Equine Conformation - Infovets



D36 Equine Conformation

Name _______________________________ Date __________________

Define Conformation:

To understand conformation, one must understand the framework of the horse

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A. __________________________ B. __________________________ C. __________________________

D. __________________________ E. __________________________ F. __________________________

G. __________________________ H. __________________________ I. __________________________

J. ___________________________ K. __________________________ L. _________________________

M. __________________________ N. __________________________ O. _________________________

P. __________________________ Q. ___________________________ R. _________________________

S. __________________________ T. ___________________________ U. _________________________

V. __________________________ W. __________________________ X. _________________________

Y. __________________________ Z. __________________________ AA. ________________________

BB. _________________________ CC. ________________________ DD. ________________________

Define Conformation

There is no perfectly conformed horse; however, each _________________ organization

has their _________________________. Prior to comparing two or more horses, it is

essential to have a ______________________________ of the ideal horse of the breed.

System of Evaluation & Selection

List in the correct order the three things you should evaluate when judging horses.

1.

2.

3.

Why do you evaluate muscling last?

Balance

The first step to evaluating balance is look at the body length. It should divide into three equal parts.

Draw the three equal parts of the body.

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How long should the neck be in relation to the rest of the body?

How long should the head be in relation to the neck?

Draw the correct placement of the withers and the croup.

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Balance

Nothing is more critical to balance than the ___________________________________.

The slope, or angle, of a horse's shoulder determines the length of its _____________

and __________________ and also the way its front legs are set onto its body.

As the shoulder becomes _________________________, the withers move

_________________________, which results in a ______________________________,

and a _______________________________.

When the shoulder is straight, the other angles of the horse's body will be straight. Thus,

the horse will have a short, steep __________________, a straight _______________

and straight _________________________.

The ideal slope of the shoulder is approximately _______________________ degrees.

Draw the correct angle of the shoulder.

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In addition to overall balance, the slope of the shoulder influences the

_________________________________. Thus, the _________________________ the

_______________________________, the __________________________ the

____________________.

The angle of the shoulder and angle of the pastern serve to _______________________ when the horse moves.

A straight-shouldered horse will always be a rough-riding horse.

The longer the stride the fewer the number of times the foot will hit the ground in a given distance which results in less wear & tear on the horse and rider.

The straight-shouldered horse will be shallow-hearted as measured from the top of the withers to the chest floor. Unlike the balanced horse, with legs that will measure approximately the same length as its depth of heart, the straight-shouldered horse's legs will be longer than its depth of heart.

Balance

The depth of body from the withers to the bottom of the heart girth should be about the same as the distance from the heart girth to the ground.

Draw the correct depth of body on a balanced horse

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Conformation

It is essential for the judge to recognize structural defects. There are many structurally incorrect horses that are sound, but few unsound horses that are structurally correct.

Why is conformation considered the biggest limiting factor to horse performance?

Conformation of the Head

What do you look for in a good head?

Why?

During evolution, the eye has moved from the front of the horse's head to the side, which provided a more rounded arc of vision (about ___________________ degrees).

____________________, ____________________, _____________________, usually

indicate a quiet, docile disposition. A small ________________________ is indicative of a horse that is somewhat sullen and difficult to train. A “pig-eyed” horse has a smaller

__________________________ positioned more on the _______________ of the horse’s head then on the corner. These horses are notorious for a poor disposition.

The horse with excessive _________________________ around the eye is often

_____________________ and ________________________ .

Look for a bright, tranquil eye that has a soft, kind expression.

The __________ should be ______________________________ to the horse's head, and

sit squarely on ________________ of the head, point slightly forward and have an

attractive, ________________ appearance.

Conformation of the Head

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Horses are not capable of _________________________ through their mouths, so the

_______ and shape of the ______________________ are important to horses in highly aerobic activities, such as racing. This is the reason that Thoroughbreds tend to have larger nostrils, with finer cartilage and a large, flaring nostril to facilitate adequate intake of air.

Sufficient length between the nostrils and the eyes is important to allow the

____________________________ located there to ________________ or ____________ the air to near body temperature.

_____________________________ refers to a horse with a convex profile such as is found in the draft breeds, as opposed to the concave, or dished, profile of the Arabian and similar breeds.

Besides the fact that it is unattractive, why is a roman nose a problem?

Too large of a head only adds ________________________ to the end of the neck, which

serves as the horse’s ____________________________________, effecting his

__________________ .

Look for a well-defined _______________. __________________________ will have a slightly larger, deeper jaw than mares, indicative of common male sex characteristics.

Why is a well defined jaw important on a breeding stallion?

