# Roady's Conformation



## Shoebox (Apr 18, 2012)

I agree with the wonky knees, though I couldn't put my finger on why... Maybe a bit tied in and over at the knee?

Looks like a touch of sway back too. All the pictures but the last one make him look a tiny bit downhill, but it might just be the angle/way he's standing.


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## MW Roach (Jul 28, 2014)

Oh I forgot to add that she is 16 years old and a mare. My bad!


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

She's a chunk, isn't she? :lol:

Her knees scare me. VERY over at the knee and tied in behind the knee. There's maybe something else going on, but the pics aren't good enough to say.

I agree, she looks to have a bit of a sway back starting and she does appear downhill.

I also think she could stand to lose quite a bit of weight. That will help those knees stay sound longer.

Overall, I like her. Sweet face and the rest of her is not bad at all.
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## MW Roach (Jul 28, 2014)

lol yeah, she needs to lose some weight. She was a chubbers when I got her. She was on good pasture for the past 4 years being used as a broodmare. I noticed her knees when she got out of the trailer, but the lady said not to worry about it. My farrier said she might have some arthritis or eventually get it pretty strong in her knees when she gets older. 

Does anyone know of some good exercise I can work in that's gentle but at the same time will help her lose some weight? She's a lazy thing who doesn't like to work but I agree that she needs to get a little more fit.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

What's her diet right now?

Does she know how to lunge?
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## MW Roach (Jul 28, 2014)

Just grass hay. The lady had her on grass/alfalfa mixture and some grain. And yes, I was told she does know how to lunge. I have a 40 ft lunge line and a Clinton Anderson stick.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I'd start lunging and/or round penning (free lunging) her every day. Thirty minutes or so, and make sure she keeps up a good pace. Really drive her forward, don't let her be lazy. 

That's just my opinion. 
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## MW Roach (Jul 28, 2014)

Sounds like a good idea, she needs to drop some pounds by any means necessary, and I don't want to ride her too hard since she's not fit anyway. Gotta get her fit first!


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## NRW (Feb 26, 2013)

My opinion of her knees is actually that they look swollen. I could be wrong. But I don't see over at the knee....they just look swollen. And with how sway backed she is, I would assume she probably has some arthritis in them? Have you ever had them looked at by a vet? Or tried her on an anti inflammatory to see if the swelling would go down? 

She's down hill, and has a sway back.
I also don't see her as being too fat, but my mares both are built like this....just thick. She just looks like she's got a belly cause she's probably not used as a performance horse or has a heavy riding schedule....which is probably good cause those knees are a little odd.... Ask a vet to look at them maybe before doing a lot of hard riding/work with her...if it's arthritis though I have heard getting them moving actually helps.


Edit: looking again I do see a little tied in. But still think her knees are swollen. Especially if the picture where she is facing the camera, there's a knot coming off her front right on the inside....
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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

NRW, my assessment that she is fat did not come from looking at her belly. It was the rolls at her elbow and stifle. My best friend's QH mare is a tank who is ridden once every two weeks and she doesn't have rolls like that. On the other hand, a fat little 13.3hh paint pony that we used at the Girl Scout horse camp had rolls just like that and she was fat as fat could be (that fat on her shoulder even rippled a bit when you patted her...it was kinda gross).
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## NRW (Feb 26, 2013)

If you look at her back end, you can see her "poor line". I'm not saying she's underweight. But I don't think she's morbidly obese. She's probably just more of an easy keeper. Both of my mares have that "pocket of fat" I always assumed it's some muscle as well...her's doesn't look overly large...I have seen some fat horses recently...my mare was a fatty when I got her.
I don't think this horse is that fat. But everybody has different ideas of perfection. 

I'm more concerned about the knot on her knee and if her knees are swollen.

And Girl Scout camp horses are never the ideal idea of healthy horses. I can surely agree that they would have an obese pony. I remember a lot of fatties there from my times when I went.
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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I guess I didn't see that as a poor line on her hind, I saw it as a lack of muscle tone. I also wouldn't say she's morbidly obese, but she's definitely on the "fluffier than she should be" side.

I agree that the knees are a much more pressing matter. Taking off some of that weight will also help them, though.

The sad thing about our camp horses is that they were on loan to us, as we only had the horse camp in the fall. They were polo ponies in the summer and trail horses in the mountains in the winter. Pretty much all the other horses were in good weight, except Sassy. She was an air fern, yet got the same amount of feed as everyone else (we didn't have a way to separate them for feeding).

You can see her rolls, much like the OP's mare:


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Goodness, she's got some weight on her xD

The biggest issue I see is how downhill she looks...


