CONFORMATION DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ECLIPSE, MATCHEM AND HEROD
Matchem and Herod show classic “stayer” conformation: Like their Turkmene ancestors, they stand high on their legs, with noticeably long forearms. The angulation of the hocks and stifles is wide open, yielding a fairly “straight” hind limb. The pelvis, upon which the muscles of locomotion all take root, is of only
The possibility of error increases when conformation analysis is attempted on paintings or engravings of horses rather than on actual photographs. Careful scrutiny of the most famous images of the three Thoroughbred “foundation sires,” however, reveals no reason to doubt the accuracy of artists’ renditions. The tracings of Herod and Eclipse presented here are exactly as the painter had them; I have altered the image of Matchem to stand him up “square” because in the original painting he is “stretched behind.” The main reason I consider it important to scrutinize these images is to point out the great similarity in conformation between Matchem and Herod, and their contrast with Eclipse. It is obvious that Eclipse is a different style of horse; this is borne out by pedigree analysis, which shows that Eclipse carries a much higher percentage of Hobby “sprinter” blood than do the other two sires.
moderate length, about 31 percent of the body length in both horses. The pelvis slopes moderately, 12 degrees in Herod and 16 degrees in Matchem. Most importantly, the body balance (red line) is nearly level in both, going downhill about 1.5 degrees in both horses.
Eclipse by contrast shows many conformation points of the successful sprinter. He is a smaller and more compact horse than either Matchem or Herod, has shorter forearms and considerably more angulation in the hind limb. Like the other sires, he has high withers, long shoulders that are well laid back, and a deep heartgirth. However, he has the largest and most thickly-muscled hindquarters of the three; the proportional length of the pelvis is 37 percent, right up there with many modern Quarter Horses. Eclipse combines this, however, with two features quite unlike Quarter Horses—a short back and relatively level pelvis that slopes only 10 degrees. These are features inherited through his sire line, from the Darley “Arabian,” which helped him to win at heat-racing, the flat-track style of his day. vs. Eclipse. Which does Kelso resemble more—a sprinter or a stayer? Kelso (1957) was by Your Host by Alibhai by Hyperion, discussed in the Touchstone Division sidebar following. Your Host was out of Boudoir by Mahmoud, a grandson of the great Mumtaz Mahal. Kelso was out of Maid of Flight by Count Fleet; she out of Maidoduntreath by Man o’ War, the great Matchem-line stallion whose pedigree was reviewed in our last installment.