Interesing article

Very interesting indeed! Livingstone looks very light of bone and has very long cannons. And how weak is that second thigh!
Winsome Adante does look rather odd from his girth to his hocks!
Neither has the best limbs in the world, I'm impressed that Livingstone has stayed sound to 4 star level.

You see Im not wholly convinced by good conformation anymore- because every horse that Ive seen that has broken down/had leg probs etc has absolutely perfect confo and limbs!? Must have just been luck of the draw I guess
 
Brilliant article! Thanks for that!

I'm not sure that it is a lottery, except in as much as you don't know what genes the parents are hiding, or what exactly will be passed on, or how they are going to interact.

But in assessing what we want, I think I for one am just looking at the wrong things, or the less important things. I don't like the long cannons or the 2nd horse's straight hock & weedy forelegs- and thats straight where my gaze went and I didn't see the subtle things that maybe count more.

Off to do my own horses now- I will have to try this pattern against them; see how they measure up.
 
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You see Im not wholly convinced by good conformation anymore- because every horse that Ive seen that has broken down/had leg probs etc has absolutely perfect confo and limbs!? Must have just been luck of the draw I guess

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This is why I'm not that picky now when I'm looking at horses about minor confo faults.
Boss only did his annulars because he's such a twit and throws himself around- he has near perfect limb conformation. Thus proving that other things can cause injuries which you'd initally blame on poor conformation!!
 
Interesting as the picture points out Winsome Adante's straight hind legs which aid with collection. And Winsome Adante has just been retired because of PSD which is more common in horse with straight back legs. So not so good conformation.

ETA from the H&H article onhis retirement

After finishing third at Badminton Horse Trials earlier this year, Winsome Adante suffered a strain to a hind suspensory ligament. A sound horse throughout his career, Kim attested the injury to his "rather ordinary confirmation" and his own wish to retire.
 
I think with Winsome Adante he would never have been bought if he had not been evented here first. If I saw him as a yearling I would not have touched him!!
I think this is why I have never been brave enough to buy something that is not broken in because attitude counts for so much as well as a good dash of luck.
I think she has chosen 2 horses that are freaks and I would have preferred to see more examples.
 
I knew Winsome Adante as a 5 yr old. He was a butty type of horse then and didn't look like a potential 4* horse. He was always very talented, sharp and quirky. It just goes to prove that attitude and bravery are also important factors in the equation. He has however been sounder than many upto now. I think a lot of event horses are freaks and when you look at them you wonder how any of them manage to stay sound. Interesting about the hock conformation and him having retired with hind suspensory problems.
 
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It just goes to prove that attitude and bravery are also important factors in the equation. He has however been sounder than many upto now. I think a lot of event horses are freaks and when you look at them you wonder how any of them manage to stay sound.

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Totally agree with you!! You can get some stunning youngsters that just dont have the mindset to go up the levels
 
Oh - this is pet topic of mine... I've c&P'ed a post of mine from another forum as I can;t be arsed to retype!

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We spend alot of time having drummed into us the principle of "show ring damage" - decoupling the idea of the perfect phenotype (the animals that look the best, be it conformation, colouring, gaits) and the sires & dams with the highest genetic merit (those who will pass on the the best genes for performance to their offspring)

Often the top EBI bulls are awful looking, perhaps arthritic, not always conformationally correct etc. but produce the top performing daughters & top the progeny tests. However, a bull of the same breed who is a prolific showring winner (and so is bred on phenotypic vs. genetic merit) may produce mediocre performers.

So how does that apply to horses? Well....look at a stallion like Touchdown; confo, not great...block head, back at knee etc. but he has an impressive performance career himself & produces top performing offspring.

Do we put too much emphasis on appearance over performance?

Does the fact we don't progeny test or cull out the grade/under performing progeny as we can't really slaughter the unsuitables without public uproar
have an effect on equine breeding?

Food for thought?

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