For horses, what is better...?

Question

a long back/long neck or a short back/short back?

i know both have their advatages and their disadvatages....if you want a type of work to base the answer off here's a list (if not you dont have to use this list)

1. endurance

2. jumping

3. showing(general)

4.roping/cutting

thanks!

Answer 1

Short back is best as it aids in better balance.  Medium lenght/short neck would be best, but it should be proportiante to the body.  How the neck sets is also important, like for reiners a high set neck helps them balance out on sliding stops.  For jumping it is good to have a long neck as the need to strech and arch it over a high jump.  For Endurance, you want traits that are gonna add up to a very comfortable ride as you are on the horse for hours.

Answer 2

I would prefer long for a race horse on a track and short for a barrel racer.

Answer 3

Short Neck/Short back...They have more comfortable gaits, horses with long backs have choppy gaits most of the time.

Answer 4

Long neck/long back enables a horse to have a more scopey jump!

Answer 5

Short back, short necked horses generally can carry more weight than a long backed, long necked one of realatively the same height / breed becasue their backs are stronger (kind of like a short board and a long board stretched across two blocks. The long board with bow with a lot less weight then the short board will.), so that might be a thought to concider.

Both can do amazingly well in the areas you have listed.

Long backs (like thoroughbreds) are generally great runners, they can really get a good stretch going. And short backs (like the more stockier quarter horses) are great at whipping around poles and barrels since they have smaller, compact bodies. But I knew a guy who had a long backed apendix and she won just about every rodeo event she was ever in. So, if you have a prefrence, I would go with that. :)

Answer 6

cutting-  overall a small horse w/ small neck and back

Answer 7

I'd pick a shorter back for all of these since I see a long back as such a serious weakness.  If you categorized it as a medium...between short and long, I might choose that for the jumping...but only if it was slightly longer and with good depth of the loins.

If your choices are limited to the neck matching the back, then it's more difficult since I like a little longer neck for flexibility.  But given the choices, I'd have to go with short/short based on the horse's ability to collect and work off the hindquarter.

Answer 8

It really depends on your personal preference. I've seen both short backed/short necked and long back/long necked horses do well in most disciplines you've listed.

The biggest thing is for the body to have a good since of balanced and the neck and back to be proportionate to one another.

I'm no expert on conformation but the biggest thing for me when looking for a new horse is balance and soundness.

I've noticed you've been doing your homework on conformation these last few days! LOL... Good for you!!