Conformation of 3 y/o TB

[JB]

@Bluey

Conformation makes liars of those jumping.
Have seen all kinds of perfect and less than in jumpers, at all levels.
Jumping is something that, if a horse is good at it, we can dissect why, but in reality, jumpers come in all kinds.

Yes and no. Judy Wardrope studied a lot of upper level horses and found a lot of similarities which led to her work on “functional conformation”. There’s a lot about conformation that throws people off, such as longer cannon bones, longer back, even offset front legs, straighter hocks, etc, and while you’d never want any of those to an extreme, or have too many at once, they can be greatly offset by having excellent “Big Three” - pillar of support, LS gap, neck placement.

It’s a pretty rare upper level horse with more than 1 of those 3 less than at least very good

It’s just a matter of physics, that when a horse is too front-heavy (poor PoS), or can’t coil his hind end well enough (poor LS gap), or has a low neck emergence, that they stand up to less upper level work, and/or for less time.

[JB]

For anyone who wants to study functional conformation, what it means, why it matters

What is Functional Conformation? - JW Equine

[Amy3996]

@PoconosRN

He’s super relaxed and willing, sensible, crazy sure-footed on rocky trails. We trail ride at walk and trot over hilly terrain – mostly 30 mins at a time, 4x a wk. He’s barefoot and sound. Was also purchased as a yearling for 100k – so someone musta liked him lol. But I adore him and we’re more bonded in a few months than I was after years with my WB.

Thanks for any tips and insights!

I won’t claim to be any conformation expert. I myself fell in love with a then-5yo OTTB who’s a bit post-legged behind (how significantly seems to vary greatly depending on which vet I’ve asked). He also has a great brain, is generally easy to live with, and has an instinct to protect his rider. I don’t have upper level dreams - just an adult ammy hoping to maybe do the 2’, max 2’6” local hunters, trail ride, and generally dabble in a lot of low level fun things.

A vet I very much trusted and respected wrote my horse off from the moment she first saw him because of his hind end conformation. It didn’t matter to her that I’d had a thorough PPE by a reputable clinic with unremarkable exam and images, or that he was sound and happy doing the job I intended for him. She went so far as to tell me she couldn’t believe anyone had let me bring him home. That stung, and it was the end of a lengthy client relationship.

Long winded way of getting to my advice - we can’t change their bone structure. It took some trial and error but I’ve found a care team (vet, farrier, trainer, bodyworkers) who help me support him in the body he’s been given, set and achieve realistic goals, and build him up in a way that will hopefully protect his soundness in the long term. A good, correct dressage foundation is priceless. It helps them use themselves properly, straight, engaging core and developing topline. Proper saddle fit. Attention to hoof trim and angles whether barefoot or shod. Basic fundamental things that are important for any horse can be even more so for the ones that maybe didn’t win the conformation lottery.

Enjoy your horse, and don’t worry too much about what strangers on Reddit have to say.

[Scribbler]

In terms of asking anonymous teenagers or beginners to rate your horse, one thing is that you don’t know what breed is the norm in their world. If they live in QH world then any other breed has a crap hind end. People who don’t know Arabs think they move stiff and strung out. People who are just moving beyond their first crap lesson factory riding experience are hyper attuned to underweight horses. Etc.

[JB]

@Scribbler

one thing is that you don’t know what breed is the norm in their world. If they live in QH world then any other breed has a crap hind end. People who don’t know Arabs think they move stiff and strung out.

The problem is less about breed affiliation, and more about lack of correct conformation education, period. The latter makes it so that they can’t differentiate between different breed TYPE, and poor vs correct conformation.

Every single breed of horse should be judged against the same standards of functional conformation, those Big Three. They are still a horse. They still need to be a front-light (for a front-heavy species) mobile hind end body whose legs are built to support impact work as in more than putzing around a HUS w/t/lope ring

From there, WITHIN those parameters, conformation differences are more suitable to Dressage vs Hunters vs Jumpers vs Cutting vs Reining vs pulling, the STB vs the TWH vs the Cleveland Bay vs the Arabian

All of those will have variations of good to excellent conformation that are simply a bit different than the next, but all within the above parameters

The Dressage and Reining horse still better have his neck come out above the point of their shoulder, the PoS should be excellent, the LS gap needs to be on point, but the Dressage horse’s neck will come out and naturally be higher, and the shoulder will likely be a different angle, than the Reiner, than the Hunter. The ASB has a very different look than a stock horse which is very different from a draft

But when you look past all that, the Big 3 still judge how functionally correct the horse is, how much real work his body is likely to stand up to for long. After that it’s about front legs being straight, and hind legs can vary a bit more as certain conformations are better for speed vs big jumps vs sitting, but STILL not too angled (sickle hocks) and STILL not too straight

Functional conformation is exactly like the Body Condition Scoring - 100% independent of breed or type or discipline or fitness.

