Advanced Conformation: Blemishes & Unsoundnesses

Ok so what's the difference? Both are ugly things, usually on the legs. The difference is blemishes are just ugly, unsoundnesses affect the horse's movement (ie painful!). In some cases an unsoundness can turn into a blemish (splints are a very common example of that).



What are these things and where are they found? I'm so glad you asked!



1. Capped Elbow (aka shoe boils).
- happens when the horse lies down in its stall and the shoe puts pressure on the elbow. Aggravated by insufficient bedding. Rarely causes unsoundness.
2. Capped Knees
- soft liquid swelling on the knee. Caused by insufficient bedding, kicks or falls.
3. Sore shins
- usually due to excessive concussion
4. High ringbone
- a bony growth on the pastern bone. If the growth is not near a joint the horse may become sound after rest. High ringbone is arthritis and calcification in the joint between the two pastern bones. If the bones fuse the horse may come sound. Low ringbone occurs between the pastern bone and the coffin bone, inside the hoof. This is more serious and the horse is unlikely to be sound. Caused by poor confirmation (upright pasterns), too much concussion, and horses who carry weight on one side of the foot.
5a. Sand cracks
- split into toe, quarter, heel. Cracks start at the bottom and go up or the top down. If sensitive laminae is involved horse will likely be lame. Caused by poor nutrition, poor hoof care, poor working conditions, feet too dry/moist, founder, fever, genetics, injury to coronary band.
5b. Abscess
- usually in the foot and can cause extreme lameness. Treatment includes poulticing and foot bathing. Once it pops (you'll see stinky gucky stuff) it heals quickly so long as it is kept clean. If the abscess is very deep the vet may need to prescribe antibiotics.
5c. Laminitis (aka founder)
- an inflammation of the sensitive laminae of the hoof. Usually caused by a toxin in the system -- when a horse overeats fresh grass in the spring, gets into the feed bin, eats grass clippings, etc. Exceptionally painful, the horse will stand with its front toes pointed out in front and all the weight on the hind legs. There will also likely be heat in the foot and a digital pulse. Call the vet immediately.
6a. Cracked heels
- have you ever had chapped lips or hands? This is essentially the horse equivalent. Found in horses that are out in the mud, snow or frequently bathed. Important to clean and dry the pastern area regularly. If untreated can be very painful and cause lameness.
6b. Navicular
- a degenerative change in the navicular bone; more common in middle-age + horses. Causes progressive lameness (can be intermittent); horse may also take shorter steps and seem to trip more often. Xrays to diagnose.
7. Bowed Tendon (aka tendonitis)
- inflammation of the tendon. Classified as high, middle or low, this is due to tendon strain. Can be from any number of things: a bad step, mud, too-tight or improperly applied bandages, poor conformation (calf knees, long sloping pasterns, low heels with long toes, etc), incorrect shoeing, etc. Care includes rest, cold packs, and potentially corrective shoeing.
8. Splint
- usually due to concussion, usually in young horses, usually in the front legs. Ok that's enough of the usuallys. Heat, pain, lameness, and a hard swelling near the splint bones. Rest (usually - sorry couldn't resist - 4 to 6 weeks) and cold. Usually full recovery although the bump may always remain.
9. Sesamoiditis
- an inflammation between the seasmoid bones. Generally caused by concussion (esp in high-speed, high-impact events: racing, steeplechasing, etc) or poor conformation (long pasterns, low heels)
10. Sidebone
- the calcification of the lateral cartilages of the coffin bone. hahaha I'll never forget my pony-club coach chanting that at us. But then, more credit to her -- it worked :) Memorize that phrase and feel intelligent forever. Or at least 30 seconds or so. Usually just a blemish. Found primarily in older heavy horses.
11. Throughpin
- the creepiest and or coolest of the squishy issues, throughpin is caused when the tendon sheath produces extra fluid and stretches. So at the back of the upper part of the hock you get a squish bulge that you can push through to the other side (that'd be the cool/creepy part of things). Usually caused by stress combined with poor conformation (esp sickle hocks).
12. Bog Spavin
- a distension of the joint capsule of the hock. Yeah doesn't that sound impressive? Otherwise known as a squishy swelling on the front of the hock. Usually does not cause lameness. Caused by trauma (when the joint is stressed it produces too much fluid which makes it puffy and squishy) or poor conformation (straight hocks).
13. Bone Spavin
- arthritis in the small bones of the hock. You'll see a hard swelling low on the inside of the hock. Painful until the bones fuse, then horse may be sound. That being said, if the arthritis is in the upper part of the hock, when it fuses the hock cannot move correctly and the horse will still be lame. Caused by poor conformation (cow hocks, bowed hocks, and very straight hocks).
14. Capped Hock
- soft liquid swelling on the hock. Caused by insufficient bedding, kicks or falls.
15. Curb
An inflammation of the plantar ligament of the hock. Generally causes lameness and takes a long time to heal. Caused by trauma or poor conformation (sickle hocks).
16. Windpuffs (aka windgalls)
- firm squishiness (does that make sense to anybody other than me) usually found in the fetlocks; technically a distention of a tendon sheath, bursa, or joint capsule. Feel smarter yet? Caused by concussion (esp seen in horses who start hard work too young) or poor conformation (upright pasterns). A horse who is prone to them will be throughout its life; they'll usually be worse after hard work. Should be cool to the touch -- if there's heat, it's a sign of something more serious.

