Conformation

Structural Correctness

Barrel

Spring of rib and depth of heart girth should be evaluated, since these are indicative of capacity for reproductive and athletic performance. Spring of rib indicates width while depth of heart girth indicates depth of the horse's chest. Both width and depth of chest indicate total volume in the thoracic cavity. Again, these measurements will be proportional. However, some horses will be pinched in the heart girth and have less of a rounded, convex look to their rib cages. Depth of heart and spring of rib indicate more strength and constitution.

Muscle

Typically, Tennessee Walking Horses should be moderate in their muscle design. However, it is important to realize that muscling is proportional, and as one muscle in the body increases, total muscle mass increases. The correct horse is a balanced athlete that is muscled uniformly throughout. Horses visually appraised as heavily-muscled have greater circumference of forearm, gaskin and are wider from stifle to stifle than lightly-muscled horses. When muscling is visually appraised at the forearm, gaskin and rear quarters, it will reflect the same relative degree of muscling at other anatomical points.

Today the horse industry accepts muscling that is long and well defined. A powerfully muscled horse that has bulge, ripple and definition to its muscle structure is still very much desired in the stock horse breeds. It is important to note that breeds such as the Arabian will not have the quantity of muscle that will be seen in the "stock" horse breeds such as the Quarter Horse. However, long, clean, well-defined muscling is preferred in all breeds.

Breed and Sex Characteristics

Breed characteristics are those traits that are unique and characteristic of a particular breed. These would be traits such as body type and color pattern, as well as gaits and way of going.

Sex characteristics are an important aspect of horse judging. It is necessary to recognize and distinguish between the sex of horses. Masculinity refers to male traits such as prominence of jaw and heavy muscling. In mares, the evaluator should look for feminine characteristics and refinement. The attractive mare will be refined and adequately muscled. Mares will typically have cleaner necks and will be more refined than stallions. Geldings would fit somewhere between stallions and mares; but are generally not as massive in muscle as stallions. Refinement is also desired in geldings.

Head

There are differences in perception as to the "ideal" head of the various breeds which are used to define breed character or type. However, attractive, well-conformed heads for most breeds all have common characteristics.

These characteristics include short well-set ears, large bold eyes, short length from eye to muzzle, large nostril, refined muzzle with a shallow mouth, as well as sex and breed characteristics of the head. There is no physiological benefit to the horse having an attractive head. Horses with different head shapes are able to breathe, see, hear, and ingest food. What makes a head pretty or attractive? Certainly the set of the ears, shape of the eye, size of the nostril, depth of the mouth and overall proportions of the head are important to a concept of beauty. The ears will be proportional to the horse's head. In fact, the various parts of the horse should always be proportional. However, the placement of the ears will not always be the same. 

It is important that the ears sit squarely on top of the head, that they point forward and have an attractive, alert appearance. Some horse's ears turn outward, some turn inward and some are positioned on the side of the head. Any deviation in placement or carriage detracts from the beauty of the head, thus from the total beauty of the horse.

When a horse's head is measured from the poll to a horizontal line drawn between the eyes, this distance will approximate one-half the distance from the horizontal line to the midpoint of the nostril. Thus, the eyes should be positioned one-third of the distance from the horse's poll to the muzzle. When the width of the horse's head across the orbit of the skull is measured, that distance should be almost identical to the distance from the poll to the horizontal line drawn between the eyes. Horses' heads should always be proportional.

Large, quiet, soft eyes usually indicate a quiet, docile disposition. A small 'pigeye' is indicative of a horse that is usually somewhat sullen and difficult to train, perhaps due to limited vision. The horse with excessive white around the eye is very often nervous and flighty. However, this is characteristics of Appaloosa horses and this anatomical characteristic is not the reason for these differences in disposition. This characteristic is merely associated with other genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of the breed. What is the perfect eye? Look for a bright, tranquil eye with a soft, kind expression.

