# Down Hill and Up Hill Horses



## MiniMom24 (Mar 13, 2013)

I see so any posts with horses conformation being Downhill. It seems like you don't want a horse who's downhill by all the posts on it. Why don't you want a downhill horse and whats the benefits of an up hill horse? I'm learning so sorry for the odd question.


----------



## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

every horse i have ridden that is down hill built is rough.. like a giant pony on a pogo stick..
an extremely up hill horse is not desireable either.


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Downhill horses are usually a lot harder to ride back to front as they have to really work hard to lower their croup and drive from behind. They're naturally more front-heavy (or so it's said)

Honestly though there are a LOT of downhill horses that go nicely. Just requires extra work and consistency.


----------



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

It depends on the discipline. If you're jumping, a downhill horse is going to have a much harder time pulling their front end up and over jumps. Similarly, if you're doing cutting or barrels, an uphill horse is going to have a harder time really getting down into the turns or cuts.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Dressage horses appear uphill because their training raises the withers. A rump high horse will cause the saddle to jam the shoulder blades unless a crupper or breeching is used to hold it back. If not held back scarring along the edge of the scapula can result.


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

I rode a very down hill mare once, with a low headset. felt like you were going over her head. on the plus side, she had the best personality you could ask for, a lovely smooth trot and felt great powering uphill.

personally I like a slightly uphill horse, but anything between that and slightly downhill is fine. Its just the extremes that cause problems.


----------



## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

A downhill horse has a harder time driving from behind and staying off the forehand.


----------



## pbeebs (Sep 7, 2013)

Can someone post a picture of an example of an uphill and downhill horse? I'm trying to get better with my confirmation lingo...don't know very much right now.


----------



## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

I hate riding down hill horses. They travel heavy on the forehand and I always feel like there front end is trying to catch up with the hind end.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Here's an example of a slightly uphill horse. This is a TB/Holsteiner mare I was looking at buying last year to learn to jump on.









_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## pbeebs (Sep 7, 2013)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> Here's an example of a slightly uphill horse. This is a TB/Holsteiner mare I was looking at buying last year to learn to jump on.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


picture helps a lot, I see it in this one. thanks for sharing


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

This horse is significantly down hill, though she used herself well. 










This one is pretty level at 2 years old









But a year previous she was very downhill








_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

And one more, at 5 she was downhill, although didn't feel as bad as some horses








_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## cowgirllinda1952 (Apr 15, 2013)

How do you measure, from where to where? I known about the rump part, but unsure about front part, from the withers or what?


----------



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

It's not a matter of measuring, really. It's a matter of looking at the horse standing (preferably) square on level ground and determining if the rump is higher than the withers (downhill) or the withers higher than the rump (uphill).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

For me it's if the shoulders/chest are lower than the haunches, then the horse is downhill.


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

Look at the horse standing sideways and level. You'll be able to see if it slants downhill, uphill, or stands level. Wether the hip is higher than the withers is usually a good indication of a downhill horse.

I find some horses that look downhill use their bodies well and don't feel downhill to ride, while others feel like you'll slide over their head at any moment.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Weezilla (Aug 3, 2012)

Here's the Stallion Roster from Hilltop Farm in Maryland, one of the largest warmblood breeding operations in the US. All with uphill builds and good shoulders. Droop away ;-)

Hilltop Farm, Inc. - The Complete Sporthorse Center


----------



## EvilHorseOfDoom (Jun 17, 2012)

Weezilla said:


> Here's the Stallion Roster from Hilltop Farm in Maryland, one of the largest warmblood breeding operations in the US. All with uphill builds and good shoulders. Droop away ;-)
> 
> Hilltop Farm, Inc. - The Complete Sporthorse Center


Aaaaaargh can I please have Donarweiss??? Or Don Principe? Or maybe Parabol? Argh!


