It is difficult to answer because so much is a matter of degree. A little upright or a little long in the pastern might be okay, but an excess in either direction would make me say no. Same with most faults. The other issue might be a combination of faults that might lead to soundness issues. I might be okay with a slight toeing in or slightly upright pasterns or a little downhill, but putting them together might be an issue!
Very long or upright pastern, sickle-hocked and weakly built in the hind end, club-footed associated with significant findings in the lower limb on radiographs or to a degree that my farrier advises against. I strongly prefer not to ride a horse whose neck is set low or one with a straight shoulder. I prefer a short-coupled horse to one with a long back.
Though not a conformation flaw, above 17 hands, Iāll pass. A recent thread covered this- the bigger they get, the harder it is to keep them sound.
You donāt ride the head, but Iām rather fond of a Roman nose on a classically-built horse and not really bothered by a pig eye or white sclera.
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I donāt mind a little cow hocked as long as they arenāt sickle hocked and I dislike straight hocks. I also steer clear of big heads - heads weigh a lot and its a big job to lug it around especially if the neck/shoulder isnāt built right. I tend to like a smaller, compact horse over a longer, lanky style.
Huh, I was always told a longer back (within reason) is actually a good trait for a jumper but not so much for dressage.
As others have said for me itās more about how many bad things are against them, not so much one flaw in particular. Just one conformation flaw isnāt enough for me to walk away unless itās really, really bad.
Pretty much every horse has at least something. Even top competition horses do. Some perfectly sound horses have conformations that make you cringe!
Though I personally donāt like severe post legged horses because they may not have to power to push off over a jump. I used to stay away from long Pasterns too but I guess there has been a change overall in the vet field as to that. Itās now thought that long pasterns may act as more of a shock absorber I guess.
I know one FEI trainer who prefers a long back, and another Iāve cliniced with had a horse with a long back, but once he was muscled up to FEI, she says his back no longer seemed out of proportion. Mine has a long back and neck and so far it has pros and cons.
My dealbreaker is where the neck ties in.
Coming from a Farrier mindset, I hate small hooves, refined legs on any horse. They donāt hold up over the years. Feet need to be proportional to the body size. My small 14.2 horses wore 1-2s shoes, had thick walls, not trimmed to have short toes. Usually went barefoot unless getting conditioned to compete or needing traction. The present bigger horses wear 4-5s under 16h to 17h bodies weighing 1100 to 1400 pounds. They are kept shod to be used, need traction. They would be sound barefoot if they did not need the traction.
Heads need to have sizable nostrils, clean throatlatch for good breathing when collected. Eyes will be individual to the animal, so case by case in buying. We had one with small looking eyes, big head to go with big body, āstrong noseā that some thought Roman looking. He was one of the best horses a person could own. Had very kindly eyes, drew kids to pet him every time he was in a horse gathering! Would lower his head, blow on their heads, get folks laughing. He was never spooky, did as asked. Two other VERY NICE Gelderlander horses we had were roman nosed. Could not ask for nicer animals! Did dressage well to Grand Prix level, drove in FEI competitions before we had them, extremely athletic. I can live with a Roman nose, never interferes with their way of going and I am behind his head most of the time anyway! Ha ha
I like short backs on athletic bodies. Prefer slightly longer necks, but shorter can work if it is flexible side-to-side, not cresty. Horse MUST have an overstride just moseying along , without a rider or handler. Front and rear are the same height, no downhill horses here!
I would rather have toe-in than toe-out. No chance of banging the other front leg. Young horses under 6yrs may toe out, but still have growth and muscle to develop in their chest area, so i will accept some toe out in this instance. Deep chest can make straight legs turn in as horse matures, gets too fat, but if bones/hoof align in the leg column, I will look at him. Straight alignment on hind leg bones wanted. HOWEVER hind feet NEED to toe out slightly thru the fetlock to allow hind hooves to not interfere with front hooves, hind legs to pass by the rib cage, at speed. Our horses get galloped pretty regularly, not just a tiny canter. Hind hoof toes pointing straight ahead, is NOT a good thing to own.
We use our horses hard, they get lots of miles over the years. We EXPECT them to be usable for 15-20 years of enjoymnt. Starting with the best package of horse body HELPS them last well in hard use. Of course some may get injured, breakdown, but it doesnāt happen often here.
Form to function as Dr Beeman said.
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My primary concerns are back in the knee, offset knees, too straight hind hocks, and small feet.
I wouldnāt buy a horse with extreme sickle hocks, but I prefer mild sickle hocks over mild straight hocks.
I donāt really mind a horse that twists her hind hoof at the walk. Music has done that all her life, and is still sound at 33. She had her stifles injected once, but has had no hock problems. The one thing we did was NOT putting her in hind studs, as that would have put a twisting force on the hocks and stifle
So, I was surprised at the number of people calling out over at the knee. I always understood that to be unlikely to lead to lameness. Am I misinformed? (Clearly this is assuming average over at the knee, nothing dramatic)
Iām another thatās more about the whole package and I have very few deal breakers. I think short, straight pasterns are probably my one hard no.
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As a dressage rider, I wouldnāt buy a horse that was built downhill, has a swan neck, super long neck, or a very low set neck. I also donāt like extremely long or short backs. Also, a clubbed foot (unless very mild), long pasterns, back at the knee. Pig eye would also be a no for me.
Over at the knee is a deal breaker for me due to looks not function. It just makes me worry the whole leg apparatus is not locking somehow. My problem not the horseās.
Holy cow. Just reading through this thread has me picturing every hideous beast in whole wide world, poor things.
:no:
The faults that bother me most are probably ewe necks, post legs and weak loins. (And of course Iām now picturing a horse with all three, in the color I least like, which is - aaaaaaaaack! - cremello. )
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SonnysMom
Couldnāt you have had the panel on the custom saddle reflocked, pulled out the excess and tighten it up for a flatter back and used the saddle on a new horse? Of course I am assuming the tree was not custom made for this horse.
Hey, I used to know that horse! :lol:
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:lol:
I thought ewe necks were not confirmation but muscle use. Correct/different riding will develop the muscles.
Iām sure someone will correct me if Iām wrong but, as I understand it, a normal horse can look ewe necked because of crappy riding/training or poor body condition, and that this kind of ewe neck can be corrected to a large extent, but that a conformationally ewe necked horse is impossible to fix completely because the fault is truly structural:
https://equimed.com/health-centers/lā¦-and-shoulders
Having seen more than a few young or unridden horses with this conformation, I think itās definitely true, at least on the practical level.
No brain.
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Yes, one must have a good brain on their horse!
I still have the custom monoflap for the low back horse just in case I decide to do a little trail riding. He seems up to that. Just is pretty done with the ring riding.
Newer horse is a pretty flat backed OTTB. The tree shape on the monoflap is way too curvy for him and no amount of panel changes would help that.
The saddle is by Patrick Saddlery and he has access to a lot of trees compared to many other brands. It seems like many brands really just have one or two tree shapes and a few widths. They just try to change the panels to get the fit.
For me, anything that causes interference or a weak back. When youāre going down the trail for 25-50 miles or more, the less problems caused by conformation the better for sure!
