# Help me understand conformation and structure



## Fowl Play (Sep 22, 2009)

I hope this is the right spot, if not please move it to the correct forum. I have been reading a lot about conformation lately and I want some help understanding structure/conformation of horses. I have chosen a picture of a horse that my daughter rides because it is a horse I can and have had my hands on and see regularly to help understand this stuff. He's a 14.2 hh paint (quarterhorse/western pleasure background). I don't know his weight, but he's a bit pudgy right now. 

I don't know how to take conformation pictures of a horse, so this is the best I have right now. I'm really interested in explanation, not just "he's a bit..." I want to learn so if you see something less than desirable, I'd like to understand WHY it isn't so desirable. This is intended for my education, not to tear a horse apart. I want to learn about the structure so please keep the comments in that nature.

Also, if you want different pictures try to explain what you want to help me and I'll see what I have in my hundreds of pictures of my daughter riding. I joined this forum to learn and ask questions so please educate me. For reference the rider is a 7 year old. She's big for her age, but she's just 7.

















One of many movement pictures. I don't know if it's a good picture or not, so bear with me.


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## Goddess of Judecca (Oct 6, 2009)

Awwwwwwwwwwwww, your daughter's so cute. =D

I actually didn't even read your post. I just saw little girl and my heart turned to mush. Sorry, mothering instincts take over sometimes.


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## LeahKathleen (Mar 5, 2009)

Well, it will be difficult to judge a tacked up horse. The best conformation shots will be of an untacked horse.

You will want to take photos from the left and right sides, and you want his legs to be "square," or, lined up. That will help us better judge his back, hips, shoulders, and girth area. We also need to see squared up pictures from the front and back to better view the legs and feet.

From these pictures, he looks fairly well put together.

He appears to have a nice sloping shoulder. This is desirable because an upright shoulder can cause a choppy, uncomfortable gait, and put stress on the horses joints.

He also looks to have a powerful hind end and a big hip. This is a desirable trait in a horse because it ensures that asking your horse to work from his hind end and through his back will be something easily attainable. We ask our horses to work through their hind ends and a horse with a weak hip will be inclined to be "on the forehand," or using his front end to "pull" themselves along. This creates unbalanced gaits and disallows the horse to move with its full potential. Many of the tasks we ask our horses to do require our horses to move from their hind ends - jumping, reining, cutting, even trail riding on coarse or uneven terrain.

I will say however, from the one moving shot, that he appears to heavy on his forehand - or pulling himself rather than pushing. Many horses that are ridden by children will do this because it is easier and the children have not yet fully developed or learned the aids to be able to correct that type of movement.

With these pictures, that is about all I can tell. If we had some better conformation shots, we could tell you a bit more.

If anyone has anything to add, be my guest. :] Hope this has helped.


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## Fowl Play (Sep 22, 2009)

Here is the only shot I can find of him without gear on. I usually end up helping her brush him because he's so sweet that I don't get many pictures. 









I see what you mean about the movement (sort of). I don't quite understand, but I can see that his gait looks weird in this one. Here are a couple of other movement pics. I don't know if they show any difference or not. 









I wonder if it's his pace because his gait looks much different in this picture, and he's moving faster here.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

First off, I love his movement and head carriage. Looks like a real sweetie. As for conformation shots, the best ones are of the horse in nothing but a halter on flat ground (concrete if possible so that feet can be seen clearly as well). He should have all 4 feet square under his body; none in front of the other and 4 shots are really necessary. One from straight each side and one front and one back showing entire horse from ears to hooves.

With the tack on and the angle of the pix, it will not be a thorough critique but here goes.

The only thing that really jumps out at me is his back end. He is camped out (which means that his legs come out of his body behind where they should be) and he is very post legged (meaning that his hocks are very straight and stifle is at an odd angle). Being post legged with limit his range of motion and often cause a horse to ride rough, but not always. The reason that he is on the forehand as Leah stated is, IMHO, due to his being camped out. That makes it hard for the horse to get his hind legs under him and really use his hind to propel himself so he is forced to pull from the front.

Here is an excellent site that talks about conformation and the cause/result of each fault.
The Horse | Conformation

And here is one that describes why good conformation is a good thing.
The Horse | AAEP 2008: Conformation and Function

But you may have to create an account to see the full article, I did.


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## LeahKathleen (Mar 5, 2009)

What smrobs said is true - he does appear camped out in the shots we have. I didn't mention it because all the pics at the time of my post were mounted shots, and horses will often stand awkwardly with riders, pictures are snapped mid-movement, or what have you.

A horse that is camped out (having its hind legs further back than they should be - the opposite being "camped under") will, as smrobs said, disallow the horse to properly reach under himself and work from his hind. It can be done, but horses with this conformation flaw will be less inclined to do so. It simply requires training and asking a rider capable of aiding the horse to do so. Kids usually are focused on steering, going, stopping, sitting properly... etc. On top of that, their legs aren't very long and neither are their arms. Once your daughter is a bit older, bigger, stronger - she'll be able to help him work from his hind with the help of her trainer.


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## Fowl Play (Sep 22, 2009)

Thanks. That website gives me a lot to read. I really appreciate the help learning.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

I like him - nice looking and gentle. And looks like he and the girl are really good team: he looks happy and relax.


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## Fowl Play (Sep 22, 2009)

kitten_Val said:


> I like him - nice looking and gentle. And looks like he and the girl are really good team: he looks happy and relax.


He is extremely gentle. His personality is much like that of a labrador. My daughter adores him. I only picked pictures of him to post because I've spent a lot of time around him and can see what you're talking about when I see him next week. 

Do you think he's a little porky? He's been kind of a hard keeper in the barn, so the instructor put him in a field with a shelter for the last year and he's put on weight. She says he's put on too much weight now. It's easy for me to tell when dogs are too fat, but I don't know how to tell if a horse is fat yet. My daughter has grown almost 6 inches since she started riding him, but says that she can tell he's wider than he was.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

He looks like he is at a really healthy weight to me, but I am judging against all of mine who are terribly obese. LOL. He looks great.


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## LeahKathleen (Mar 5, 2009)

He looks to be a good weight to me. He could maybe lose a little, not much though. For horses, you should be able to feel, but not see, their ribs.


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## Fowl Play (Sep 22, 2009)

LeahKathleen said:


> He looks to be a good weight to me. He could maybe lose a little, not much though. For horses, you should be able to feel, but not see, their ribs.


Thanks. That helps.


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