Page 112 - July 2016

Conformation
GUIDELINES
As summer turns to fall, both the major names and aspiring contenders alike in the Quarter Horse world will converge on locations like the Los Alamitos Equine sale in California, the LQHBA sales in Louisiana, the Ruidoso sales in New Mexico, the Heritage Place sales in Oklahoma, and the TQHA sale in Texas,
for their annual sales. All those individuals will be in search of the same thing . . . the next champion competitor, sire or broodmare.
Finding a quality yearling means making good choices and doing the proper research beforehand. That’s where conformation—an evaluation of the bone structure, muscles and body proportions of a horse—comes into play. Conformation examines the outline of a horse, although certain conformation features are dependent on breed and how the horse is used.
Longtime rancher and buyer Jimmy
Harrel knows just about every aspect of the conformation process that exists, thanks to a lifelong involvement in the agriculture industry that includes a degree from Oklahoma State University with a double major in animal science and agricultural education.
“There are probably things I look for that I
by John Moorehouse
didn’t in the past, just because of the difference in knowledge and things I learned from other people on what made a horse run,” Harrell said.
The Oklahoman credited two iconic trainers in the Quarter Horse industry—Jack Brooks and Paul Jones—for providing invaluable instruction on what to evaluate when looking at conformation.
“I’d like to think I’ve been with two of the best trainers in the nation,” Harrel said. “You can get the best horse in the world, but if you don’t have someone to train him, you won’t get the job done.”
Harrel said he still personally selects the horses he buys, with the bloodline of the horse being the initial determining factor.
“If it doesn’t have the pedigree, then I don’t look at them,” Harrel said.
Anyone looking at conformation needs
a good system, and the American Quarter Horse Association provides a chart with all the various points on the horse to evaluate for just this purpose. Flaws in conformation can affect performance, as well as the aesthetics, of the horse. In the interest of racing, we will evaluate only performance-related flaws here.
Make sure to evaluate any horse you want to buy from both sides, standing still and in motion, both at a walk and at a trot.
Harrel is a big believer in movement as a key tool in conformation. “If the horse doesn’t over stride by at least a foot, I’m not interested,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of horses with tremendous pedigree that didn’t have the movement and flexibility, that ended up and brought a lot of money [at sale]. They usually don’t run.”
Breathing also is a key part of the process, for Harrel. “We vet every horse before we bid on it, to check for soundness,” he said. “We check for scoping and the breathing passageway and all those things. Or, we don’t bid on them.”
With the sale season about to get into
full swing, consider AQHA’s Conformation Standards of the American Quarter Horse
chart a guideline as you examine your potential purchase, looking at each point of the horse and seeking to find any conformation faults that may have you regretting your purchase.
Always keep five areas of criteria in mind: balance, structural correctness, movement, muscling, and breed/sex character. Hopefully this will help as you head to your sale of choice.
Stance – Look for a horse able to stand at
ease with his legs well under him. Flaws:
Base narrow and base wide horses stand
either too close or too wide, respectively, as determined by the distance between the horse’s forelegs. Horses with base narrow are prone
to osteoarthritis, while base wide horses place inordinate stress on their lower leg joints.
Head – Short and broad, topped by small ears, wide-set eyes, large nostrils, short muzzle and firm mouth. Fault: small nostrils, which can limit horse’s breathing during major exertions such as racing.
Neck – Ideally measures approximately one third of the horse’s total length and is
a horizontal neck, with weight and balance aligned with forward movement. Flaw: bull
neck—which is having a short, thick, beefy neck—is considered a flaw for speed sports.
Shoulders – Medium-high distinct withers, extending back and combining with deep sloping shoulders to provide a balanced position for saddle.
Chest and Forelegs – Deep and broad chested, with well-muscled forearms that taper to the knee. Smooth joints and short cannon bones set on clean fetlocks, leading to medium pasterns supported
by healthy hooves. Flaws: A pigeon-toed horse has one or both hooves pointing inward, a correctable problem but only if treatment begins by the
first or second month after foaling. Splay-footed horses have one or both hooves pointing outward. Surgical correction usually is needed. Both pigeon- toe and splay-foot are congenital problems.
Back – Full and powerful across the kidneys, with deep, well-sprung ribs forming the barrel.
Hindquarters – Crucial for race horses as
the source of power and speed. Should be deeply muscled through the thigh down to the hock. Hocks should be wide set, deep and straight. Flaws: Straight-hocked horses have little angle between the tibia, hock joint, and femur, giving the lower leg the appearance
of a post and making the horse more prone to osteoarthritis. A horse with sickle hocks experiences additional stress on the plantar ligament.
Hooves – Well-rounded, roomy and have deep open heels. Flaw: A club foot is a hoof with a foot axis of at least 60 degrees. A club boot can be congenital or acquired.
110 SPEEDHORSE, July 2016