Conformation Tutorial

Step 5
Forelegs.

So, after the shoulder we move down the leg. The shoulder and leg move in relation to each other, always, so the measurements we get here can alter measurements we found higher up too. I didn't bother drawing lines on my horse for this - I find the dots easier to measure

We want a longish forearm, I like it to be close in length to the humorous or longer. Forearm helps the horse reach forward and "swing" for each stride. The longer the forearm, usually, the smoother the horse.

We want a shorter cannon - no more than 75% of the forearm, 50% is better. The cannon should be short, with ample bone (I think it's 7" for every 1000lbs) to ensure strength to hold the horse up and stand up to wear and tear.

We want a Pastern which is no more than 50% of the cannon length. Pasterns too long will be weak and prone to soundness problems, and pasterns too short (no less than 30% of the cannon) will create soundness problems as well as a rougher ride. I'm less concerned about pastern slope than I am length... primarily because if you change the slope of the hoof the pastern slope is also going to change - often horses with a poor angle to their pastern are really showing a poor trim or shoeing job rather than any real conformational issue.

Straightness is also being taken into consideration, we want the horse's knee to be flat, and we want a nice straight cannon. The leg is going to be part of what determines the overall long term soundness of our horse. We want to make sure there's enough "bone" to suit the mass of the horse as well.

And lets take a look at foot size, while we're here too. We want to see a hoof which is balanced for the horse's body, the bigger the foot the better.

K I got BitRuler downloaded. Umm which is the LS dot and which way do I move it?

Step 6
Hindquarters.

Now for that triangle on the rump.
We want to draw a line from the point of hip, to the point of buttock
Another from the point of buttock to the stifle, and then another from the stifle to the point of hip.

The first one we'll measure is the illium (hip) - so measure from point of hip to point of buttock. This measurement should be no less than 1/3 of the total body length. The illium length is an indicator of the amount of "thrusting" power the horse will have, but, like everything else it's entirely connected to the rest of the hind limb conformation. The longer the hip the better, but only if it's paired with equal partners when it comes to the femur and pelvis.

The next measurement will be from the point of buttock to the stifle - the femur length. It should be close to equal to that of the illium/hip.

The last one will be the pelvis. It too should be as close to equal to the hip as possible. The length, and therefore the angle of the pelvis is going to greatly effect a horse's ability to change gaits smoothly, stop suddenly, "sit" in collection and make sharp turns without injury.

Tell me what you notice about your horse's hiney!

The LS is the one which will be marking the end of your horse's back... try to put it where the spine ends and has a "squishy" spot - just ahead of the croup (the highest point of the horse's rump)

Thank you doing this!! I appreciate your willingness to create a tutorial.

Thanks, I moved it. Here's my notes thus far:

230--shoulder
598--body line
38.4%
131--humerus
56.9%
61.9--shoulder slope

Those are the measurements in order, I couldn't do the second shoulder angle one (between the humerus and scapula) because I can't do that kind of measurement.

I just wanted to say.... that I think this informative thread should be a Sticky. :)

So far:

230--shoulder
598--body line
38.4%
131--humerus
56.9%
61.9--shoudler slope
123--forearm
78--Cannon
37--Pastern

Equiniphile - the Shoulder angle that you can't get is about 96 degrees :)

You should also move the point of hip dot - you're going to get a shorter hip measurement if you don't. You want it placed right on the part of the "hip" that sticks out

Now that you have the front end measurements, can you put into words what they mean to the horse? (by all means use any of my other posts to help you :)... if you still can't understand the relationships I'll help you out when I'm done feeding my horsies )

I did all of this before realizing that I don't have a protractor or room on my harddrive to download that freeware : / lol