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> I saw a BLM gelding with the strangest
> conformation I have ever seen. 
I'm not here to defend or castigate wild/feral/BLM horses, or to deny 
that many have extremely unfavorable conformation, but I encourage folks 
to revisit Dr Deb Bennett's Principles of Conformation Analysis I in 
particular Chapter 5, "How to Look at a Horse: Is that really a fault, or 
is it the reasoning that's flawed?"

On pages 72-73 are illustrated "The Four P's" of conformation: Perfect, 
Primitive, Pathological and Pathogenic. The "Primitive" body type, while 
not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as the "Perfect" model, features 
the following virtues:

abundant bone
feet in good proportion to the body (neither too big nor too small)
straight front legs
large, flat joints
deep chest
deep, strong loins

These other conformational features, while not considered by most 
horsemen "attractive," do not detract from the functionality of the 
"primitive" animal:  Roman nose, relatively large head, large head, 
thicker throat latch, mutton withers, long, straight back, shorter, 
steeper croup, and slight sickle hock. Arguably mutton withers can be a 
liability in an endurance prospect, but feral horses don't seem to have 
cornered the market on this trait. 

Writes Dr. Deb; "You may not like the looks of primitive, but that horse 
is just as likely (maybe more likely!) to stay sound through years of use 
as the model called Perfect."

Just putting this out there as something to keep in mind when discussing 
the "quality" and conformation of feral horses.

Bobbie&Perle
Escondido, Calif.

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