MARCH 2006 • VOLUME 7 • ©HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine

Now just to make things more interesting for everyone what if we can change the layout of the horse’s bones and their angles?

Go back and read that last line, one more time. No I am not kidding you, we can through training change the angles, muscular and ligamentous attachments. Which will to some extent effect conformation of a horse.

Why can’t anything be simple???

This may be something we want to consider when we are judging conformation on any horse. The more advanced the training on the horse and the type of training of horse will have some bearing on the conformation of any horse.

For example, when we talk about the balanced horse. This balanced frame is the basis of most equestrian disciplines. In this frame, the horse is able to carry weight equally on the hindquarters and forehand.

First of all we need to define five bones in the horse’s body.

The Humerus.

The Femur

The Shoulder

The Pelvis

The Cannon Bone.

The CANNON BONE is found on all four legs of the horse. It is under the knee on the front legs and below the hock on the hind legs.

The SHOULDER BONE is situated close to the withers and goes towards the front of the horse and angles downward. The angle of the shoulder bone can usually be seen quite clearly. And you can feel for the top of the shoulder bone.

The HUMERUS connect the shoulder bone to the elbow at the top of the horse’s front legs. It angles from the front of the horse down towards the elbow.

The PELVIS

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