The Importance of Conformation Part 2

Last time, I talked about conformation of the shoulder and the forelegs of the horse. I was initially planning on briefly covering all parts of the horse in my first post, but after diligently working for two hours, I decided that breaking it up would be a good idea for both me and you.

Once again, I am not a veterinarian and do not claim to know everything about horses. I just wanted to put these together to be fun and informative reads for those who love horses and learning about them! So with that being said, let's get to it.

Hind Legs:
Although I focused on how important the forelegs are, that does not mean that the hind legs aren't important. A horse's impulsion comes from their hind end, therefore a weak hind end is never a good thing.

 Figure 1 

Figure 2

I included two figures that help to illustrate different conformation faults in the hind, and they both include an "ideal" example as well.  In Figure 1, the "plumb line" is dropped from the point of the buttock straight down. An ideal position would be to have the point of the hock to the end of the cannon follow a straight line down.  Variations of this will cause varying soundness issues - some being worse than others. (I will discuss lamenesses in another post... Stay tuned)

Horses that are "camped out" typically have upright rear pasterns and have decreased stride efficiency.  It will be more difficult for the horse to engage the hindend, and therefore difficult for the horse to do upper level disciplines. Camped out horses may also be prone to quarter cracks and arthritis.  

A horse that is "post legged" has hind legs which are too 'straight'. Straight legs will also cause the horse to have a difficult time getting it's hind legs underneath itself, and the horse will generally move with more concussion to it's hind legs - making it more prone to quarter cracks and arthritis. Being straight through the stifle causes tighter ligaments across the patella (joint in the stifle), increasing the risk for upward fixation of the stifle joint and arthritis in the stifle. A post legged horse will also have increased tension in the joint capsule and cartilage of the hock. This can predispose the horse to several problems - including bog spavin, bone spavin, and thoroghpin. (To be discussed in a different post)

Horses who are bow-legged in the hind move in a manner that puts stress on the lateral sides of their legs/hooves.  This predisposes the horse for lameness problems like bog/bone spavin and thoroughpin as well.  In addition, the circular motion in which the horse must move it's hind legs can also lead to arthritis, quarter cracks, etc.

 

Some of these hind leg conformations can be specific to breeds as well. My favorite example would be the magnificent Clydesdale horses that we have all come to know and love from the Budweiser commercials. Clydesdales are often times significantly cow-hocked (the opposite of being bow-legged), and in this case it can actually be a desirable trait that is selected for by breeders. Having a cow-hocked horse can be 'beneficial' if you want it to plough or to drive. Keep in mind, a cow-hocked horse is still likely to have more lamenesses occur in the medial aspect of the hock than a 'correct' horse would. It just isn't a detrimental trait for a draft breed - who spends most of it's time walking.

The picture to the left is a picture of a high quality animal who is significantly cow-hocked. Since she is a Clydesdale, she probably wouldn't be dinged for it in a class such as the one she is in in this photograph. (I know nothing of classes like this one, so if you do, feel free to educate me!)

So, with what I said about there being an "ideal" position, it can vary based off of the breed and what you are wanting the horse to excel at.

Typically, if you are looking for a "riding horse", no matter what the discipline, you would look for something closer to the "ideal" positions illustrated in Figure 1 and 2.



As you can see, any deviation from what is "ideal" will come with some sort of repercussion. (Arthritis being a big one) 

Croups
The croup is from the lumbosacral joint to the tail.  Horses do well with different angles of croups. Usually, it is desirable for a horse to have a croup that is as high as it's withers.  However, there are breed deviations. In addition, breeds such as the Quarter Horse tend to be bred for a steep croup and breeds such as the Arabian or Saddlebred typically have flatter croups.  A steep croup (also sometimes known as a "goose rump") is often linked to a shorter stride - but a steep croup and long hip is usually preferred in Quarter Horses.  A flat croup encourages a long stride with not very much suspension.  This is particularly handy for a horse such as the Arabian which was originally bred for its endurance - they move pretty fast without expending a bunch of energy.

A "goose rumped" horse

A flat crouped horse

*Horses with flatter croups are usually more apt to having high-set tails. This usually doesn't have any advantage or disadvantage, and just comes down to personal preference. 

Fun Fact: A myth about how the Arabian horse breed was created states that the Prophet Muhammad chose his foundation mares by selecting them for courage and loyalty. The myth states that after a long journey through the desert, he set his horses (who were all immensely thirsty) loose to drink out of an oasis, and just before they reached it - he called them back. Out of his herd, 5 mares turned on their heels and came back to him without a drink of water. These mares became the 5 foundation mares of the Arabian breed... Or so the myth says! 

That's all for this post, I have to get to studying for my classes. I hope you enjoyed and found it helpful! If you have anything you would like me to write about in my next post that is horse-related please comment below or on my instagram! (@laurenanddante)

xo