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## clumsychelsea (Jul 9, 2014)

NRW said:


> And Girl Scout camp horses are never the ideal idea of healthy horses. I can surely agree that they would have an obese pony. I remember a lot of fatties there from my times when I went.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


If you want to see some chubby ponies, Scout camps are the first place to look. I remember some camps from when I was younger and I was actually in shock about how overweight the horses were. You have to really try to make a horse that chunky. :-|

Also I have no comment on Roady's conformation since I'm not really good at judging it.  Pretty horse! Love her sweet face.


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## NRW (Feb 26, 2013)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> I guess I didn't see that as a poor line on her hind, I saw it as a lack of muscle tone. I also wouldn't say she's morbidly obese, but she's definitely on the "fluffier than she should be" side.
> 
> I agree that the knees are a much more pressing matter. Taking off some of that weight will also help them, though.
> 
> ...



Sassy looked pretty content with her fatty body. 


I dunno I still don't think the OP horse is that fat, she just doesn't look like she's "in shape". I'm sure it'll change as she gets more work and is being ridden.
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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

NRW said:


> Sassy looked pretty content with her fatty body.


That she was. :lol: She was the funniest little thing. A regular Houdini at untying herself, but she ground-tied, so the moment she was untied and that rope hit the ground, she stopped dead. Little weirdo. You also had to walk behind her with a crop to get her to move off when one of the girls was riding her. She figured out real quick that the girls wouldn't make her move. I rode her on the trail once and it was like straddling a barrel (even more so than my big draft cross), plus she kind of rolled when she walked. Made me a little motion sick, to be honest.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I don't think I would do very much lunging or round penning on a 16 yr old horse with bad knees. On the photo facing the camera, you can visibly see a large lump on her right knee. 

I had a gelding with a similar (but smaller lump). It was firm to the touch like the bone was damaged.

Anyway, if the mare is good to ride, I would just do gentle riding with her. Not tons of tight circles and such, more just normal, straight ahead riding. To help save wear and tear on her knees. Just my opinion.

Conformationally, the thing that jumps out at me the most is how butt-high she is. Because of her back/hip conformation, that might be the reason her knees have a lot of wear and tear.

Seems like a sweet horse. At her age I would just enjoy her and trail ride her and skip the lunging unless necessary for behavior issues.


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## SeaBreezy (Jun 29, 2012)

I would also advise against lunging with how her knees look. I would talk to your vet. It may be that she needs a joint supplement. As for now, I wouldn't do any strenuous exercise, especially not lunging as that constant circling is very hard on their knees. I don't see a problem with using her as a trail horse and light arena work, so long as she isn't showing any discomfort. 

As for her conformation, I agree that she is downhill and seems a bit long in the back. I like her hindquarters, though. Love them big butts! And her shoulder has a decent slope to it. Keep in mind, I'm no expert on conformation, this is just what stands out to me. Anyways, she seems like a lovely mare!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Would like to see photos of her squared up, from the front.

Knee oddity looks like due to injury or o
Pathology, not conformation. Very downhill and some sway to the back.


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## MW Roach (Jul 28, 2014)

Here's some front view pics of her; one with me on her. I felt some warmth on her left knee.


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## Tryst (Feb 8, 2012)

Wow! She definitely has something going on! I, personally, wouldn't ride her at all until I knew more from a vet. I would get X-rays to see what was going on. No lunging for sure!


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## amigoboy (Feb 14, 2014)

If you lung her keep it at an easy trott on the left volt, that left leg is twisted in and may not be able to support her.

Other than the some what Saber Legs in the back pretty much evrything has been covered.....oh, some people don´t know a fat horse when they see one, those bulges are hereditary muscles typical of the breed. 
www.wikipedia.org/Henneke_horse_body_condition_scoring_systom
"What the Eye may decieve the fingers will tell"
Just feel over the ribs, if you cain´t feel them then a Little more work and a Little less food.


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## clairesiggy (Aug 15, 2014)

She is a little downhill. The main thing I notice is that she is sway-backed. This is from improper (or none at all) strengthening. She doesn't look overweight.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

The horse is pigeon toed, the knees are rotated, that's why they are appear abnormal. The horse isn't that much overweight, she is muscled and it's not from conditioning, it's from her genetics.


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## FrostedLilly (Nov 4, 2012)

She's cute. I can't say too much conformation wish, but I will comment on the lump on her knee. I've seen lots of horses get joint cysts in old age due to arthritis- not quite as young as 16 mind you. My sister's mare has a lump just like that. Vet said it was due to joint fluid leaking and causing a cyst. It doesn't cause her any pain and the vet was reluctant to drain it at risk of infection, so it's stayed there. Hopefully she won't have too many soundness issues for you because she looks really sweet.
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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

she is cute. she looks to have arthritis in her knees. could be from an old injury, putting more weight on her front end to relieve pain from the back end, or she could have hurt her knees at some point. i would only use her for light riding. If you get really damp or cold winters she may have a hard time .


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