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.