Conformation Critique

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Lord89

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Not so big on the finer details of conformation myself so any opinions welcome. In my opinion she has weak HQs in comparison to her front end. Added a few photos to help - the one with the rug was a catalogue advert and I only put it in so you can see her legs a bit clear.

http://s947.photobucket.com/albums/ad313/lord891/?action=view&current=2.jpg

http://s947.photobucket.com/albums/ad313/lord891/?action=view&current=3.jpg

http://s947.photobucket.com/albums/ad313/lord891/?action=view&current=1.jpg

All honest and consturctive opinions welcome. Thanks!
 
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She looks like a nice sort but I have to say I find it really difficult to do a cc from those photos and suspect the lack of response could be because of this? Could you post some of her unrugged from the side, front on and back on and not whilst being ridden and lunged?
 
sally2008 said:
She looks like a nice sort but I have to say I find it really difficult to do a cc from those photos and suspect the lack of response could be because of this? Could you post some of her unrugged from the side, front on and back on and not whilst being ridden and lunged?
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Ditto this ^

Very hard to tell from the photos
 
Honsetly conformation doesnt matter much at all, my horse is put together awfully and after a discussion with the vet yesterday looks like he would be prone or likey to get artrit is almost every single major joint on his body, yet he is 14 sound never ever lame competing at elementary school at medium and still jumps, and last year was able to pass a five stage vetting including foot xrays so poor conformation doesnt always mean your going to get problems or that your horse wont perform
 
No problem, thank you for letting me know! I was just eager for some feedback after I found out that people asked for confo critique on here so I raided the photos I had on FB.. I will take time to get some good photos and hopefully they'll be more helpful!
Thanks all :)
 
Nathan-And-Hayke said:
My thoughts exactly! I was always told that you breed for conformation and temperament! Maybe my hypothesis has been wrong for the last 30 years!
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You're obviously doing it all wrong ;)

On a serious note, get some better photos then send them to Shils, in my humble opinion there is no one better out there for confo critic...just be aware that Shils does not sugar coat things ;)

I wonder if Shils would do a confo critic on Shadow if I plaited him so he didn't resemble a Welsh Cob? hmmm...
 
yes you should breed to get the best conformation you can and temp but not being a perfectly put together or correct horse if you read what i had written does not mean that they will not perform well or stay sound
 
At a quick glance I would say your horse looks a little lightly muscled behind with rather a straight hock, and slightly upright in the pasterns. Front end, to my mind, is the better half. However might be different if you take better pics.
As to conformation being the "be all and end all" of performance ability I have to say there have been NO END of conformationally challanged horses that have done well, including various famous show jumpers and eventers - I cannot think of any in particular ATM but I know of local horses who excel despite minor conformational disadvantages.
I think it was even Zara Phillips said something about one of her top horses being conformationally challanged recently.( correct me if I am wrong)
Ultimately it depends on how much importance an individual places on subject and what you want to do with the horse that really matters.
Personally I like to see straightness through the front limbs and hooves, down from the shoulder, lots of bone below the knee, very strong hind quarters, and a good pastern angle, but not to long or too low.
For most of us I would say try to pick the conformation best suited to the job you want the horse to do.
Put simply, if you want a dressage horse you want an uphill build, for a western horse a downhill one, Race horse a flat croup (speed) , a jumper a well angled downward slope to the rump ( power).
But it all can be quite subtle too, ( as no doubt we will all discover when the protestations to my post start to come in!!!)
 
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