Are there any good articles out there describing how conformation typically changes as a horse grows or judging foal conformation?
Even conformation photos of your horses as foals and as adults would be helpful.
Things like hip/croup angle and shoulder angles. Do these tend to steepen, flatten or stay the same? What do you look for in a foal sport horse prospect that might be different from the advice given when looking at an adult?
From what I gather, assessing the foal at 3 weeks, 3 months, and 3 years will give you indicators of the general conformation and type you’ll see as an adult.
I’ll bite.
3 days
http://slsfarm.blogspot.com/2010/06/introducing-levante-sls-landfriese.html
4 months–moving shot (sorry I don’t have 3 month conformation pics)
http://slsfarm.blogspot.com/2010/09/levante-sls-gold-premium-filly.html
Yearling video (skip ahead to 40 sec.)… awkward/growthy looking animal. Also why you cover mirrors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqnRsnevWQM
3 years (you have to scroll down)–you can click on the conformation shot to make it larger
http://slsfarm.blogspot.com/2013/09/growing-upthe-waiting-game.html
She was slow maturing and filled out until about age 5. Goofy video at age 6 (they are winding down after 10 minutes of lunacy): https://instagram.com/p/BLo_4wcBuBA/
Here are some of mine as foals (#1-4 at less than two weeks of age, #5 at 4 months) and adults (#2 at 3yo, #3,4 & 5 at 4yo and #1 at 5yo).
(1) Ellamieka (Corland x Darco x Indoctro)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Ella_zpsycasypnf.jpg
(2) Faizemieka (Zirocco Blue x Darco x Indoctro)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Faiza_zpsp5ehlvpe.jpg
(3) Finnan (Wittinger VDL x Cornet Obolensky x Pilot)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Finnan_zpsmj87c9zf.jpg
(4) Gwenhwyvar (Cantos x Indorado x Fedor)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Gwen_zps6sosf8l9.jpg
(5) Haven (Capi Rossi Frihave x Cornet Obolensky x Pilot)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Haven_zpstsikodno.jpg
[QUOTE=mikali;8916005]
Here are some of mine as foals (#1-4 at less than two weeks of age, #5 at 4 months) and adults (#2 at 3yo, #3,4 & 5 at 4yo and #1 at 5yo).
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Ella_zpsycasypnf.jpg"](1) Ellamieka (Corland x Darco x Indoctro)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Faiza_zpsp5ehlvpe.jpg"](2) Faizemieka (Zirocco Blue x Darco x Indoctro)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Finnan_zpsmj87c9zf.jpg"](3) Finnan (Wittinger VDL x Cornet Obolensky x Pilot)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Gwen_zps6sosf8l9.jpg"](4) Gwenhwyvar (Cantos x Indorado x Fedor)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Haven_zpstsikodno.jpg"](5) Haven (Capi Rossi Frihave x Cornet Obolensky x Pilot)[/QUOTE]
When I click on your links it just says “about blank” on a white page. Could just be my browser, IDK.
[QUOTE=TrotTrotPumpkn;8916189]
When I click on your links it just says “about blank” on a white page. Could just be my browser, IDK.[/QUOTE]
Sorry about that, I fixed the links in my original post - hopefully they work.
gypsymare
Personally, I can’t tell a lot at three days. My observation is that the tendons can be too tight or too lax and this affects the overall leg angles. My foal this year (the dark bay if you watched the video) was born with lax tendons. They tightened up on their own over a week or so, but I wasn’t trying to evaluate much of anything at three days! I find 3 months (or whenever they even out a little) and three years as much more useful.
Mikali those side-by-side comparisons are great.
I have posted this link/pictures from time to time of one of our foals that was born is a number of “issues”. Click through to see what she looked like a year later.
Not exactly typical of an average foal’s conformation shortly after birth. But a goes to show on average “all is not lost”. Makes an interesting pictorial of how;
“conformation typically changes as a horse grows or judging foal conformation”
For the better,lol.
Here one of ours. First video with a couple of days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqbQSXZMCow
The next one as a yearling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziNEjD-YppE
And the last one with 3 years about 3 weeks ago…
https://www.facebook.com/Luckyacresfarm/videos/1042838945838559/
and some pictures as well
with a couple of weeks
https://scontent.ftpa1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/q82/p206x206/942575_658063577541108_1415649528_n.jpg?oh=b511b45205d71798dfb8fc1361a850cc&oe=58D24223
with 3 years
https://scontent.ftpa1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/12314181_1222450557769071_7041235185063842079_o.jpg
[QUOTE=mikali;8916005]
Here are some of mine as foals (#1-4 at less than two weeks of age, #5 at 4 months) and adults (#2 at 3yo, #3,4 & 5 at 4yo and #1 at 5yo).
