CONFORMATION ANALYSIS
Comparison of Ethan Allen and Dexter is one of the most interesting studies we’ve had the opportunity to present.
The two horses are amazingly similar in some ways. