The opinion is rooting itself in me that a technical study of horse conformation is infinitely easier for you Geometry people out there. You know how in high school math people who excel in geometry frequently struggle in algebra? and vice-versa? Well, I hated freaking geometry. I have a college degree in mathematics, and I still can't consistently come back with the correct surface area and volume of a prism. Geometry bores me to tears.

I can't tell you how far out of my element I feel when trying to simultaneously visualize the different angles of a horse's bones! It's frustrating. I want to be able to do it, but the little interesting hooks that we rely on to learn new material are not snagging my attention. My brain slides off of this material the way oil slides over water. I'm impressed with you, Geometry person, I wish you could lend me some visual insight into the geometry of flesh on bone.

It was incredibly misguided for me to think that I would enjoy analyzing something so fundamentally geometric as skeletons. Anyway, at least there's more to it than that. And I'll be damned if I don't learn this stuff one way or another.

So here's the endeavor that brought me to my current frustrations. I suspect from this picture that Cheeto is at least mildly calf-kneed. I was trying to determine degree. I gave up on that. I feel a slight security in saying "Cheeto is calf-kneed," but I can't add a qualifier. He is splay-footed. And that is mild.

As for the neck, I completely gave up envisioning how that thing looks under all the flesh. In the second picture, the blue line represents approximately where Cheeto's spine should be. The red line indicates where his spine IS if his neck connects to his body in any kind of logical way at all. WTF?? I know that's not where his spine is. Oh! Oh! Ray of light! His head is lower than normal, and his neck is S-ing down. That's it, isn't it? It surely must be. At any rate, I suspect a slight ewe neck. I gather this from looking at the first picture, and trying to connect the neck to the spine. The neck looks to connect to the spine at a lower point than a horizontal line drawn forward from just below the hip. This makes me think it must dip down between the shoulder blades. But I can look at his topline and know that it's not a gawdawful ewe neck. Just, looking at the second picture, my first inclincation is to say that his neck is the perfect shape. That can't be, can it? It's so damn confusing. It would be awesome if I could see an x-ray of Cheeto.

Worry no more

Having had a day to reflect on the idea that Cheeto was coon-footed, I remembered that the last farrier complained that his heel was too low. I'm no farrying (how the hell would you spell that??) expert, but I think a low heel could contribute a lot to breaking the angle between hoof and pastern. Sooo, I can stop worrying about how Cheeto will have to retire at the grand old age of 5.

Let's take a stab at measuring Cheeto's shoulder angle, shall we?
The pic is crooked as hell, and since we're measuring the shoulder angle against the ground, I had to draw a line (fuschia) to represent the ground. The blue line is Cheeto's shoulder angle, I think. I added the vertical fuschia line as a point of reference, so you can see Cheeto's shoulder angle inside of a right angle. Looking at that, I guesstimate his shoulder has an angle of 60 degrees with the ground.

The lime green line is what I wish his shoulder looked like. But, I guess then he wouldn't be Cheeto anymore.

Shoulder angle confuses me b/c there are like 4 different ways you can measure it, and they all give back different angles. Whatever the case, I know that Cheeto has a more upright shoulder than is desirable. But just how undesirable his shoulder is, I can't say.

It also looks like it could stand to be a bit longer. Why is a long shoulder desirable? More room for muscle? Bigger shoulder? More torque? (Does "more torque" even make sense?)

Oh! And I learned that a horse's hocks should be level with the chestnuts of the forelegs. I was wondering b/c I was walking around looking, and thinking "Man, every horse is deformed!" So I reassessed my premise: hocks should be level with knees? No!

New Worries

Cheeto was a free horse. Family friends got a divorce. Horse breeders who couldn't sell their stock, and so resorted to giving them away. The name of their barn was "Painted Arabians," and I don't suspect that they put any real thought into anything about their breeding program except that name.

I'm cursing Painted Arabians today because I don't like the latest piece of info I've gathered from Cheeto's bones. I think he's coon-footed:


You can see from this pic, that I'm not sure exactly which two angles I'm comparing. Regardless, it is clear that the angle of Cheeto's pastern does not connect smoothly into the angle of his foot as it should. Perhaps Cheeto is standing awkwardly in the one pic?

No, of course he's not. Plus, I've been watching him at the trot, and thinking "Jeez, his pasterns sink so low." Especially when he had the bell boots on the other day. I was afraid they would actually hurt him because his pasterns kept sinking into them.

