SPC Conformation Learning Center

SPC's Conformation Learning Center

This Month SPC is hosting a Conformation month where we talk about Conformation for both EV horses and Real Life horses. This post will be the hub for all things, including a learning center, games and trivia as well as links to places with more information. We will also be hosting a discussion in EV Chat about Conformation so be sure to head over there to share your breeding goals and chat about conformation.

Conformation on EV
On Equiverse Conformation is given a score in 8 separate categories and then averaged for an overall score. Scores range across a 1-100 scale and each range has a identifying name, Awful 1-30, Poor 30-50, Good 50-70, Excellent 70-90 and Perfect 90-100. Conformation is believed to be passed down to the foals via an average between the two parents with a possible chance for a bonus increase. Below we will discuss each of the eight traits on our EV horses as they relate to real life horses.

Do you know your parts of the horse?
If you’re a band newbie to conformation you might want to take a look at some horse parts images and learn about the different parts, this great resource from habitat for horses has a nifty picture along with explanations of most of the major parts fo the horse: follow this link: Parts of the Horse

Important things to remember about conformation
The “ideal” horse is not always the best horse in any one category, but rather the best overall form to function. Meaning if your horse has a few faults that make it slightly better at his job but don’t make him unsound he’s probably just fine. Also different breeds have different standards, a short dished face on an Arabian is perfectly normal but would be out of place on a draft who generally have more convex noses and longer faces.

Fault Vs. Blemish
One of the harder distinctions in horse conformation for some people is the difference between a fault and a blemish. Some things look really bad but don’t actually affect the performance of a horse. Examples of this are Capped elbows or hocks where the horse often rubs or bumps their elbow/hock on things causing a rough hairless callous to form. It doesn’t affect movement or soundness but isn’t very pretty for showing horses.

Head
In general the head should be shorter than the horse’s back and proportionate to the neck. It should be Triangular with strong definition and a straight nose. If looking at a horse from the front it should have a “kite” shape widest between the eyes and tapering to the muzzle. Eyes should be large and expressive.
In the image below you’ll see some common head types. Jug-headed horses have a more rectangular face. What is referred to as “elk-nosed” is a horse with a more more dished that comes back up to a convex point before the muzzle like a moose. Roman noses are horses with Convex faces, usually seen in drafts and Baroque breeds. Overshot and Undershot(also referred to as parrot or monkey mouthed) can cause a lot of problems with wear patterns on a horse’s teeth and eating problems if severe.


Neck
The neck of a horse should be Equal to or longer than the back of the horse, ideally the top of the neck is twice as long as the underside and joins in to the head at a good angle for flexion with a clean throatlatch below. The neck should tie in neatly at the withers and point of the shoulder on the chest. A little bit of a crest is desirable in some breeds, but excessively cresty necks can cause problems with flexibility. Crests are seen as masculine and more commonly seen as larger on stallions. Ewe necked horses are usually high headed and inflexible. Horses with lower set necks are ideal for western pleasure or trail but undesirable for most other sports


Withers
The Withers should be the highest point on a horse’s back. It’s where we measure a horse from and very important for saddle fit. Withers should be well muscled and sloping into the back as they are the point which connects the head and neck into the rest of the body. Lower withers (mutton withered) produce horses with rolling gaits that are heavier on the forehand. Higher withers result in more freedom of flexibility. However withers that are too high can result in problems with saddle fit and movement.


Back
The Back should be short and straight. Ideally the back is shorter than the underline. Long backs in horses tend to become swaybacked as they age if they don’t have proper conditioning. It can also contribute to problems with collection and flexion if not proportionate to the rest of the horse.


Shoulders
The shoulders of a horse are ideally at a 45 degree angle. They should be well muscled and sloping about the same length from point to girth as the back. Horses with an upright shoulder are generally more short and choppy in their stride and have trouble with extending. Horses with long sloping shoulders have no trouble extending but can have more issues with collecting. The figure below shows an overly sloped shoulder, ideal shoulder and upright shoulder along with the bone attachments.


