# Foal Conformation - What do you look for?



## Carrie94

That's a very good question, one I'd like to know the answer to myself.  By the way, very pretty filly.


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## hyperkalemic4

She is a beautiful filly! I have gambled with horses for more years than most of you have been alive and I stay away from horses with pink skin on the muzzle. We are seeing a lot of sunburn. When on the muzzle it is very difficult to cover and to heal once the skin in cracked and bleeding. I was asked to try out a paint horse by some people in another state. When I went to see her she was in a shed, she had large places on her back and shoulders and muzzle where there was no hair at all, the hair folicles had been killed by sunburn.


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## squirrelfood

First, shoulder to hip angle, and no obvious problems. Next, more shoulder/hip check, add in the legs, especially knee and hocks. Later, fetlocks and hooves, when everything has plenty of time to unfold. You can begin to get an idea of neck/head angles at this point, as well as chest width.


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## Foxhunter

Foals are notoriously difficult to assess!

I have just finished reading a biography of one of the renowned horse showmen, Jack Gittens, it was widely known that he could pick out a foal days old, buy it and pick it up three years later knowing he had a winner. 

Foals change immensely. One I bred was the ugliest thing, his front legs were set well back under his shoulder, his joints were enormous, head to big and so short necked he looked like his head came out of his shoulders! 

He took nearly three weeks to 'unfold' even then he was still disproportionate. As a yearling experienced people were asking "What on earth are you going to do with him?" At two he began to look a little better. I took him to a show, just a local one, and he stood at the bottom of the line (in hand) at three he suddenly began to look like a half descent horse. His movement had always been good and straight, suddenly he began to move with elegance. 

At four I had five people all trying to buy him. I sold him and he was always placed showing at major shows and did very well dressage. 

Others that look great at weeks old never really become what you hope!


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

I try to never "critique" a foal, but I will look them over very hard and ask myself, "If I were to show this foal in a weaner class or get of sire or produce of dam, how would I do?" I look at the overall picture that they present and run my hands over them and just try to see the same horse all grown up, in my mind's eye, and look for the really BAD faults. Are they club footed, sickle hocked, really wonky crooked in the legs? If no, then I'll wait. They have to really jump out at me to take a chance and buy a baby.


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## FrostedLilly

Yeah, I honestly wasn't expecting this much white from a solid mare and medium tobiano. That being said, we're pretty far north and sun burn hasn't been a huge issue so far on her pink nose or with pink skin.

And I know that foals are really hard to assess, that's why I was kind of wondering how when you see weanling sales happening every year, and clearly people see something they like and want to buy. It seems like a bit of a gamble. Dreamcatcher, what you've said makes sense to me. If there's nothing glaring, you'll probably have a usable horse with some marketability, even if they turn out not perfect. 

Foxhunter, I kind of know what you mean! My filly at 7.5 months old is reaaallllly fugly right now. She's got a little round belly, her neck seems to have stalled in growing and her bum is 3" taller than her withers. I'm sure once everything catches up to eachother, she'll be decent to look at but I know not without some faults.


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## Incitatus32

Really I try my hardest to not judge a foal too hard. My colt had semi crooked legs, was gawky and looked conformation-ally messed up throughout his foal days/months. I fell in love with his personality but then passed up an opportunity to buy him because in my mind he was 'unsound'. He came back a year later and is one of the best examples of conformation in his breed I've seen! I was so lucky he was offered to me again! Babies tend to grow into themselves for the most part, so I feel it's pretty unfair to judge a baby at that age that roughly. No glaring faults such as a crooked shoulder or crooked legs which will cost time/money to fix are something that can be judged. 

To me a foal has to stand out. When I look at any to buy I tend to look at: Personality, Presence, and then Conformation. Even with some moderate conformation flaws I've known some to be excellent show horses


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

I waited 3 years for this filly. I had seen her brother and told her breeder if she ever had a filly that looked just like him, I would buy her. It took 3 years but she was born and I snapped her up, sight unseen, just going off what I had seen of her brother and other foals produced by that stallion and mare. She was SO fugly growing up that I kept her out of sight when people came over for the first 2 years. 










Unfortunately, she did not have the personality of the rest of her family. In fact, she was just awful. Sometimes it happens. 

This guy I bought before he even dried off after being born. I just KNEW. 










He's a yearling in the picture, I can honestly say HE never went through a Fugly stage.


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## Foxhunter

I had a good colt born with a very twisted hind leg, to the degree that the pint of the hock was pointing to the outside. 

Back then not a lot could be done so, I turned him and his dam out on a really steep hill. Coming down the hill he had to have his hocks under him and by the time he was 9 months it was straight. He was also so well balanced!


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## rookie

At the weanling sales a lot of people are going on sire/dam information at least in the race world. Yearling sales are based on the sire/dam, condition of the horse, its training video or survey radiographs (depending on breed). It is all about hedging a bet so to speak. There are also different levels of horses at different sales. The horses begin sold at the Keeneland sales are very different from the horses sold at the sale three weeks before that big sale. What sale a horse is in also influences its price.


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## Elana

When judging a very young horse there is one rule of thumb I always follow:

"Tops _may_ come but bottoms NEVER." This means the body and proportions may change but the legs are the legs you have. Sooo.. be sure the legs are what you want because that isn't going to change.


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## FrostedLilly

That makes sense. And then just hope you don't get an butt-ugly horse with good legs! ;-) I only kid. I guess it's the same for foals as with any young horse though. Almost anything could change by adulthood.


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