Well... at least the severity changes between the two pics. So it may not be so grim as the first picture makes me think. I don't know anything about being coon-footed. I've read that it can make a horse anything from unrideable to for-pleasure-only. But it seems like a pretty serious conformation fault, and one that I should take seriously. I'd like a farrier's take on it. I have questions for said farrier:
Is he really coon-footed? Is it safe to ride? ...

Cheeto's got the typical coon-footed gait. Smooth, smooth, smooth. Coon-foot, slightly long back... if he can stay sound, he'll ride smoother than a Hummer on fresh blacktop.

Coat-Tail Rider

Annnnd, I just saw that the FHOTD blog that I follow actually has a post called "Conformation 101."

Probably would've named this blog something else if I'd known that.

Anyway, she's knowledgeable, so I'd like to know what she says: Conformation 101.

Exercising

What prevents me from posting more, I decided, is that I am loathe to load pictures. I'll work on that, though, as they really do improve the blog-maintaining experience.

Anyway, Cheeto was a handsome man last night. We finally got a real english bridle (no more clunky western bridle with dirty, nylon halter serving for a cavesson for us), polo wraps, and bell boots. Cheeto is particularly grateful for the last two because he has such dramatic hind end action that he's always click-clacking away at the trot. And I frequently find knicks on his front canons from those overactive hind feet. It's amazing how much more professional a horse looks in the right tack. I would like to say that Cheeto himself knew the difference. He certainly strutted his stuff for all he was worth, and even started moving in a collected frame of his own volition.

Anyway, further conclusions about his conformation. His shoulder angle (and I really have a hell of a time measuring shoulder angle) must be steep because the reach of his front end does not even approach that of his back end. I watch him on the lunge, and am struck with a craving to see him lighten up in front. I want his front legs to become elastic, and stretch forward for that extra 6 inches, but they won't. His hind end draws all the attention instead. And it's pretty. Up to a point.

Cheeto's hind action brings us to an impossible piece of conformation for me: Is Cheeto sickle-hocked? Or is Cheeto just downhill from hocks to knees? I'm pretty sure I've ruled out being camped-out, but for a while that one was further confusing the mix. His hindlegs look to have a freer range of motion than most horses. Anyway, I don't know how to answer this question. It seems to me that a horse with high hocks could sometimes stand in a way that suggested he was sickle-hocked, and sometimes stand perfectly normal. I've seen Cheeto look comfortable standing both ways. I'm sure this is a problem of over-thinking, but I'm having a heck of a time breaking out of that circle. How can one be certain?

Whatever the verdict, Cheeto travels heavy on the forehand at the trot, and I would love to get him to relax his back. That sounds like a step in the right direction, don't you think? Being part Saddlebred, however, and 100% excitable, Cheeto prefers to trot around with a damn giraffe neck and a back tight enough to be a chopping block.

Little Cheets

Cheeto's a good horse, but I, for one, am not very impressed with his looks. This makes me sad because I have to sell him, and the better he looks, the more likely it is that a knowledgeable horseperson will snatch him up. But anyway, his color will make him flashy in the HA show ring, and his conformation is good enough that he can stay sound if that's his job.

What we've got:
He's got a robin's chest, which significantly cuts into his ability to expand his lungs (however, he's not completely screwed over for stamina, as we'll see later). He's splay-footed, which means that way too much concussion is going to travel up the insides of his dainty little legs coming off a jump. He's also tied in behind the knee (can't see in pic), and I still need to measure his cannons. What is it supposed to be, like 7 inches per 1,000 pounds? Anyway, those little tendons were never meant to bear up under intense strain. So right away, we have a front end that screams, "No strenuous jumping, Please!!" (Also, "Petite riders, Please!!") I'm not saying that I think a few 2 foot jumps a week would cause him to break down. A professional jumping career probably would.


Cheeto looks like he might be a bit long-backed. Indeed, when you measure his shoulder, middle, and quarter, his shoulder and quarter match up, while his middle is about 6 inches longer. I really don't know if that's usually considered a significant difference. What I do know is that Cheeto has very well sprung ribs that extend well back towards his quarters. This not only helps to make up for the stamina he loses with his robin's chest (perhaps more than makes up for?), but it also allows for the possibility that he will have a strong loin (Is that because there is more space available for muscle attachments to bone in his coupling?).