Horses with bold, bright eyes set wide apart and well onto the side of the head (A to B) in combination with a slightly concave appearance from the eye to the muzzle (dish face) will have increased depth perception and lateral vision. These horses appear to be more trainable because they are not as easily frightened and less apprehensive about their surroundings. Horses with small pig eyes and a convex appearance from eye to muzzle (Roman-nose) have limited vision and are typically more difficult to train. Many outstanding horse breeders recognize breeding and quality of a horse by observing the head.

Even though many breed enthusiasts discuss the need for a large, flaring nostril to facilitate adequate intake of air, there appears to be no scientific data to support this statement. There probably has never been a horse with a nostril too small to restrict intake of air. However, nostril size does have an effect on the horse's overall beauty.

For beauty's sake, the horse should have a well-defined jaw. Stallions will have a slightly larger, deeper jaw than mares, indicative of secondary male sexual characteristics. Typically, geldings will be intermediate between mares and stallions.

There are distinct differences among breeds and lines of horses with respect to the depth of the mouth. This is indicative of a horse that is light or soft in the mouth. The softness or lack of responsiveness during training may be referred to as being light, soft, tough or hard in the mouth. Generally, the more shallow the mouth, the softer and more responsive a horse is to a bit and vice versa. Obviously, trainers of reining and cutting horses prefer a shallow mouth because of the immediate response to touch. When examining the mouth, ensure that the horse is not parrot-mouthed (overshot muzzle) or monkey-mouthed (undershot muzzle). The shape of the muzzle contributes to the beauty of the horse.

Neck

The neck is always an important conformational part to consider because the horse uses the neck as a balance arm. The throatlatch, which is from ear to ear, should be trim and refined regardless of breed. The depth of the throatlatch is usually equal to one-half the length of the head. If a horse is thick and coarse in the throatlatch, air and blood flow may be restricted when asked to flex or bend at the poll. The trim, refined throatlatch will allow the horse to bend at the poll and perform while breathing correctly.

Most judges give preference to horses with a long, thin neck. By doing so, they are selecting horses with the appropriate top-to-bottom line neck ratio. The top line is the distance from the poll to the withers, and the bottom line is the distance from the throatlatch to the neck shoulder junction at the chest. The ideal would be approximately a 2-to-1 ratio of the top to bottom line of the horse's neck. This process of selection would prevent judges from making incorrect assumptions when comparing tall and light-muscled horses to short and heavier-muscled horses. Invariably, a horse that is short with bulging muscles will have a shorter, thicker neck than a taller horse with less muscle. The neck is proportional to the horse's overall length and height. Certainly, shorter horses will always have shorter necks than taller horses.

The determining factor in the ratio of the top to bottom line of the neck is the slope of the horse's shoulder. As the shoulder becomes more sloping, the top line becomes longer in relation to the bottom line. Conversely, as the shoulder becomes straighter, the ratio of the top-to-bottom line becomes small. As the ratio deviates toward 1:1, the horse appears to have a short, square, boxy neck. When two horses of the same frame size are compared, one with a normal neck and one with a short-appearing neck, both horses will have the same length in the bottom line of their necks. Obviously, the withers of a straighter-shouldered horse are more forward, and thus, the top line of the neck is shortened. Straightening the shoulder has little, if any, effect on the length of the bottom line of the neck.

Balance

Balance is the single most important characteristic in equine selection because it forms the basics for movement, length of stride and, ultimately, performance. Balance is determined by the skeletal structure. When judging, it is important to attempt to visualize and evaluate the skeleton of the horse underneath muscle and other tissues. Slope of shoulder is critical to balance. Slope of shoulder changes drastically when the angle of the shoulder is increased or decreased. Not only does the top-to-bottom line ratio of the neck change, but the ratio of length of back to length of underline also changes. It is ideal to have a short top line and a long underline. As the shoulder becomes straighter, the withers move forward, which results in a longer back from withers to coupling. Length of underline from elbow to stifle is not affected by a change in shoulder angle; thus, the straight-shouldered horse's body has the appearance of a tube. It is incorrect to compare 14.2 hand horses to 17 hand horses, because horses of different sizes should not have the same length of body or underlines. The long back coincides with the short neck of the straight-shouldered horse. When the shoulder is steep, the other angles of the horse's body will be steep. Thus, the horse will have a short, steep croup, a steep stifle and steep pasterns.

