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RE: [RC] Arabian Bloodlines--now selection by conformation - heidiI started out my horse "career" that way, too. But I've done a
complete about-face. I now start with the bodies. After
vetting 20,000 some-odd endurance horses, it has amazed me how quickly
poor bodies can trash the most beautiful sets of legs, and how horses
with good bodies stay sound for miles and miles and miles even if they
have leg faults. This doesn't mean that I condone poor legs--far
from it. But I think we have our priorities backward.
The Bedouins are amazed at our obsession with legs. They say
that they don't judge a man's character by looking at his feet. I
think they have a point.
Anyway, now, if I don't like the body, I just walk away and don't
look any further. I'm talking about balance--how close the horse
is to three-circle conformation, long hip, long well-laid-back
shoulder, short back. (I've yet to see a back "too short"--but
I've seen many horses that people claim have backs "too short" that
actually are lacking in hip and shoulder.) The neck should fit
the body. The depth of body should be proportional to the length
of leg. There should be sufficient humerus to fit the
shoulder. The forearm-to-cannon ratio should approach the ideal
of 2:1 and in any event should not be less than about 1.7:1. If I
get that far without walking away, THEN I start worrying about leg
faults....
Heidi
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