How can a horse's conformation ever be this bad?

NO,NO :roll:

He is just swaybacked. :) He is quite cute and looks happy enough.

I have to admit I thought it was a silly edit when I first saw it. But the shed behind doesn't seem to be edited.

Sad to see, I hope he's not in pain.

Poor boy! =(

Who are you to decide whether a horse that you don't know should live or die? Lordosis (swayback) often does not cause pain to the horse. He is most likely able to walk around and eat with ease. This just looks like an old horse who has had a long life who is hopefully enjoying his retirement. He may look sleepy, but I see no obvious signs of pain by the way he is standing or holding his neck/the look on his face.

Poor guy! Reminds me of an old timer we had at the barn across the street from mymoms when we were growing up

I think it is a little photoshopped. There is some "smudging" just above the horses back that looks like someone made the lordosis or sway look worse then it really is. I think the horse is old and positively swaybacked, but I think the photo has been adjusted a little as well.

I have a 30 year old horse that is very sway-backed. He wasn't always that way, the older he got, the worse he got. But he's a good old boy and he's worked hard his entire life. I don't think he needs to be put down just because he is breaking down, I believe he deserves to be honored, just like an old cowboy, and that's what I'm doing, honoring him until he cannot go on.

At least his legs look straight...
I'm pretty sure it's not photoshopped though, from what I've always heard lordosis can get that bad.

"According to University of Kentucky's Dr. Patrick Gallagher, horses likely to develop lordosis are born with a certain skeletal structure that predisposes them to the condition, even as foals in some cases. Dr. Gallagher also found that, while dogs and humans are severely disabled by lordosis, horses are not affected in the same way."
Here's the site I found that on:
Traveller's Rest Equine Elders Sanctuary: Swayback - Not Just Seniors and Broodmares

I don't see any smudging on the shed, but in the shadow the back looks alot better, of course it could just be the angle of the shadow..