There are actually only three fingers space between Cheeto's last rib and the point of his hip. That's pretty damn decent. But in these pics it looks like the point of his croup is behind the point of his hip (I was sure they were level, so I'll have to look). That's bad as it does make his loin longer, and thus weaker. Also, from the pic above, I was worried about a slight roach back. Not the case. That swelling is muscle, and the spine there is flat. The Horse Conformation Handbook assures me that this "swollen" muscle is a good thing.

Cheeto

All right. So I was hoping to get some better pictures, but these will have to do. For now at least.

Meet Cheeto.

He's a 5 yo Pinto Arabian gelding. His mother was full Arab and his dad was 1/4 Arab and 3/4 Saddlebred. Cheeto's not quite full grown, but he's old enough so that I can make confident assessments of his conformation. Cheeto is being trained to show in Half-Arabian Hunter Pleasure, and will hopefully kick off his career in the next year or two. The grey blob in the background is my husband. He might be in a lot of these.
Before we start, what Cheeto's got: intelligence/the ability to learn, willingness to trust, willingness to perform. Fundamental things, and he scores near perfect on all three counts. What he doesn't have: ideal conformation. But I think he can be worked with and have a happy life as a show horse.

Tell me this isn't frickin cool:

Excerpt from The Horse Conformation Handbook (p175):

"The horse's hoof is his second heart. Hoof expansion and contraction with each stride not only dissipates concussion but helps push the blood back up the leg. In the rest of the body, muscle activity helps the circulatory system return blood to the heart, but the horse has no muscles in his lower legs. Each time the horse puts weight on the foot, the pressure helps force blood out of the foot and up the leg veins. When the foot is lifted, the release of pressure allows new blood to flow into the foot."

Horses are so cool! Their hooves pump blood through their legs. What a novel idea.

Horse pictures still to come.

Statement of Intent

M'kay, so this is my plan. I'd like to take contributions from fellow bloggers who would like to have their horse's conformation evaluated.

Starting with the horse that I'm currently training, I'll regularly post pictures of a horse and analyze their conformation from head to toe: Head and Neck, The Teeth, The Hooves, The Chest, The Back, The Forelegs, The Hindquarters. Then I'll compare body angles, look for overall balance, and finally try to sum up the strengths and weaknesses.

This is a very ambitious task because, well, I'm a novice. I've read The Horse Conformation Handbook, and haven't taken much time to apply what I learned. So this next part is key: I want there to be a discussion about each horse. I want people to post their analysis of the horse's conformation. Contradict me if I'm dead wrong about what it means for a horse to have a goose rump. I'd honestly like to know. This blog is not intended to be a substitute for good, solid, professional advice about your horse's conformation. It is intended to help a few interested parties learn about a very important aspect of horsemanship.

Really, if I can just find a few people who share a common interest in educating themselves about horse conformation, this blog will be a complete success.

I'll try to get the pictures of my little Pintabian gelding up by the end of this week. If you read this, and want to send in pictures of your horse, just let me know!

Laying the Groundwork

Because your role in your relationship with your horse is The Leader, her well-being is squarely your responsibility. The un-abused domestic horse will readily accept this arrangement, and will be utterly dependent on you to keep them healthy and happy. It's a big deal, this total responsibility for another life. You owe it to your horse to educate yourself about her species. 'Cause she ain't human. You need to understand and respect her as an emotional, mental, and physical creature that is not human. But I'm not about to go into horse psychology here. We'll stick to the physical in this blog.

A gigantic part of keeping a horse safe and sound is understanding their particular conformation. It is irresponsible at best, and fatal at worst to demand strenuous tasks of your horse while knowing nothing about their conformation.

The way a horse is put together will determine how they move, how well their body can hold up to physical strain, and consequently how sound they are likely to remain throughout their career as your mount. Conformation is a fundamental piece of horsemanship that too few people (and frighteningly few breeders) have a working knowledge of. To the detriment of horses everywhere.

On that note, if you're a horse person who can't say why a short loin is desirable, and would think I was crazy if I asked if your horse made a nice trapezoid, take a few hours to get yourself up to speed! I promise that it will be time well spent. I recommend The Horse Conformation Handbook by Heather Thomas, but even the internet will do if it must!