# Conformation Critique



## AceyGrace (Jan 21, 2014)

Hi everyone!

Just posting here for a bit of fun. My gelding is pretty badly put together lol. I know he looks like a bit of an ugly duckling but I don't know very much about conformation and the science behind it etc. 

I'm just looking to learn something and using my gelding as an example so you can be as harsh as you like! 

He is about 17 years old. 16.3hh and mixed breed (I have no idea about his breeding whatsoever. Any guesses welcome, though I doubt there is anything substantial to detect). He has done a bit of everything but is mostly a heavyweight hunter.

Sorry the photos aren't great confo pics but he literally never stands straight! and I only had a few mins today for photo taking. In the picture of his front legs his right foot is twisted. Naturally they both fall like the left leg is positioned.

I will try to get some more photos another time if it's of any help.


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

When reading your post stating he wasn't put together well, I was expecting something very different from the photo you posted. He doesn't have stellar conformation of a high end sport horse, no, but he isn't bad at all in my mind.

His back looks quite short and strong and I like how his neck ties in. His hocks and knees are nice and large and his cannons have a lot of substance. 

His shoulder seems to be a bit upright and he looks a little straight in the hind end as well. He has quite a steep croup, which is great for some things, but a limitation on others. His neck looks a bit thin for the rest of his body, but looks like it could improve with some conditioning and developing a top-line. I think the "worst" thing I see is a very narrow chest.

Overall he looks like a sturdy, well-to-do horse. I would not describe him as an ugly duckling! These are the kind of horses I prefer.


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## mrwithers (Jun 25, 2014)

Looks cow hocked in the rear though. I've seen other cow hocked horses that like to stand with one leg out and turned which looks like what your horse likes to do in a couple of those pictures. With his legs squared up you can see they're very close and one is even turned out a bit. It could cause bone issues as he gets older.

Besides his big belly most of his proportions look ok.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Looks like he might have worms, or just hay belly?


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## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

I'd say if he loses that hay/worm belly and gains some muscle he'll be a nice looking horse. No fancy show horse, but very sturdy and useful.


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## AceyGrace (Jan 21, 2014)

Well that's all lovely to hear, considering we are used to getting less than positive feedback haha. I am under no illusions he is not a nice show/sports horse. He is a great sturdy hunter 

He has a huge hay belly! Which never goes away. Even in summer he has a big round belly and he is wormed 3 times a year with different brands - never shown any symptoms of worms at all. To give him credit he is never worked very hard.

@karliejaye What sorts of things would straight croup like this be beneficial/detrimental for? And what are the aspects to note about a narrow chest? How does this effect the horse etc?

@mrwither Ditto with being cow hocked. This is something I did recognise myself in his back legs, but what are the consequences of this type of posture? The front feet aren't so bad - just a bad pic on my part, sorry. But that's interesting that a lot of cow hocked horses tend to stand that way because he is really never square at all. He always has one back leg out to the side slightly in front or cocked.

Thanks for all your comments everyone!


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

As I understand it (I don't have my favorite reference book in front of my at the moment) steep croups are powerful for slow, heavy pulling, but not built for quick bursts of speed or the thrust needed for large quick jumping efforts. Draft horses often have that build in their croup and they can really get down with the haunch and use it to push off when pulling heavy loads.

The narrow chest just means more likelihood of front end interference, hitting himself if he paddles. Also less surface for large muscle development there.

That said, I don't think he is truly limited for what you state he does. He seems to be built perfectly capable of doing a little bit of this and that just fine.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

My guess is he has draft blood in there. He's heavy though not huge but he's also built like a draft.

He could even be up to half draft I feel.

Agree he's not fancy but he could be far worse, be proud of him.

Also agree he looks wormy.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

FWIW there is good conformation and bad conformation of course but what is good for one horse may not be good for another. You don't want a racer built like a draft and vice versa, form follows function and you must take that into account when judging.


