By the time I was 20, I had seen and worked with several hundred horses of all sorts of breeds and uses and types.

There are a few things that are necessary for any riding horse to have a long, useful career.

- solid, well-formed feet with no major toeing in or out, tracking fairly straight
- appropriately straight and well-boned legs FOR THE BODY and USE.
- a clean, well muscled topline, with no obvious deformity

Yeah... that's about it. A short thick neck may be harder to collect, but it doesn't effect the bottom line of whether the horse will stay sound. Neither does a straight shoulder. Or slight sickle hocks, being slightly over at the knee, slightly back at the knee, narrow through the chest, short or long back, an ugly head.

I PERSONALLY prefer a horse with a good shoulder, long, clean, well-boned legs, approximately equal fore and hind (meaning if you cut a horse in thirds they are approximately equal), a clear, bright eye and alert expression, well arched neck and slightly higher neckset, deep heart girth, well rounded hindquarters with a more open hip angle, and flat, square knees. But you know what? I can ride a fugly, sound horse all day long.

One of the most GORGEOUS horses I ever dealt with was everything I described- but he toed in severely. He could clear 6' with ease, but after 4 years of hard jumping, he developed ringbone and had to be retired completely. I believe he was 12? He was the most lovely horse to ride- utterly soft, responsive, willing, phenomenally smooth and supple to ride, and would try anything for the person he trusted. He jumped like a dream- knees high and square, gorgeous release and extension through his back, great snap up behind. But he was dead lame at a young age because he was functionally unsound due to the bone structure of his lower legs.

When I look at a horse I look at the legs, the shoulder, the topline, the hip, then the head.

 
image image image image Adopt one today! Adopt one today! Adopt one today!Adopt one today!

Horse and I, we're dancers in the Dark

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