So I realize that's a fair amount of information, but some of it you can remember just by thinking it through. For instance, front legs tend to take a lot more concussion than the hind legs, so that's where you're more likely to find concussion-based lamenesses. Conversely, the hind legs need to use a lot more power and so are more prone to strain related issues. "Capped" anything is likely squishy and not too serious.

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Intermediate Conformation: Legs

The trick to analyzing leg conformation is to use a plumb line (ummmm think string with a weight tied to one end :). If you're standing in front of the horse and drop the line from the middle of the chest, both legs should run parallel to it and equal distance from it (A).




If the legs go farther apart from the line at the toe than the shoulder, they are said to be base wide (B). Horses whose feet are closer to the line at the bottom are... base narrow (C). Horses whose toes point towards the line are said to be toe-in (D) and those whose toes point away are toe-out (E). Yeah I know, really creative naming. Horses that toe-out often wing, whereas horses that toe-in often paddle (see Movement).

When you look at the legs from the side and drop that same line down it should again run straight down the centre (A - below ). If the knee appears to be in front of the string the horse is said to be "Over at the Knee" (B), if it is behind the string the horse is said to be calf kneed or "Back at the Knee" (C).



So as you might imagine, the same thing is equally important for the hind legs. Correct should be straight (A). No real surprise there :) Base wide is exactly the same as it is on the front legs (B). Now with the hind legs, the hocks are more likely to be closer to the line than the feet -- this is referred to as cow hocked (C). Toe-in (D) and Toe-Out (E) are exactly the same as for the front legs.



Viewing from the side, a line dropped from the point of the dock should run down the back of the hock (A). If the legs are out behind the line they're said to be "standing behind" (B) - ok really, if you want creativity and randomness go read the advanced theory. If the legs are in front of the line they're said to be sickle hocked (C) (slightly more creative there). Standing behind is going to lack in power, sickle hocked will be prone to injury.




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Beginner Conformation

Conformation is how the horse is put together. The horse should be well balanced and look like it's well put together. This makes for a more attractive horse, but more importantly it makes for a sounder horse who's muscles and joints can work correctly. Different types of conformation will be more appropriate for different sports. The best conformation for olympic level dressage is quite different than the best conformation for plowing a field. The basic ideals though remain the same and good conformation helps the horse move well.

Here are some of the basics:

Head - proportionate with the rest of the body, wide at the forehead tapered at the muzzle, refined. Eyes should be large and alert. Face can be slightly dished ("farmer's wisdom" has horses w/ a Roman nose - bulging out - being stubborn). The nostrils should be large and wide (allows more air in). Avoid a large and heavy head.

Neck - should be proportionate to the head and body. It should go straight from the throat to the shoulder.

Back - should be straight, strong, and short; avoid a sway back

Loins - should be short strong and wide. Avoid too long.

Croup - well defined, rounded.

Chest - should be deep and full with a deep girth.

Legs - properly aligned and proportioned (see intermediate).

There is LOTS of literature out there about how precisely to analyze all of these. There are all sorts of lines and angles to memorize. See the reference section for these. For the easiest understanding check out the Threshold Picture Guide. It's little but useful :)

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