Looking at the horse
Title.
Apart from getting blown away by the beauty of this black pure bred Spanish horse we also see that he has a very good conformation for a riding horse.
How can we see that?
To start with we take a look at the wither of the horse. One of the key element of conformation (of the riding horse) is the wither. When the horse is without the rider he puts most of his weight on the front end of his body, but when carrying a rider he is forced to even out the weight by stepping in under his back with the back legs. This is because the place on the back where the rider sits actually is a very weak spot on the horses skeleton. The front legs and shoulder blade is namely not attached to the spine of the horse which means that the whole spine of the horse is being carried up by the back legs. (the front legs are attached to the spine with strong ligaments and muscles) and the rider sits right at the end of this. No wonder he needs to shift the weight backwards when a rider comes on him. So a good riding horse therefore needs a wither that is as tall or preferably a bit taller than his croup. This makes it a lot easier for the back legs to step in and distribute the weight. As you can see on the line between the wither and the croup this horse has no problem carrying a rider.
The next thing we look at is the kidney area of the back. We want this area to be a bit arched upwards and "full" ie muscular. This horse has a very good kidney area.
Then we look at the distance from the tail to where the pelvis bone joins the spine, or the highest point of the croup of the horse. We want this area to be long, as it is here that the pivot of the spine is, and if this area is to short the horse will never be able to pivot the weight of the rider efficiently. This horse has an excellent back line.
Then we take a look at where his stifle (back knee) and front elbow are situated. By drawing a line from the back knee or stifle of the horse we also see if the angle of the hind legs are any good. And on this horse the back knee is lower than his elbow, which is what we are looking for.
We can also take a look at the angle of the shoulder and pelvis of the horse. Basically the more upwards tilted angle of the shoulder the more upwards moving horse you have. So lets say you want to do competition dressage... You want a horse that moves forwards but with a lot of air... You have to chose a horse with a similar angle on the shoulder as this horse has. If you are looking for a driving horse or a more baroque model a slightly more upwards tilted angle is desirable.
This is just a taste of what we are putting up on our website Used Saddles the near future. Do take a look and dont hesitate to comment or write your own article. We are looking for people to write about western saddles and how to fit a western saddle.
PS: This horse is for sale... Contact us for more info!