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Ride&TrainCONFORMATION CLINIC
This gelding isn’t quite as balanced
as Geldings A and B, the first thing I
look for. His neck is long, but his back
is also long, and he’s lacking length of
hip. His withers have definition, and
his croup is quite peaked, making his
back appear dropped and weak.
His head is a bit plain, but his
throatlatch is clean and well shaped.
He appears slightly ewe-necked,
with a bulge on his neck’s underside.
His shoulder shows good slope for
a reaching stride, and his depth of
heartgirth is good. A lean horse, he
has adequate muscling but could
use some conditioning.
He has flat knees and well-sloped
front pasterns to match his shoul-
ders for a smooth ride. Though it
looks like a bowed tendon on his
left front leg, I suspect we’re seeing
his right front leg behind, giving
the false appearance of a bow. He’s
sickle-hocked, with his hind legs
standing dramatically underneath
him. To achieve the desired plumb
line to the ground through his hind
cannon bones, his hocks would have
to be behind him. This gelding is also fairly well
balanced, with his body dividing
into equal thirds from front to back.
However, his topline isn’t quite as
ideal as Gelding A’s, with a slightly
longer back and a peaked, steeper
croup. He also doesn’t have as much
definition in his withers, and he
lacks muscle definition.
Though his head is turned toward
us, it appears to have good quality,
with large, intelligent eyes. His neck
is of adequate length, with a clean
throatlatch, but it ties into his chest
quite low, which may make him
heavier on the forehand. His shoul-
der is well sloped, and he’s relatively
deep in his heartgirth.
He’s standing out over his front
legs, which accentuates the look of
his low neck tie-in, and also gives
a bit of the appearance of being
calf-kneed. However, I’ll give him the
benefit of the doubt, and assume it’s
an optical illusion. His front pasterns,
though partially obscured by grass,
appear to be of good length and
slope. His hocks have a good set,
neither too straight nor too angled. This bay gelding exhibits a lot
of quality—he’s very balanced with
good substance and he stands
square on all four legs. His topline
is lovely, with a good set of withers
that’ll help hold a saddle in place
and a short, strong back. He’s also
nicely turned over the croup with
good length of hip.
His pretty head shows a bold
eye and attractive earset, and his
neck is long and clean, with a tidy
throatlatch. Another plus, his neck
ties in high to his chest, which
helps him have a light, nimble
front end. He has good depth to
his heartgirth and good slope
to his shoulder, which enables a
reaching stride.
His knees are straight and flat
as they should be, and his front
pasterns show the same good slope
as his shoulders, which should give
a smooth, comfortable stride. His
hocks are ideally angled to help
give him power in his hind end.
He’s adequately, though not overly,
muscled and should make a nice
performance horse.
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Gelding A Gelding B Gelding C
1 st 2 nd 3 rd