----------



## Weezilla (Aug 3, 2012)

LOL EHOD, of course I meant DROOL AWAY, not droop 

I need a bib:mrgreen:


----------



## EvilHorseOfDoom (Jun 17, 2012)

Weezilla said:


> LOL EHOD, of course I meant DROOL AWAY, not droop
> 
> I need a bib:mrgreen:


Heehee so do I, my shirtfront is all wet now and there's a puddle on my keyboard! They're just stunning - talk about breeding the best of the best!! I think I need to marry a rich man :lol:


----------



## Ima Free Spirit (Oct 2, 2013)

The typical down hill built horses such as quarter horses etc were never bred to do dressage or English riding they were bred to be good at ranch work, herding livestock and suit doing western . Some QH can't collect with a rider at all, sometimes they can only collect for short ammounts of time, but I am some one who believes that if you force a horse to do something its not built for it will go unsound quicker, get sore easily or break and as a majority won't be able to do go to the high levels. 

Uphill horses such as Andalusians and Spanish horses where built to properly collect, to engage the hind end and hold their poll as the highest point of their body, they are able to sit onto their hind end and travel uphill off the forehand compared to a qh which naturally travels down hill. 

This is why Germany succeeds in winning in dressage and jumping with their horses, they breed horses for the job and have government regulations in place based around breeding. they even get rewarded for breeding good horses. 

I don't believe any one who has a down hill horse and says it travels uphill all the time, its science and biomechanics and truelly collecting is a horse putting weight onto their hind quarters not just having its head tucked in and tracked up. 

I wish in Australia and all countriess that we would have breeding regulations and rules in place, so one day in the future I will be actually able to buy a horse old enough to ride and built uphill with decent conformation and able to collect properly in dressage without the 30k price tag.


----------



## MiniMom24 (Mar 13, 2013)

WOW. Thanks for ALL that info. I felt a little silly for asking the question but now I'm really glad I did. Such allot of great input and information. I'm glad I wasn't the only one with questions on it.


----------



## MiniMom24 (Mar 13, 2013)

OMG. I'll just take them ALL 



Weezilla said:


> Here's the Stallion Roster from Hilltop Farm in Maryland, one of the largest warmblood breeding operations in the US. All with uphill builds and good shoulders. Droop away ;-)
> 
> Hilltop Farm, Inc. - The Complete Sporthorse Center


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Drafty, if that horse had done a lot of dressage work then that is how it will look.


----------



## BlueSpark (Feb 22, 2012)

> Some QH can't collect with a rider at all, sometimes they can only collect for short ammounts of time


I think every horse should be able to use its back, engage its hind end and use its body properly. Breeding a horse so down hill that it cant do anything but move along with a hollow back, dumped on its forhand, is ridiculous. I trained a gelding like this once. he was impossibly heavy, and no matter how much you tried to get him to soften up and work off his hind end, he just couldn't do it. He felt awful to ride, but had a great personality, so he ended up going to someone who just wanted a trail horse that could do w/j.

Its also funny, with all of this drooling over warmbloods, for 90% + of the population of horse owners, a warmblood is ridiculous. The high end dressage horses everyone drools over are huge, often with difficult personalities, not an easy ride, with very uncomfortable(but spectacular) gaits. I rode one once, and she was stunning, and went on to be very successful as a dressage horse, but she was a handful, and that lovely extended trot was awful. They have their purpose, but as I don't do high end dressage or jumping, they are pretty much useless to me, I certainly wouldn't want to trail ride, do endurance, take one to the mountains or chase cows.


----------



## Regula (Jan 23, 2012)

I learned as a. Young kid when I was taking riding lessons (in Germany) that uphill is better regardless of the discipline, since the horse has a lot more potential to build muscle and bear weight on the hind end, while the shoulders are very limited when it comes to muscle dev't. So most of the weight carried by a horse that travels front-heavy is carried by the bones /joints / tendons, while in the hind end building extra muscle relieves the skeletal structures even with strenuous exercise. Hence longer soundness.
Mind you, there were virtually no cutters or barrel racers in Germany in the 80s and 90s...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------

