Conformation - how important is it to you?

Meowy Catkin

Meowy Catkin

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I was just wondering how important good conformation is to you when you are looking for a new horse?
Have you cultivated having a good eye for picking up faults?
Does the job that the horse is intended for alter what is acceptable, conformation wise, or not?

Thanks. :)
 
I think the job that the horse is intended for does alter what is acceptable to me - indeed, I have known many horses with conformation faults who have done a cracking job at whatever their "discipline" has been.

If I was looking for a horse to perform at a high level, or was interested in showing, I would be far more picky. I have to say my eye is probably "in" more with TBs, having worked in breeding them, but I think I have a reasonable eye generally. Legs are probably my key interest.

I currently have an over-at-the-knee with a tendency to be slightly herring gutted cob - however, I bought him to have fun doing a bit of everything at a low level and, while he is never going to set the world on fire, he does fine at that. Other people think he's "pretty" and "cute" but I think that's more down to his "look at me" personality. I see a common horse with a big head, short neck, big knees, slightly ugly eyes (in that they often show white at the corners) and a hind leg that has a tendency to turn in at rest but I love him to bits!
 
Legs are important to me too. My gelding does have a slight bench knee on one leg (which is why I started this thread) and as I aim for him to be a happy hacker, with anything further a bonus, it didn't put me off him. I was asked recently though, whether seeing his 'wonky' leg every day annoys me (it doesn't) and if I should have found something without the fault as I am very interested in conformation. Of course I wouldn't swap him now. :D

I couldn't have something with terrible conformation though. I've seen a few where the hind end is wrong in several places and they just look bilaterally lame to me when they move. I'd be constantly worried about their soundness if I owned them.

It does surprise me how oblivious some owners can be to their horses very bad confo faults.
 
Every animal will have some fault in their confirmation. There is no such thing as the prefect horse. So when looking, I would look out for things that really stand out, eg ewe neck, pigeon toes etc etc etc, but apart from that I would be more interested in an animal that has an holistic, pleasing shape/confirmation. Important to me would be a well formed head and a "kind" eye, as I believe that temperament can often play a more important role in success then the confirmation. I also like a straight movement. I picked my lad out of a whole field of scrubby animals. He does have his faults but as I said he has an overall pleasing (to me) countenance.
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I'd say it was quite important. Any obvious, glaring faults would for sure put me off.

However, I am more interested in the ability to do the job. I'm never going to be a world beater, so I won't be looking for the epitome of perfection. Just as close to it as possible :P lol temperament is also a big deal. I'd go for a slight defect with good attitude over a perfect pig! But that's just me :)
 
conformation is important to me now, having previously ignored advice from my mum about about buying one with crappy legs just because its got a pretty head, ive twice ended up with soundness issues. lesson learnt the hard way! i dont care about minor things such as splints or slight parrot mouth but any other vices or obvious conformation issues are a pass. I know lots of horses that have dodgy legs and never have any issues and vice versa but i wouldnt risk it again
 
For showing purposes I look for as close to perfection as I can get.

I don't mind them being a wee bit straight in front but they must have a good back end to compensate.

I won't touch dodgy knees or hocks but I don't mind longer pasterns.

Tail and neck setting are very important. Everything in between you can work on/disguise to an extent.

I won't tolerate dishing, plaiting or pigeon toes.

If I were looking for a horse to race then I would forgive a lot more as long as the horse was sound and not too top heavy on legs that aren't great. Some of the best racehorses wouldn't make it past a showing judge at local level let alone a trot up at an affiliated ODE!
 
Not overly.

I've had horses and ponies with terrible confo in hindsight (didn't know then what I knew now!) and all of them were sound for years and years and I never had any lameness issues. The one with the worst confo (toed-out and dished so badly it was almost comical) didn't have a lame day in over ten years, and I did anything and everything with her including a lot of jumping.

Good pasterns & a nice short back are the two most important things to me.
 