(1) Ellamieka (Corland x Darco x Indoctro)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Ella_zpsycasypnf.jpg
(2) Faizemieka (Zirocco Blue x Darco x Indoctro)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Faiza_zpsp5ehlvpe.jpg
(3) Finnan (Wittinger VDL x Cornet Obolensky x Pilot)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Finnan_zpsmj87c9zf.jpg
(4) Gwenhwyvar (Cantos x Indorado x Fedor)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Gwen_zps6sosf8l9.jpg
(5) Haven (Capi Rossi Frihave x Cornet Obolensky x Pilot)
http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/MikaliFarms/Haven_zpstsikodno.jpg[/QUOTE]
Wow thank you! That was really interesting to watch the pictures. You really can see the foal in the grown up horses.
Five months
[URL=“https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/308246_1429683419546_1429654924_n.jpg?oh=0f337ab8550c49ea566793235449c44b&oe=589A4C12”]
Six months
[URL=“https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/12108241_10206790444572768_5360934937431329397_n.jpg?oh=7ecd6bdf8b6cc1e42a024a7dd4dadb82&oe=588DB48D”]
Four and a half years
^^Beautiful horse!!! and what a change between 5 and 6 months!!!
[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;8917486]
^^Beautiful horse!!! and what a change between 5 and 6 months!!![/QUOTE]
Tell me about it… she couldn’t have looked that balanced for her inspection?? :lol:
Thank you all for posting!! It’s very educational to see side by side what changes and what stays the same.
Here is my RPSI gelding, I am missing the foal pic but have done my best to take photos to track his changes over time.
3 years: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152578026759406&set=a.10152578025529406.1073741831.501539405&type=3&theater (undersaddle pic as I don’t have a conformation type pic from this year)
^^The links don’t seem to be working at the moment.
I think I fixed the links to work
I noticed that both (lovely) babies had long backs throughout most of their development, but in the last picture their backs do not seem long compared to the rest of them.
Is this true or am I imagining things? What makes the backs “shorter”? Is it because the rest of the horse muscles out to make the back look more in proportion?
(Can you tell that I have a 3.5 year old with a long back? 
)
Great thread! The part that strikes me as most consistent is the angle and length of the pelvis.
Also, I think the proportions of the gaskins and cannon bones behind stay the same; their relationship does. Or maybe I’m looking at how much bend there is in the hock.
I can’t tell as much about the shoulder. I see that the angle between the humerus and scapula opens up a lot. That’s as you’d expect, but I’m not sure I can see as much about how these bones will relate in the grown up horse from looking at the foal pictures.
All in all, I think there’s more consistency in the hind limb between foal and, say, 3 years old than in the front end. I think “unfolding” that the foal has to do shortly after birth contributes to the distortion of the front end in relation to how it will develop in the adult horse. And the butt high phases of grown also seem to distort the form and function of the front end more than the back end.
Can you guys see how the neck will ultimately come out of the shoulder in the adult horse? They all look quite vertical in the foals.
[QUOTE=mvp;8923963]
Great thread! The part that strikes me as most consistent is the angle and length of the pelvis.
Also, I think the proportions of the gaskins and cannon bones behind stay the same; their relationship does. Or maybe I’m looking at how much bend there is in the hock.
I can’t tell as much about the shoulder. I see that the angle between the humerus and scapula opens up a lot. That’s as you’d expect, but I’m not sure I can see as much about how these bones will relate in the grown up horse from looking at the foal pictures.
All in all, I think there’s more consistency in the hind limb between foal and, say, 3 years old than in the front end. I think “unfolding” that the foal has to do shortly after birth contributes to the distortion of the front end in relation to how it will develop in the adult horse. And the butt high phases of grown also seem to distort the form and function of the front end more than the back end.
Can you guys see how the neck will ultimately come out of the shoulder in the adult horse? They all look quite vertical in the foals.[/QUOTE]
This is just my opinion, I’m not an expert, but (3 months) yes, the bones’ angles in the hind stay the same, but the croup angle or the “meat” can change shape a bit more (flatter or more angled). I think the shoulder stays relatively similar–again on a 3 day old you can get a deceptively strong angle, because they are still unfolding, so-to-speak. Can you tell I’m not that excited about the “3 days?”
The shoulder angle will be more skewed when they are butt high or low though, so that is the tricky part.
I also agree that they appear more high-set or vertical in the neck as babies then they probably end up. Watch the under side of the neck once they are weanlings too to determine the topline–if that makes sense. If they are going to tie-in lower and have a lower neck set, the underside will tie in lower towards the chest on the foals. The topline is also harder to see because they don’t really have a wither yet at that age (at least the ones that will develop a sharp wither) and that will influence how the topline/neck set looks too.
The pastern angle will be pretty consistent in the three month old on and a straight/steep pastern often is going to indicate there will be a straighter shoulder.
Loin connection can look better in a young foal then it ends up too.
LordHelpus–I think hints of the future back length is there in the weanlings (and especially yearlings, who are strung out a bit and tend to look long), but the depth wasn’t (girth) nor the muscle that they developed. I don’t think the backs got shorter, but the “width” increased and suddenly it is proportionate. Then you see additional muscling from 3-5 and that improves the picture further.
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