It’s only within those parameters that you get more into discipline- and breed-specific differences, and ideal weight for a given task (racing vs broodmare for example)

[PoconosRN]

Woah thanks for all the amazing info!!!

[PoconosRN]

He’s out of Warrior’s Reward and a daughter of Broken Vow. Lots of nice horses farther back.

[Paint_Party]

I think he’s really cute. And it sounds like he has a great mind, he’s sound (even while barefoot on rough terrain), you’ve developed a real connection and you love him. That’s wonderful and something to celebrate!

If I were to ding him on anything conformationally, he’s a little too straight in the hind end which inevitably affects the angle of his hip and slope of his croup. But… there’s no perfect horse. At least not one that neither you nor I are ever going to own.

So continue to love and enjoy him. Along the way you’ll discover what he’s best suited to do and where his talents are.

[Jenerationx]

He’s young… with correct work the neck and topline fairy will arrive sometime in the next year or so and he’ll look better.

[LaurieB]

@PoconosRN

He’s out of Warrior’s Reward and a daughter of Broken Vow. Lots of nice horses farther back.

If you were looking for 2 Thoroughbred stallions to give you a sound, useful horse with a good temperament, you could hardly do better than those two. Well done.

[Kyrabee]

@PoconosRN

He’s super relaxed and willing, sensible, crazy sure-footed on rocky trails. We trail ride at walk and trot over hilly terrain – mostly 30 mins at a time, 4x a wk. He’s barefoot and sound.

Who the heck cares what he is built like? He sounds like a unicorn to me .

He is 3….just off the track. Keep doing what you are doing and give him time to mature.

I don’t see anything that egregious. He is cute as a bug and sounds like you are having a ball with him…carry on .

[millerra]

I have a grandson of Broken Vow - absolutely love him and his brain. I think your horse is quite cute but with his long back, I would have a plan of lunging in side reins and a belly band long and low relatively frequently to help w/ core strength.

Enjoy him.

[JB]

@millerra

with his long back,

He really doesn’t have a long back though. If you drew a box around him, chest to point of butt, withers to ground, you’d see he’s pretty much a square. I think a lot of people got used to seeing so many tall rectangle horses - longer legs and/or a shorter back - that normal back lengths loo long

This guy might have a bit of a longer loin, but unless we see him with a better hind end stance, I woulnd’t say it is or isn’t.

[millerra]

I believe you are correct - what I was actually referring to (incorrectly) is the bend down of the back. I have (an older) one (not the broken vow one) who has a very “curvy” long back, not lordosis - and he always struggled w/ tipping his pelvis under and lifting his back. His tendency was to go “belly low, head high” due to his conformation. Hind sight 20/20 - I think I really would have helped him had I done more lunging w/ a belly band to strength the lift of his core throughout his career. Just trying to help a fellow OTTB owner have a happy go w/ her horse is all.

I actually like her horse and wouldn’t mind him, especially with his brain, in my barn My current main horse has a relatively straight hind leg - it has not seemed to hinder him for our lower level career aspirations.

[JB]

He does have a curvier back than some, though I don’t see anything that would indicate he’s hard to fit. There are lots of makes and models that fit this type of back well

Issues with tipping the pelvis are rarely about the back. They’re either due to a poor LS gap (usually), or issues with the SI, stifles, or hocks (angles, injuries, discomforts, etc)

[millerra]

Off to do some reading on the LS gap… interesting…

[Pico_Banana]

@PoconosRN

He’s super relaxed and willing, sensible, crazy sure-footed on rocky trails.

With that, who cares what he looks like?

And besides that, I think he’s super cute. Steep shoulder sure, but the rest just looks like baby horse to me. I think you have a real diamond in the rough there.

[PoconosRN]

Such fantastic info! Thanks

[PoconosRN]

Don’t conflate the query with insecurity or dissatisfaction. I’m not looking for insight because I’m having a moment – he’s a lifer, a heart horse – I just want to better understand how he’s built and then use that to apply to our riding and conditioning

[PoconosRN]

Here’s us… since there were a few assumptions I’m a woman (statistically a good guess haha) Really appreciate everyone’s time, knowledge, and thoughtfulness!