Depth of mouth indicates the response and sensitivity experienced by the horse during

training. The more ___________________ the mouth, the more ___________________

the horse; The deeper the mouth, the less reactive.

Determine if the horse is ______________________ or _________________ mouthed.

Conformation of the Neck

The ________________________ should be __________ and ____________________ regardless of the breed.

Air, food, blood to and from the brain, the entire nervous system and important glands behind the jaw must pass through the throatlatch.

A horse that is thick and coarse in the throatlatch, will have difficulty carrying

its head in a _________________________ position during training because of an

_____________________________ to ______________________ correctly.

The neck top line is the distance of the poll to the withers, and the bottom line is the distance of the throatlatch to the neck-shoulder junction at the chest. The ideal distance

would be approximately a ___________ ratio of the top to bottom line of the horse's neck. Invariably, a horse that is short and heavily muscled will have a shorter, thicker neck than a taller horse with less muscle. The neck is proportional to the horse's overall length and height.

Stallions are more prone to have more ___________________ along the

______________ of the neck than either geldings or mares.

Some horses, such as the Quarter Horse, have a lower set-on neck than do others, such as the Saddlebred.

This predisposes the Quarter Horse to carry its head ________________ which is desired in Western Pleasure classes and makes it a natural choice for these classes.

Many of the carriage breeds, such as the Cleveland Bay, the Friesian and some of the German Warmbloods have a much higher neck, giving them a higher head carriage which lends an air of presence.

Conformation of the Top Line

The back is a very important part of the riding horse. The horse is not naturally a weight

_______________. It is more designed by nature to be a weight ___________________, so it is especially important to make note of types of conformation that predispose the horse to even greater weakness in the back.

The back is the "hub" of a horse, and a ________________, ________________ back is essential to a horse staying sound and performing well.

First of all, the back should be neither too long nor too short and shaped so that it accepts

a _________________ comfortably.

A back which dips excessively is called a _________________________ and is

generally found in older horses. Its opposite is called a ________________________. Both can cause difficulties with fitting a saddle.

Conformation of the Top Line

An excessively ______________________________ will have inherent

_____________________ and may not withstand concentrated work, and a very

______________________________ will give the rider a ______________________ as the propulsion of the hind legs will tend to bounce him out of the saddle.

How a horse naturally carries its head and neck has a huge impact on its ___________.

Its back has a huge impact on how well it can use its _____________________________,

which in turn has a huge impact on its movement and ____________________________.

When a horse carries its neck and head nearly level with its withers, (western pleasure

horse) its back is _________________________, which results in a topline that will be nearly level, with no major peaks or valleys, consequently, the animal is able to coil up its body, reach deep beneath itself with its hind legs, and propel itself forward in a balanced, athletic, and attractive frame.

Strength of the top line and ____________________________ over the ______________ are also important in athletic ability and soundness of the horse.

A gentle arch to the neck is pleasing, without excessive muscling underneath.

Hindquarters

A croup without too much __________________ is desirable; a steep croup can mean a weak hip and incorrect angulation to the horse's hocks. A long, strong hip with adequate

muscling and _____________________ is desirable. These attributes usually result in a

horse that can _______________ well and will naturally work off its

____________________________, making it a stronger athlete.

The hindquarters should appear ______________________, when viewed from the side.

The ideal horse has a quarter that is as full and as long from across the horizontal plane of the stifle as it is from the point of the hip to the point of the buttocks.

Draw the correct angle of the croup and correct depth of the quarter.

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Barrel

Evaluate the __________________________ and depth of the ___________________, as these are indicative of lung capacity.

The shape and size of the chest controls the amount of ________________ the

_______________________ have to expand, which is important in the athletic horse.

A horse with a chest that is too narrow not only will have his aerobic capacity reduced,

but his _______________________ will also be too _____________ together, making him more likely to brush his forelegs together when being worked, possibly causing injury.

The body should be rounded and the ribs well-sprung.

Conformation of the legs

It has been said that legs are the most important part of the horse, for if a horse has weakness or bad conformation in its legs, its athletic ability is going to be seriously compromised, regardless of how it will be used.

The forearm should be ____________________________________________________.

The knee should be _______________ and _______________, not round and puffy. The tendons have to pass through the knee to the lower leg and that is why large, flat knees are desirable to allow the maximum movement.

The lower leg, when viewed from the side, should have a _____________ appearance. A flat appearing lower leg means the horse has a big bone and the tendons and ligaments to fit it.

Front Feet and Legs

The horse should stand on a straight _________________________ with the line of concussion going straight down the fore arm, through the knee, down the cannon bone

and coming out at the __________________ of the hoof.

The front legs bear ______________________ % of the weight of the horse. If badly conformed they are much more prone to damage when subjected to stress, strain and concussion.