In general, the angle of the pastern will correspond to the angle of the shoulder. A horse that has too much slope to its pasterns is undesirable and is said to be coonfooted. This condition can become so severe that the horse's fetlocks hit the ground as the horse moves. Additionally, a horse with a short, steep pastern will endure more concussion on the pastern and ankle. The ideal slope of the shoulder is approximately 45 to 50 degrees. However, shoulder angles will vary from the ideal. The person evaluating the horse should not be overly demanding for an exact degree of slope of shoulder, but should concentrate on balance and a blending of structures.

Shoulder

In addition to overall balance, slope of shoulder influences length of stride. Thus, the steeper the shoulder, the shorter the stride. Angle of shoulder and angle of pastern serve to absorb shock when the horse moves. The steep or straight-shouldered horse will be shallow-hearted, as measured from the top of the withers to the chest floor. Unlike the balanced horse, with legs that are approximately the same length as depth of heart, the straight-shouldered horse's legs will be longer than the depth of heart. A steep-shouldered horse will always be a rough-riding horse. Horses with long sloping shoulders will be better able to dispense the damaging effects of concussion and their strides will have more freedom of movement and style of action.

Topline

The topline of the horse includes the withers (15), back (14), loin (13) or coupling and croup (11). As viewed from the side, a properly balanced horse will be higher at the withers than at the croup. When the withers are higher than the croup, the hindquarters are positioned more under the body, which enhances the athletic ability of the horse. Strength of topline, which includes prominent withers, short, strong back and well-muscled loin, has a positive influence on soundness and athletic ability.

The ideal withers (15) should be sharp, prominent and well-defined. The well-defined withers are important from the standpoint of holding a saddle on the horse without excessive tightening of the front cinch. Horses with rounded or flat withers require more cinch pressure and subsequently are less comfortable for the performing athlete. 

Horses should have short, strong backs relative to a long underline. The topline to underline ratio plays an important role in balance, length and type of stride. Length of back is directly related to length and slope of shoulder and top to bottom line neck ratio. Horses that have excessively long backs have weak and undesirable top lines as well as being unbalanced.
The loin (13) or coupling should be well-muscled and strong as opposed to being long, weak and poorly muscled. The loin is the pivot point of the horse's back and is the area between the last rib and the croup (11). Short, muscular loins are needed to carry power from the hind legs forward. The croup (11) should be long and gently sloping. This adds length to the stride as well as dimension and muscling to the hindquarter. "Stock horse" breeds (Quarter Horses) are more sloping in their croup than "pleasure breeds" (Arabians, Morgans) with the Tennessee Walking Horse usually intermediate in the slope of the croup.

Hindquarters

Regardless of breed, the hindquarters should appear square, when viewed from the side . However, as previously stated, the extent to which upper corners of the square are filled in will depend upon the breed. The flatter and more level the croup, the more likely that horse will move with a vertical action behind and less of a horizontal action. The horse with a steep croup will move with the legs more collected under the body. The angle of the croup will have a great influence on the position of the hock. Moreover, these two factors together will dictate a collected, balanced horizontal movement. The ideal horse has a quarter that is as full and as long from across the horizontal plane of the stifle as it is from point of hip to point of buttocks. When a horse has a V-shaped quarter, it is due to limited muscling and/or a straight stifle.

More on conformation:

Web Design and Maintenance by Petronella Stanley

Other Web Sites:
SMFC | Stanley's Place

Page was last updated on 07/22/2004
For questions regarding this website, please contact webmaster
© 2003, Petronella L. Stanley