I seem to have quite a good eye for a horse and I think it's because I've spent decades drawing them, what is forgiveable in RL makes you look incompetent if you make it into a picture. My 4 ponies all have decent confo and all have nice legs and feet. I have a weakness for a high head carriage but wouldn't buy one with small feet, they have to carry a lot of weight over many years!
 
I don't think I'm oblivious, my horses have had good conformation but probably not show conformation. New one is ok but she brushes behind and dishes in front which is why I didn't buy her the first time I viewed her. The second time I viewed her 8 months later, she had lost a lot of weight and her action looked a lot less of a disaster My daughter has had two ponies with wonky looking legs/action but she's six and weighs nothing and the pony's temperament was more important that it's legs to a degree (cow hocks and dishing etc, I don't think they are too bad they just aren't that pleasing to look at from some angles)
 
I'm not brilliant at assessing conformation. I can spot the most obvious or common faults and identify serious issues but I'm useless with the subtleties of a thick gullet or a well set neck. I'm not into showing so as long as it wouldn't affect their ability to do a (relatively low key, in my case) job, I'm not too bothered. The question is just how much conformation does affect on-going soundness. I've seen plenty of beautifully put together horses have issues and plenty of camels go on doing a job for years as well as vice versa so I'm really torn on the subject.

Temperament would be far more important to me.
 
My best ponies have obvious faults and they've not been properly lame (not counting abscess) in now over 10 years. My advanced pony is well put together and written off at 10 with DJD, my old warmblood looked that part but had the wrong head.... If it's moves well and has a good head, and won't look too shocking unaff showing, then that's me happy! And actually my last purchase isn't a mover but he is a showing and jumping schoolmaster.
Everyone knows how shocking some of the top performers conformation is, and knows of stunning youngsters written off before they've started. IMO for non professionals (and non top level showers- though even that's debatable) the likes of forums like this massively over emphasise conformation as a consideration. Im sure HHO would write off most of the horses in the UK as being unsuitable, for almost everything :p
 
EKW said:
If I were looking for a horse to race then I would forgive a lot more as long as the horse was sound and not too top heavy on legs that aren't great. Some of the best racehorses wouldn't make it past a showing judge at local level let alone a trot up at an affiliated ODE!
Click to expand...

And even those that do pass FEI trot ups often are not 100%!
 
Super important to me now because I breed. No point breeding from something incorrectly put together. Also because bad confirmation can mean long term unsoundness. I have a dud mare at home who will forever be a field ornament because her slightly crappy confirmation was the result of a more serious injury that has rendered her useless. A harsh lesson from buying something unseen and not vetting it!

However I have 2 older horses who have less than ideal confirmation who have given me many years of fun and never a days lameness or any other problems. I was more easy going when I bought them and I liked them as individuals. I don't regret buying them although neither would ever win a show class! But I wouldn't be as flippant now I'm older and hopefully wiser :)
 
Loving this thread faracat! Nice to get views on this topic, opinions seem to vary massively.

I'm into showing and will possibly be buying soon. I won't go near anything with something obviously wrong, but there are some things I would look over/forgive depending on the horse. It all depends on what you're into. I like cobs and Irish Draughts, so would forgive a shorter neck or big head maybe when someone else would not. But then in these horses it usually looks in proportion to the rest of the animal.

In order of preference for correctness: limbs, back, rear end, shoulder, neck, head. Feet included with limbs. Must move straight. Horses are cheap here I can afford to be picky!

I'm in the "wouldn't be able to look at an obvious conformation fault everyday" camp. But then, I am a worrier and I over think things.
 
Important to me for long term soundness. Minor aesthetic faults are fine, problems with the back end are not. I like my horses to have nice and compact- not from a soundness perspective but from personal preference, and I wouldn't get anything with an obvious fault. Plenty of horses out there and I might as well get one with good conformation to start with.
 
Conformation = soundness = athletic ability. Add in temperament and attitude (ie what's between the ears, brain-wise!) then you have my perfect horse.

Dependent on your prowess as a rider and what you wish to achieve you may weight some of the above elements above others.
 
I can only afford one horse, and I want something I enjoy looking at - not necessarily striking or show quality, but certain something well put together and workmanlike. Obvious conformation faults would definitely out me off, regardless of whether I thought it might lead to problems down the line.
 