Legs
A horse’s legs are the most vulnerable and important part of their body. Since horses spend almost 100% of their time on their feet it’s important to have sound legs and feet. The legs of a horse should be equal in length to their heart girth (the area where your horse’s girth or cinch goes on the saddle and where you’d measure your horse’s weight with a measuring tape).It is important for legs to be fairly straight and well attached with a solid base that’s even from top to toe. Base narrow and pigeon toed horses will move with a paddling motion bringing the legs out and around, while base wide or splay footed horses will have a winging gait the brings legs in and back out. See below for visual examples.

Knees (and Hocks)
Just like humans horses knees and hocks are important weight bearing structures and one of the common problem areas for horses. Horses with conformation faults in their knees and hocks often have soundness problems from carrying weight in ways to compensate for the fault which puts stress on other parts of the leg.



Hooves
Instead of just hooves we’re going to do a quick note about Pastern’s here because pasterns are really important! The last stretch of bone and muscle before you hit the final weight bearing hoof. Hooves are generally a lot stronger and ready for work but weak pasterns either too sloped or too upright can cause a lot more problems! Ideally the hoof and pastern should form one straight line down the middle from the fetlock to the ground at about a 45 degree angle. Long pasterns cause strain on the tendons in the leg while upright pasterns don’t have enough give and can cause concussion problems with the other parts of the leg.



Want to test out some conformation lines on real horses?
I've provided some older pictures of some of my boys and a few more recent ones of all the way around Gwaine that you can use to try and find some faults or good conformation. Feel free to draw on the images and share them with us to show what you've learned! (just don't use them for anything else or claim as your own the boys won't appreciate it!)
ALBUM HERE


Links to Resources Referenced
I used a lot of my own knowledge from years of horse experience while writing this, but in order to make sure my information was correct I used some resources and added some information that was also new to me. There’s always more to learn! Breed sites and organizations with horses will always have great information, as a loyal 4-H member and land grant university graduate I’m always partial to things produced by Universities and their extension offices. You can learn alot of vetted information from top experts at your local extension websites.
Judgng horses - Conformation Class from extension.org: LINK
Horse Conformation Analysis article from University of Arkansas: LINK
Unsoundness and Blemishes of Horses: Feet and Legs from University of Missouri Extension: LINK

Last edited on 2018-02-01 at 14:29:00 by Sabriel

Test your knowledge after reading through the learning center, or before if you know your stuff! Take the SPC Quiz: Quiz Link!!
stretch your brain and skills with this fun quiz! 😍
Answers will be scored and you will be messaged your score and badge. If you are an SPC member you can also get a special prize for taking the quiz!

The word search is just for fun! You can pm any of the SPC admins (Sabriel, Ducky or Io) for the key if you get stuck!
Word Search: LINK

The following links all lead to offsite games and quizzes that might be fun to play if you want to learn more about real horse conformation.
Conformation Judging Flash game: http://www.horse-games.org/Horse_Judging.html
Gaited horses confo quiz (do not have to enter email/name): http://www.gaitedhorses.net/quiz/Conformation1.html
Front leg confo game: https://www.purposegames.com/game/front-legs-horse-conformation-viewed-from-the-front-game
Easy Image Confo quizlets:
legs: https://quizlet.com/212583282/horse-4-h-conformation-flash-cards/
Body(real pictures): https://quizlet.com/189601630/conformation-flash-cards/
Harder no pics:
https://quizlet.com/181011863/horse-bowl-2016-2017-conformation-flash-cards/



Last edited on 2018-02-01 at 12:07:12 by Sabriel

Ducky- the link isn't working for me.

Woops, it will be fixed very shortly. c:



Last edited on 2018-02-01 at 12:08:58 by Ducky

All fixed up we were just missing a 2! Copy pasta on links with jumbled numbers and letters can be rough xD Everything should be straight now though, but let us know if there are problems with anything!

Love this, great job!

I took the quiz :D
I tried not to cheat but I had to glance back at this post a couple of times to look at the pictures before making my guesses

You guys have done GREAT on your quizes! Keep up the good work and learn learn learn!

Since there haven't been many quiz completions I've stopped checking daily for new ones, if you take the quiz please let me know so I can send you your score and badge!