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<< Trish wrote:
> 1. the loin coupling is broad, and set halfway between the ideal for the
> riding and racing types, that is, not as far back as on a racing horse
Trish or anyone!
Help, and sorry for being dumb! What is meant by the loin coupling?
Also, in all the talk about conformation I didn't see anything on the
slope of the shoulder. I have heard that the shallower the angle the
smoother the ride? Anyone know if this holds true? How does this
affect speed? >>
Dear Bambi, my teacher always used to tell me that the only dumb question is
the one you don't ask! When I first started seriously studying form to
function I didn't know what the heck the writers were talking about with
loin-couplings and all too!
Anyway, the loin-coupling is where the loin muscles, which lie across the
rearward part of the horses back, tie into, or couple with, the hip
structure of the horse. I don't know if this is a good explanation of
loin-coupling, maybe someone will have better--but, I do know how to tell you
to locate the loin coupling!--If you look at the "point" above a horse's
hips--that shallow peak from which the croup descends rearward and the back
descends forward--the loin-coupling is located at a point just in front of
this peak. On a horse whose back has been stressed--long backed horses with
rearward set loin couplings such as TBs are proticularly prone to this--you
can often see a distinct lumpiness of the muscles at this point--indicates a
horse whose back has been severely or repeatedly stressed.
As mentioned previous post, if you draw a line from one projecting
hip-bone to the other, an "ideal" riding horse's coupling would sit right on
top of--or even a bit ahead of, this line. Such a horse will not, however,
be as fast as a horse with a coupling set further behind this line--the
further back, the faster--but also, the weaker of a back! An endurance horse
needs a coupling set between the extremes of the riding (i.e., best
examples, the gaited breeds--) and the racing types. Look for a coupling set
just behind the "hip line"--a race horse has a long, narrow coupling, a good
riding horse a short, broad coupling--an endurance horse, again, needs one
set in between these extremes--myself, I'd go for short and broad over longer
and narrower any day.
A shallower shoulder angle will produce smoother action, an upright
shoulder, more speed--generally speaking. However, the slope of the shoulder
is not as important a consideration as most people think it is---the five
main factors which distinguish a riding type horse from a racing type horse
are:
1. the loin coupling, placement (rearward or forewward) and construction
(long and narrow as in TBs, or short and broad, as in gaited breeds)
2.the overall body balance--downhill (racing), uphill (ideal riding), or
level (the endurance horse)
3.limb substance! at least 8" per 1000 lbs!--besides adding to the strength
and bearing capacity of the bone, a greater limb substance also will
propotionaly increase hoof size--very important for a riding type horse!
4.the hind-limb angle is actually more important than the shoulder angle--a
more open stifle and hock angle promotes speed, yet at the price of
sacrificing the ability to "collect" easily--a riding horse needs to be able
to collect that he may carry his rider more easily, use his back better. So
you want more closed angles--be careful!--too closed and you end up with
extremely "z" shaped hind legs--means the hind leg lenth is long compared to
the foreleg length--such a horse will interfere---the ideal hock angle for an
endurance horse will be about 155-159 degrees(and you ought to have seen the
look on some horse owners faces when I got out my husbands carpenters
protractor and measured those hock angles--when I was looking for my
endurance prospect!)
5.the chest---neck attached lower with respect to the chest and shoulder in
the racehorse, flatter and straight, with no "arch" to it, the ideal riding
horse will have a higher placed neck, and will tend to carry it "arched"
naturally--again, your endurance horse will want something in between---
My gosh, look at the time--gotta go feed my horses! Hope this helps--
Trish
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