# Potential first arabian - conformation critique



## Firstarabian (Apr 30, 2012)

Hello,
I am about to buy my first horse - a young Arabian mare (5 year old) starting under saddle. She has a good pedigree (sire straight egyptian; dame polish/spanish/egyptian lines) and an amazing character (gentle, curious, close to people). But her conformation is not exactly what one would expect for an Arabian. She has a high croup, and is slightly rafter-hipped (also seen on the picture of the head) - she may be slightly downhill or just level. Her legs are not bad I think - but it was hard to have her nicely placed for the picture. Also, she is not super muscled, yet. Please, could you let me know if you think she would make a good horse for outdoor riding, trailing (eventually for several days in a row), and perhaps endurance (for fun rather than competition)?
Thanks for your input and advices!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

her hip is odd. There's a bit of a bump right near the SI joint. She is a bit over at the knee on left front.


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## arrowsaway (Aug 31, 2011)

hm... let me try my hand at this one. not an expert by any means, so here we go.

Firstly, I see a lovely head. Unfortunately her neck is not something I would usually prefer to see on an Arabian.. It's just a -touch- too short and thick. 
She appears tied in at the knee... and she's sickle hocked. As for being bumhigh... I drew my invisible line and she looked pretty well level. 

For trail, I don't see why she couldn't be utilized. For endurance, however, that may be a different ballgame. I'll let someone else who may have more experience with endurance weigh in on that.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Steep shoulder angle and her neck is set high, even for an Arab.
On the plus side she has a nice deep girth which would benefit you for trails and endurance.
Front legs look alright, though maybe just the tiniest bit over at the knee..
She is bum high and her back is a little long.
I like the shape of her hindquarters, however as Tiny said there seems to be some sort of bump and she is quite narrow when you look at her from behind.
Hard to really say, but she may be sickle-hocked to a small degree as well.
Her hind right foot (white one) seems to cow out a bit too in the one photo.
I dont' see why she wouldnt be good for trails, however you may need to look around for a good saddle if you plan on doing long distance riding because she is built so downhill. A crupper might be a good investment too.


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## Yoshi (Feb 6, 2011)

I think that she looks lovely! Unless you are looking to do a lot of in-hand and ridden showing competitions, where conformation is paramount, I think that this little mare seems to be OK!
If she is comfortable to ride and has no lameness or stiffness issues etc, then I would say go for her. I think that people can get way too focused on conformation (which is of course important, especially at higher level competing) but personality and character (not to mention being sane!) are equally important aspects not to be overlooked ;-)


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## Cacowgirl (Feb 19, 2011)

I think she would be fine for trail riding. The main thing is a trained horse that you feel comfortable with & the two of you make a team & enjoy being together.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

She is not sickle hocked at all. If her left hind was back a bit & you dropped a plumb line her cannons would be dead on correct. Hocks have to have some angle to them.

The little bump on her rump is fat.
Her back a few inches back from her withers has a strange 'too level ' area, about where one would sit if bareback but it could just be the picture.
Her hooves look like they could use a better balanced trim.
Overall I like her & would not hesitate to buy a horse like her.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Good temperment is far more important than the conformation faults mentioned here for a trail riding horse. Probably shouldn't breed her, but I like her.


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## Chopsticks (Mar 11, 2012)

far more to like on this mare than negatives (IMHO) Agree she is not sickle hocked, i love her hock angle. her feet are GORGEOUS. Yes, they could use a better trim to be perfect but they have great heel, nice shape, and look to be hard and well developed. like her pasterns, her neck tie in, length and shape, clean throatlatch and typey head. agree there is something off with her back - it's a bit swayed already (could be from being a tad croup high) and would like to see another photo to see if the bump around the S1 is really there or an illusion, hair mat, etc. She has the build that most good endurance horses have and as you know, arabs dominate in that pursuit. Excellent prospect!


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## Firstarabian (Apr 30, 2012)

Thank you very much for all your replies - this is most helpful. She really is a wonderful mare!
The line of her back was indeed a bit bumpy. In the saddle area, I think this may be because they used a big Western saddle on her; on the croup, it is rather bumpy, and now I think that Natisha is probably right: a fat bump. She is a bit overweight. I believe once she gets to exercise, she will put on more muscle and loose some of the fat! ;o)

As for her character, she is very close to people, gentle and friendly. But I was a bit surprised that outside, she was a bit scared of everything - poodles of water, clucking chickens, etc. I believe this will get better as we work together and as she learns to trust me. What do you think?

Thanks again for your replies!


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## gigem88 (May 10, 2011)

To me temperment out weighs most confirmation flaws, unless I was to show. She is a lovely one.


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## Chopsticks (Mar 11, 2012)

arabs tend to be spookier than other breeds, I think because they are hyper aware of their environments, which is what makes them so great in some ways but a little silly in others. my arab gelding has def. gotten better over the years as we've developed trust, but he still prefers to be in a group rather than solo- even though we are leaps and bounds from where we started. bad news is he's 19, so the general spookiness never goes away but it gets better and more manageable. I figure by the time he's 30 we should be all set!


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