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Front Feet and Legs

When the horse is viewed from the front, an imaginary line from the point of the shoulder to the toe should bisect the knee, cannon bone and hoof.

* Draw the line through the leg of the ideal horse showing the correct placement of the front legs.

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The pastern is the horse's ________________________________, at times carrying the horse's entire weight plus that of the rider.

The ideal pastern is neither too ________________ nor too __________________, too sloped or too upright. Overly long sloping pasterns will place a strain on

____________________________________ and the _______________________ which run down the back of the leg. Pasterns which are too upright do not flex sufficiently to overcome the strain of movement, consequently, the leg may experience soundness problems because of it.

What is the correct angle of the hoof and the pastern? _______________________

A horse that has too much slope to its pastern is also undesirable and is said to be

________________________________. This condition can become so severe that the horse's fetlocks hit the ground as the horse moves.

The angle of the __________________ and the _____________________ should be the

________________.

Hoof

There is an old saying, "No hoof, no horse”.

The hoof should be of sufficient __________________ and ____________________ to support the mass of the horse and absorb concussion.

Hind Feet and Legs

Like the knee, it is preferable for the ___________________ to be set ____________ , thus lessening the strain on the hind cannon.

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Ideally, when viewed from the rear, any horse, regardless of breed, should be widest from

_______________ to _____________. Another imaginary line from the point of the buttocks to the ground should bisect the gaskin, hock and hoof.

* Draw a line showing the correct width of quarter and placement of legs.

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Muscling

Muscling is an important criteria in judging many conformation classes, especially stock horse classes, such as Appaloosa, Quarter Horse and Paint Horse.

The ideal horse is a balanced athlete that is _________________________________ throughout. Horses visually appraised as heavily-muscled generally have greater

circumference of ____________________________, ___________________________

and width of __________________________ than lightly muscled horses.

Muscling

As viewed from the front, the horse should show significant width from

_____________________ to _____________________, a large circumference to the

forearm, and a prominent "______" in the front muscling.

When viewed from the side, a horse should have strong forearms, a deep quarter, strong gaskins, and a _____________________________ to accommodate a large amount of muscle mass through a prominent stifle. In addition, the horse should have a large-circumference heart girth.

Muscle in the front shoulder is especially important because it is the primary means of

_______________________ to the _________________. There is no

_____________________________in the horse.

As viewed from the back, the horse should be wide from __________________ to

_________________, and the quarter should tie in deep to strong gaskins.

Lets Judge

Place the following horses based on what you have learned:

Your placing: __________________

Explain why you placed each horse the way you did.

Horse A:

Horse B:

Horse C:

-----------------------

A.

B.

C

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

I.

J.

K.

L.

M.

N

O.

P.

Q

R.

S.

T

U.

V.

W.

X.

Y.

Z.

AA.

BB.

CC

DD

The distance A & B should be equal to? ____________.

The eyes (D) should be positioned ______________ the distance from the horse’s poll (C) to the muzzle (E).

The width of the horse’s head across the skull (A-B).

should be ___________________ to the distance from the poll (C) to the horizontal line drawn between the eyes.

A horse that is "over at the knees" is _________________________, and the horse

that is "back at the knees" is ______________________.

_____________________________ is the most serious condition since the knee will have a tendency to hyper-extend, or bend backward.

* Draw a line through the leg of the ideal horse showing the correct placement of the front legs.

The horse hoof should point ___________________________. When a horse toes out, it is ____________________________ and the horse will always _____________________ when it travels.

When a horse toes in, it is __________________________ and that horse will always ______________________out.

The most serious of these is the horse that ________________, because it has a tendency to interfere, i.e. strike its legs with the opposite hoof as it travels.

If the cannon bone is off-centered to the outside, it is _______________________.

When standing beside the horse, the judge drops an imaginary line from the point of the buttocks to the ground. Ideally, that line should touch the ________________, run parallel to the _______________________bone and be slightly behind the ____________________.

The horse with too much angle to his hocks is _________________________, and the horse that is straight in his hocks is _________________________.

* Draw a line on the ideal horse showing the correct set to the hind legs.

It is not critical that a horse be perfectly straight from the ankles down as viewed from the rear. In fact, most horses naturally stand with the ___________________________ and ________________________________________ from the ankles down. This allows the horse's stifle to clear his ribcage in flight, resulting in a longer-strided, freer-moving horse.

When a horse is bowed-in at the hocks and the cannon bones are not parallel, it is ________________________. The horse that is cow-hocked has a tendency to be weak in the major movements that require work off of the haunches such as stopping, turning, sliding etc. Occasionally, there are horses that actually toe-in behind and are __________________________, most of which are very poor athletes.

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