Everyone has different opinions of what makes a horse athletic these are just a few of the things that I have found I prefer.  These are all my horses (or were my horses) I am not putting any horse down or criticizing others opinions – simply trying to point out differences and how they may effect the horse.

Definitions that will be useful for our conversation.

• Back = length of top line from point of the whither to the last rib.
• Loin = length of the top line from last rib to point of hip.
• Belly = length from the elbow to stifle.

Note: I am aware that the horses in many of these photo’s are very thin.  Many of the horses I get, come to me by way of public auctions and donations.   Some are fresh off the race track and very young. Often abrupt changes of feed and work, can change their physic, very quickly, for the worse.

Some of these photos are “on arrival day” pictures.  We enjoy before and after pictures to document changes  in physic that proper dressage training can induce.

And lastly confirmation is much easier to “see” on a thin horse as the main points are not covered by fat.

Each of these horses are being lovingly cared for many have already found forever homes with other owners.

So which one do you buy?  I had them all even though they are distinctly different each is an athlete in its own right.  If you are an astute student you will see one theme in most of the horses I chose.  See if you can figure it out!

Over all the balance of the horse should basically make a square in its shape. If you lovingly cut the horses neck off at the shoulder you can see a box shape.  It should be a tall rectangle or square. Not longer than it is tall.

I have a good example of too long below. He is standing at a bit on an angle but if you cut his neck off he is a long rectangle. He is simply too long bodied.

Here is a better balanced horse who is not so long. If we cut his neck off he is a tall rectangle.

The reason we might prefer this confirmation more is not the height, but the balance.  The 2nd horse will be able to balance himself because the length of his lever is shorter. IF all things are equal I pick the horse that is short bodied over longer bodied.

Both the top 2 horses give up some in length of neck.  The length of neck helps balance the pendulum.  I like the length of neck of the 3rd horse compared to the rest of his body.

The 2nd and 3rd horses are both VERY athletic.  However, the temperament of the 1st horse is what put him in the Kalsem Paddock. Obviously sometimes temperament is the most important.

Top line is related to length of body but, there are some specific points to consider when looking at a horses back.  I prefer the back to be short even more important I want the loin to be short.  My main reasoning is form to function of the athlete horse.  Remember physics in high school?  The shorter the bar the stronger it is.  You know you can break a long stick but not a short one….. Same with a horses back the shorter the stronger.  The form of rounding UP in the back, to do the more balanced athletic movements requires the horse to have strength in his top line.

In addition to a short TOPLINE if prefer a long belly.  The truth is that these two things are related to the angles of the hips and shoulders – which many people struggle to see and understand.  I struggled to “see” shoulder angles for years, until I started to compare toplines and bellies it didn’t become clear to me how the differences effect movement.  Additionally its more readily seen on a thinner muscled horse like a Thoroughbred than a heavy muscled horse like an old fashioned Quarter Horse.  Thus my approach here.

Below I have a picture of a Thoroughbred with a short back and short loin, the two don’t always come together but often they do.  He has a fairly long belly (because he is standing leaning forward it appears shorter) None the less his elbow could be further forward pushing the point of his shoulder forward making his shoulder angle less upright and more horizontal. (the angle from the point of the shoulder to the point of the wither)

This is a good picture to see the angles of the horses shoulder and hip (just because of the way the light hits).

Speaking athletically the more horizontal the shoulder the longer step he can take in front.  The pendulum can swing further forward.  Generally speaking the foreleg does not go beyond the angle of the shoulder angle.  Luckily I have a perfectly placed gate in the back ground that is just slightly behind the maximum shoulder angle.  You can see then he really will not take a HUGE stride in front.(further than the gate but not a lot)  Again, he is leaning a bit forward but over all he could have a nicer shoulder (longer belly).

This lovely grey horse has a long back and a long loin (but not a strong back) – its a bit hard to see on this photo because of the angle. This horse also has a long belly but in relation to his back its not helpful because it doesn’t push the shoulder angle forward (horizontal).  He was one of my all time favorite horses, very excellent at what he did but, he was NOT very athletic.

The last picture is pretty good shot  it shows the front leg parallel to the shoulder angle at (close to) maximum extension.  This horse was showing off and playing, he was not physically fit and will improve in movement a bit  as his condition improves. The information we want to get across here is the forearm(leg) and shoulder are parallel when forward and the leg extension will not break the plane of the shoulder angle.  SO if you want a horse with a BIG extension in front he needs to have a more horizontal shoulder compared to vertical.  If the horses elbow sets in front of a plumb line dropped from the whither the angle of the shoulder will be more horizontal than vertical.