Horse conformation question...?

Question

i've been reading today, and i think i understand a few points that i've read today about conformation, but one area seems to be stumping me (i dont get it exactly)

can someone give me correct and incorrect conformation points on the hips/croup/hind leg area of the horse?

i have some terms/name of conformation points in those areas, and i was wondering if anyone could explain them better?

examples(from my reading): steep croup or goose rump, flat or horizontal croup, short and flat "hip". these are just some examples of what i'm wondering about. but any info on this area of the horse and conformation would be helpful. thanks!

Answer 1

i think it's kinda like a shoulder

you know when a horse has a straighter shoulder thats vertical to the ground it's not good because the horses stride is shortened because the shuolder bone can only go so far

same with the croup and thigh area the longer and rounder the more movement and stride you get

if that makes any sense i don't know many correct "terms" lol

Answer 2

http://fhotd64476.yuku.com/topic/2143

This forum has some really great conformation links attached. They are really easy to understand as well.

Answer 3

You measure the hindquarter from the point of the hip to the point of the buttock...if it's less than 30% of the overall length of the horse, it is considered short, or short quarters.

The croup is the topline from the lumbosacral joint to the dock of the tail, and if the quarters are short, the croup is usually short.  A long croup is associated with a lower tailset.  A flat croup runs horizontal to the horse's back, as in many Arabians,and the tail is set high.  A steep croup drops off at a steep angle from the lumbosacral joint (which is usually behind the point of the hip in a short croup) to the dock.  A goose rump is a very steep croup with shorter muscling and less ability to swing the legs backward.

The length of the hip corresponds to the length of the femur, and a horse with low stifles will have a longer hip, and high stifles will have a shorter hip.  The ideal hip, viewed from the side, forms a perfect triangle between the point of the hip, the stifle, and the point of the buttocks which is the area overlying the greater trochanter of the femur (uppermost femur).

When you view the hips from the back, the points of the hip are seen on either side below the croup.  A flat hip can also be called a rafter hip, and looks like a T when seen from the back...it resembles the type of pelvis seen in cattle.  A narrow hip is seen as a shorter distance from the point of one hip to the point of the other (viewed from the back)

Answer 4

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/he...

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/articl...

http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com/hor...

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

Links for you and illustrations of conformational faults.

A goose rump..................

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=h...

Answer 5

Well, if a horse has a steep croup it means there is not enough curvature to the hip, a good curved hip should look like this: O instead of this: (

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