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## mrwithers (Jun 25, 2014)

One of the cow hocked horses at my barn had to have ring bone surgery on one front foot due to putting more weight there. I usually can just spot them because of that odd way they stand with a leg out and cocked. I don't know much about ring bone and how it relates to being cow hocked except for that one horse at my barn.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Have you had a fecal count done on him? If he's in work and getting regularly dewormed, I'd be concerned about that belly. Have you played with his feed to see if that helps?

I agree that he looks part draft. Strikes me as Belgian, really.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## AceyGrace (Jan 21, 2014)

Thanks for all the info, it's really helpful and nice to hear that others don't think he's so bad lol.

He has had 2 egg worm counts in the last year because I also thought his belly had to be wormy but they both came back quite low. I have since treated him with wormer. 

Nothing really makes a huge difference but he isn't in regular hard work at all. We ride out about 3 hours a week in the winter and in summer do about 4 hours hacking out and 2 hours of very easy walk/trot work in the school ring. 

He is such a good doer that I really hate to give him any hard feed. He has ad lib hay in the field all winter and lives out on grass in summer. Around January I start feeding literally a handful of grain with a handful of chaff just to get some extra nutrients but he really doesn't need it and puts on weight so quickly :/

I think his belly is the thing that makes him look the most odd haha... especially with that neck


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

since he is older, 17 he could actually be older than that being unregistered there is no actual proof of his age unless you have had him since birth. In that aspect, because he is an older horse, I would give him some senior feed that has joint supplement in it, and beet pulp( soak the beet pulp two hours before feeding,) it swells a huge amount. start off with one pound a day and you can go up to about three pounds a day (dry) this should help to stop some of the hay belly and add some weight to him. 
He is a cute old thing.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Have you spoken with the vet?
Make sure he's getting lots of quality hay.

I hear you on the gains weight quickly but he IS thin right now, so do give him some more.

I think beet pulp would be a good choice for him.

There IS a balance you just need to find it.


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## CASugar (Oct 17, 2014)

I like how sturdy he is also. Like another poster mentioned that he has good bone. I suspect for this reason being cow hocked won't be a problem. With the straight shoulder and straight up hind, I suspect he is a rough ride. I would do rotation worming every 6-8 weeks, whenever he gets his feet trimmed, for a year at least. Sould get that hay belly off with the worming, then he'll look super.


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## Boo Walker (Jul 25, 2012)

He looks like he has some kind of heavy draft in his bloodline somewhere- I really like him!
Seeing his dipping topline and sagging belly, it looks like he could use some conditioning. At his age, it's pretty common- just like with people, as the back gets weaker, the belly sticks out.
Doing daily ground work exercises like roll-backs and backing up a slight incline, encourages him to engage his abdominal muscles and the topline will fill back in with muscle. It doesn't need to be very vigorous either, just 4 or 5 repetitions a day. I do this with our 21 year old Belgian and in the first week his "beer gut" started to go away and the dip on either side of his withers began to fill in.


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## AceyGrace (Jan 21, 2014)

I'm trying to keep him on the slim side at the moment because when he goes into the summer field he balloons and his weight is so hard to control even with a muzzle and strict paddock separating :/ But the tips for feed changes are really helpful, thanks! I'll try just the beet pulp with a handful of chaff and see what happens.

@CASugar He can be rough to ride! lol. His trot is horrendous, so choppy and dishy but he can do a nice jog if we both try a bit harder. His canter is lovely though  

@Boo Walker Those are great suggestions for exercises, thanks. And things we can easily do out hacking as well so will focus on doing that a bit more. It can be hard in the winter to exercise him because we don't have a schooling area and everything is mud and slush.

He does look a bit better in summer. Here's a pic of him after a few weeks of doing some light work and he gets a little bit better than that still before going in to winter. Still not super fit but it's something haha


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

In the last photo he kind of looks like a Paint or QH draft cross.

I LOVE sturdy built horses. Wish we had more of them!


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

TessaMay said:


> I'd say if he loses that hay/worm belly and gains some muscle he'll be a nice looking horse. No fancy show horse, but very sturdy and useful.


This and some good hoof care goes a long
way.


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