basics. All you need is an inquiring mind, an objective eye and oddly enough, a basic understanding of geometry.

Conformation basics are the same for all breeds, although there are differences. For example, a long muscular hip is the ideal for a Quarter Horse but not for an Arabian, yet if the hip proportions follow the basics of conformation, they are both correct. But a straight leg is a straight leg, no matter what the breed.

So let's dust off our high school geometry books, get a good conformational photo of your horse, a black marker and be prepared to deface pretty Dobbin's picture for the sake of education.

The Body
"The best horses in every bred display an overall balance and symmetry, with each part of the body being proportionate," from The Horse Conformation Handbook by Heather Smith Thomas.

Visualize your horse in thirds. If you drop a line from the where the withers meet the back then from that point to the front of the shoulder is the first third. The second third is from that same imaginary line back to the point of the hip and the last third is from the point of the hip to the point of the buttock.

A horse with a too-long back is not going to be proportionate; it can make it harder for the horse to carry a rider at speed and can eventually lead to leg problems. Back soreness can also be an issue with this fault. A horse with a long, upright shoulder makes that third of his body smaller than the other two, ruining the balance. An upright shoulder will often lead to leg issues in the future, as well as producing rough gaits.

A well conformed horse should be square as well as balanced into thirds. The top of the withers should be even with the top of the croup, and that distance from the withers to the ground should equal the distance from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttocks. The top line, from withers to the tail head, should be short and smooth; the underline, from elbow to stifle, should be longer than the top line. The front legs from elbow to fetlock should be the same length as the depth of the body from withers to girth.

If you dust off your basic fifth grade geometry you'll remember a figure called a trapezoid. A balanced horse has a body that forms a perfect trapezoid, meaning the top line from withers to point of hip is exactly half the distance as the bottom line, from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttocks. The angles of hip and shoulder should be equal as well.

Head and Neck
The old saying goes, "you don't ride the head," and that of course is true. A "pretty" head isn't essential to a good horse but the head is important when it comes to conformation.

The horse raises and lowers his head as a counterbalance for the hindquarters. He also uses it to maintain and regain balance and to help adjust speed or balance. A pretty head might not affect any of those things, but a too large or too small one would. A horse with a large, heavy head and a long neck will have a tougher time maintaining balance. He'll travel too heavily in front and have trouble with collection and balance, and likely lean into the bit.

A horse with a head too small for it's body will tend to "bounce" in the stop, have a little less agility and be prone to wasted motion in more exacting movements. The horse's head, measured from the poll to the lip, should be no longer than his neck.

A horse with a balanced, proportionate head and neck will move freer, with better balance and collection and more precise control in turns and stops, all be cause is "pendulum", the head, is in direct proportion to his body. If it's also "pretty", well, that's just gravy on top.

The neck is the means by which the horse uses his head to shift his center of gravity and maintain balance. Measured from poll to withers, the neck should be proportional to the rest of his body, meaning it should be about 1/3 of his body length just like his shoulder, barrel and hip. Proportionate neck length helps a horse be more agile and allows for freer movement, balance and head position.

A short, thick neck with a thick throatlatch limits any poll flexion and side to side mobility. That flexion is paramount to athletic ability, balance and collection. A short neck is often accompanied by a short and upright shoulder. This makes for a shorter and choppier stride, and while he may have quick take off speed, his legs must move faster and harder than a longer strided horse.

Legs and Feet
We've all heard "no hoof no horse" and that's very true. Sound legs and feet are essential for any horse, any discipline. Let's look at the front end first.

The humerus or arm bone connects to the scapula (shoulder blade) from the elbow joint. The length and angle of the humerus dictate the front leg action. A longer humerus provides more leverage, strength and power and range of motion, including stride length. It should be 50-60% of the length of the shoulder blade to be most effective. With a humerus that is too long, forward movement of the leg is diminished and freedom of movement is impaired making a horse more apt to stumble.

If the humerus is too short the horse will have a choppy stride. It makes for increased concussion as well but actually helps with sprinting. However, the horse will usually tire over a distance.

If the length and angle of the humerus are just right the horse's elbow is directly below the front of the withers. So, when the horse is standing square the easiest way to check the angle is to find the point of the shoulder. The angle between the shoulder and humerus should be about 85 degrees.

The forearm should be long, wide and thick and in perfect line with the knee and cannon bone when viewed from all angles. The knee should be shield shaped with well-defined corners, flat in front, not round at all, large and proportionate to the leg. The knee should always face forward, never to one side or the other. The cannon bone's job is to provide support. It should be perfectly vertical from all views. It should be perfectly straight and smooth and be aligned centrally under the knee. Short front and long rear cannon bones are considered ideal. When you hear experienced horsemen use the term "flat bone" they are talking about the view of the cannon from the side, including the bone and the tendons. If the flexor tendons are set too close to the knee (or hock in the hind leg) it's called "tied in" at the knee and makes the leg weak.

You can measure your horse's cannon bone circumference by wrapping a tape measure around the leg below the knee. The average domestic saddle horse should have an 8-inch circumference per 1,000 pounds of horse. For example, a 1,200 pound horse should have a 9.6 circumference for adequate support and joint durability. A horse with less than 7 inches of bone per 1,000 pounds is too fine boned and prone to injury.

When a horse is standing, nearly two-thirds of his weight is on his front end applying pressure to the back of his fetlock joints. Like the knee, the fetlock should be large and wide to be better able to absorb shock. Good width gives better strength for twisting motions. Too see if your horse's fetlocks are straight, pick up his foot and bent the fetlock joint completely. If the space between the heels is directly in line with the tendons, you've got a nice straight fetlock. It shouldn't be off to one side or the other.

The length and slope of the pastern influences the soundness of the leg. It determines how well the leg will tolerate concussion and contributes to the action, springy or plodding. The ideal front pastern should be between 47-55 degrees, depending on the individual. The slope determines leverage and shock absorbing qualities; too steep and it canÔt absorb shock, too sloped and it becomes weak.

If you look at the horse from the front you should be able to draw a perfectly straight line from the point of the shoulder down the middle of the leg that will bisect the leg exactly, top to bottom. Viewed from the side, an imaginary line drawn from elbow to fetlock should be perpendicular to the underline and the ground.