Normal conformation
Before you can spot the abnormal (covered in the following section), you need an idea of how a horse with normal conformation looks. When viewing a horse’s legs from the front, drop imaginary line from the top center of the leg (at chest level) down to the ground. The centerlines on the legs of a horse with good conformation essentially split each leg in half all the way to the ground and appear to be parallel with each other.Do the same thing when looking at the foreleg from the side. In your mind, draw a line from the top center of the leg all the way to the ground. A horse with good conformation has a centerline that splits the leg to the level of the fetlock (the horse’s ankle), and then falls to the ground just behind the heel. (See the figure for front and side views of straight legs.)
A horse with good conformation has a well-balanced appearance.When you view the hind leg from the side, imagine a line from the back of the hindquarters to the ground. In a horse with good conformation, this line runs along the back of the cannon bone to the bulbs of the heels. (See the following figure to check out correct hock angles. The hocks are the elbows of the back legs).
A horse with good hind-leg conformation is more likely to stay sound through the years.Although these lines and angles may sound like a lesson from geometry class, they’re important indicators of the effects of concussion, the impact of weight on the ground as it’s felt through the horse’s legs and hooves when it moves. A horse with proper leg angles is able to absorb the concussion more effectively and efficiently, thus placing less stress on its joints than a horse with the wrong angles. A horse with good angles is more likely to stay sound and healthy into old age than a horse with poor angles.
Conformation faults
No horse is perfect. Every horse — just like every human — has some physical characteristic that is less than pleasing to the eye. In horses, these conformation faults may not only affect the appearance of the horse, but also the horse’s ability to function properly in its work.Just because a horse has some conformation faults doesn’t necessarily make it a bad horse; however, being aware of those faults can help you know your horse’s limitations. Ask a vet, trainer, or wise horsy friend to help you learn to spot these faults.
Leg faults are a common problem for horses and can cause performance and health troubles. Spotting conformation faults in horses helps you anticipate a horse’s potential troubles. Here’s a list of some typical leg conformation faults that can affect a horse’s health or ability. You can learn to recognize them by sight. To spot these, view the horse when it’s standing still and alert:- Base narrow: Base narrow is the exact opposite of base wide (see next item). When viewed from the front, the distance between the imaginary centerlines of the legs is narrower at hooves than it is at the chest, meaning they tend to point inward from top to bottom. This construction occurs in wide-chested horses and tends to go with toed-in or toed-out hoof conformations. Horses with base narrow legs carry more weight on the outsides of their legs, which means that bruising, sidebone (where cartilage in parts of the foot become bony and hard), and arthritis commonly occur in these horses, affecting the outside of the leg regardless of whether the horse is toed-in or toed-out.
- Base wide: When viewed from the front, the centerlines of the legs of horses with base-wide conformations are wider at the hooves than they are at the chest, meaning they tend to point outward from top to bottom. This fault tends to show up in narrow-chested horses and usually goes hand-in-hand with toed-out hooves. As a result of this construction, the horse carries more weight on the inside of the leg, so the hooves tend to land on the inside first, creating more strain on the inside of the leg. Horses with this conformation are more prone to problems on the inside of the leg such as bruising, sidebone, and arthritis.
- Bowlegged: The centerlines of the legs of bowlegged horses, when viewed from the front, arc outward at the knees. If the bow in the legs is severe, the horse may be more prone to developing arthritis in the knees.
- Calf knee: The forelegs of calf-kneed horses appear to bend backward at the knee, when viewed from the side. When asked to work hard, horses with this problem may suffer from chip fractures of the knee.
- Knee-sprung: Knee-sprung horses, which also are described as being over at the knee, have forelegs that appear to bend forward, when viewed from the side. If the problem is severe, the horse is prone to developing issues with the sesamoid bone, with resulting lameness.
- Knock-kneed: The legs of horses that are knock-kneed, when viewed from the front, have knees that appear to come together. If this construction is severe enough, it can cause arthritis in the knees.
- Sickle hocks: With sickle-hock construction, the horse has too much angulation of the hock and stifle. Sickle hocks are the opposite of being straight behind, and can result in arthritis of the hock if severe enough.
- Straight behind: The straight-behind build means the horse has very little angle to its hock and stifle. Horses that are straight behind are much more prone to hock arthritis and locking kneecaps.
- Toed-in: Also called pigeon-toed, this conformation fault results in hooves that point toward each other. The legs usually start to turn inward at the level of the fetlock but may start as high as the point where the leg meets the chest. This conformation causes the hooves to paddle, or swing outward while moving, creating interference between the legs and possible injury.
- Toed-out: Also known as splayfooted, toed-out hooves point away from each other. Similar to toed-in conformation, the toeing out may start at the fetlock or higher up the leg. Horses with this problem tend to wing, or swing inward while they’re moving. Sometimes the hooves can wing in to the point where they hit each other.