Horse's conformation?

Question

Could somebody with experience tell me the pros and cons of this horses conformation. I know the simple stuff to look for in a horse such as like cow hocks or ewe neck I just dont know how to look for more complex conformational faults. Thanks in advance.

It's just a picture I found on google -

http://image6.stallionsnow.com/equine/data/photos/39107_1.jpg

Answer 1

He is adorable!!!!!!!!!!        I must say his rump does need a bit of work.... but he's amazing!!!!!!!!!   I think I may steal him=]  Take care of him cause he is special!

Megan!

Answer 2

His neck and tail are set high and his chest is a little shallow and slope-y. He has a nice hip and stifle and a decent bottom line. His back is a little long, but I think it balances with his neck (I could tell if he were straighter). He is a little long in the hocks as well, giving him a sickle hocked appearance. The farrier has totally chopped off his heels, making it worse. In the front he looks tied in and his fetlocks hang too far back (something else a farrier has helped cause). He has a pretty head, nice ears, I can't see his throat latch but he probably pack his head in pretty well.  Hope this helps, I breed halter and western performance horses, and this guy looks a little english to me or maybe a roper.

Answer 3

He is cute! I agree that his rump is a little high compared to the front end. But his head is nice...along with his neck. Have you ridden him? If you believe he is comfortable...than get him!

Answer 4

well he is really cute but he is very much on his front end ( his hip line is much higher then his shoulder line) this can make it very uncomfortable for you and the horse. His neck is also higher set so you will have a hard time getting him to round up.

his feet look a little bit on the small side as well.

I dont know if this is all true its had to tell just by a picture but thats what i think. I hope this helps good luck!!

micheala

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equine_conf...

This site from wikipedia has lots of advice on conformation. Im not an expert myself but this site was really useful.

Answer 6

he looks like a youngster (3ish) that is still growing!!! he is well muscled, long in the back, has square sickle hocks, off balance feet and is back on his pasterns on the front feet! he is also slightly behind at the knee. He has a good deep girth, but yes his conformation is typical of a young stallion.

Answer 7

To me everything looks good. He is a little butt high, and his neck is a tad to upright. Overall he seems very well put together :) I don't see anything wrong with his head, back, legs, or shoulder.

I am like you though so I am just starting to understand conformation myself, so someone please correct me if my answer was wrong xD thanks.

Answer 8

his neck seems to be set some wat high on his shoulders and his back slopes quite abit. his tail is also set high....

cute horse tho.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 9

The picture may be distorting things a little, but if he's actually standing level then the biggest problem I see is that his butt is too high relative to his withers.  When he's in motion this will make it more difficult for him to collect by bringing his hindquarters forward, more under his body. As a result he will go "on the forehand," which means he will carry more weight on his front end than he should.  He will not be able to use his hindquarters to generate power and to balance himself, especially when turning, as effectively as you would like.  

The part of his neck that we can see looks thick, which is not surprising on a stallion.  If that thickness continues through the throatlatch area, which we can't see, he may have a hard time flexing to bring his nose toward his chest.  This could affect his breathing when he's working hard, and would also be unattractive because it would make the head and neck appear coarse.

The knees are nice and low but the hocks look high to me.  Again, the picture seems to be a little distorted, but if the hocks are really as high as they look in the photo, especially in combination with being butt-high, he will have a hard time digging his hindquarters into the dirt to stop and turn.  He also looks like he might be a little too straight through the stifle and hocks but it's hard to tell.

I like the shape of his hindquarters, and he has a nice slope to his shoulder.  He has good, prominent withers that will hold a saddle well.  I like the way his underline ties into his hindquarters; this indicates that he should have good strength in his loins/midsection, which will help him compensate for his too-high hindquarters.

Answer 10

the only thing i see is butt high-and the angle of the shoulder isnt great, but its better than most.

Answer 11

This one has a higher stifle than I like, and is balanced downhill.  I like his legs and that he is barefoot.  His hocks are low enough.  He has muscle on the underside of his neck that needs to be reduced, which it can be by correct work, but his neck is still a bit thick and cresty looking. I can't really assess his hind legs the way they are positioned...like I said, though, his stifle is high and doesn't tie into the gaskin as low and smoothe as I like. His shoulder and croup angles are good and balanced and he has good coupling, but his back is slightly long and he cuts up a little (tucked up) but I think it's not a big deal, and his muscles would develop with exercise.  His front legs look strong with nice short cannons, but the hooves might be coon footed slightly, but it may be the ground he's standing on. The things that bother me most are his very downhill balance and thick neck.

Answer 12

I think he looks like a young stallion. (he's 15 years old!)

Big jowl and the cresty neck.

***edit*** He IS a stallion..he's on

http://www.stallionsnow.com/stallion-ad-...

Now I am not good at judging confo's.  I just see what bugs me then ask the pro's to check it out.

The thing I see that I don't like is his front pasterns.  They look weak to me.  I don't know if it's the way he's standing that is creating this or not though (weight shifted to the front).

The other thing..his back.  It's a little too shallow/sunken.  Is it the way he's standing?  I dunno.

He does seem downhill but then again is it the back giving this illusion?

Not sure about his back legs...posty, looks to be a little.

I like his short cannons too.  

I like him myself.  :)  No flaw he has is a deal breaker :)

He's a purdy Irish Setter Sorrel!