I only buy youngsters that are unbroken so i always judge to a certain extent on confo as you can't go on how well they are doing the job. There are certain things that don't worry me to much then there are my major no gos!
i have to like the overall picture as well not just how corrext it is.
I also judge a lot on temprement & this is just as important to me as confo

My now 6 year old has slightly straighter than i would like hocks but other than that is pretty perfect
 
Not really important to me coz I just want a horse to love and have fun on. My current horse is very short backed but apart from that I can't see much wrong with him (trying not to be bias but he is pleasing to the eye ;-) ) prev mare was absolutely gorgeous and prob a better overall shape and she oozed quality and the old boy was just so perfect to me I couldn't criticise lol I prob wouldn't buy something with an obvious defect incase it caused soundness issues
 
I like a big, chunky horse, but with a bit of class about it -and conformation is important to me. I like good legs, strong hocks, short back, a decent back end, and plenty of heart room.

Alf ticks pretty much all my boxes - he's a little bit common, but that can be mostly resolved with a decent set of clippers and a mane rake. His only glaring fault is that he is very slab sided, so it's hard to get my legs on - he's actually easier for short people to ride, even though he's over 17hh and built like a prize fighter.
 
This thread is really interesting and it's got me thinking about my horses over the years and it looks as though I go for pretty much the same type every time.... I like them to fill the eye and have a little bit of presence about them and they have to look pleasing and fairly balanced overall. I like clean, straight legs and a straight movement. Thinking about it I suppose that this must mean I exclude glaringly obvious confromational faults, but I wouldn't say I'm overly picky because what sells a horse to me is how it feels when I get on it. It has to have that "something" and if it's got it I could probably excuse almost any fault!

I bought my current horse as a 4 year old. I have to admit when I walked into the stable I thought "yuck". He was plain, ugly and lacking muscle. He had a neck like a giraffe and quite frankly I didn't like him from the shoulders forward, and from the shoulders back wasn't much better. However, I liked what I saw when he was ridden and when I sat on him I was sold. This is what he looked like in 2011....
Ted%202011_zpslpibd2t5.jpg


Fast forward 4 years and although he's definitely not perfect, it's amazing what a bit of schooling can do. Yes he still has a giraffe neck and he's thick through the throatlatch, but now he has a decent topline it doesn't look so bad. He is very long from hip to hock and his hind leg is a little straight which means he's always going to ride a bit downhill, but he is learning to carry himself and he has built up muscle over his hindquarters and behind the saddle which helps him. His hindquarters are in proportion and given him plenty of power. His shoulder is perhaps a little upright and the highest point of his shoulder blade doesn't match up with the highest point of his withers which is a little weird. I do seem to pick them like this though! He does have thin soles and typical TB feet but they have improved with a good farrier. Overall I no longer think of him as ugly and he definitely fills the eye even if he does look half asleep in this photo! Perhaps more importantly I still love riding him!
Ted%202015_zpsbyaskjol.jpg
 
I used to think it was very improtant. My last horse had almost perfect conformation. However, he had issues his entire life, lots of lamness issues.

My sister has two ponies both with bad conformation, one is 23 has done xc, hunting, fun rides, pulled a cart, worked on a farm and is still going strong. The other she rescued and is 15 with no problems either.

My new doesnt have great conformation, but its not perfect. However, this does not concern me at all.
 
in a youngster, very-give yourself the best odds of success.

in an older established horse with a strong competitive record, not so much. if its reached medium, is schooling psg etc by 8yo and isnt lame, its probably coping just fine with its oddities!

one horse i covet is croup high and as straight as a post behind, but BE events and is never lame. i would take him in a heartbeat.
 
I would always buy a horse that is currently in work. If the horse has stood up to work for a few years without problems, I'd probably buy. Mine has cow hocks and I didn't have a clue what I was doing when I bought her, but she doesn't suffer lameness issues. I wouldn't buy a horse that screws its hinds when walking or a big horse with small feet.
 
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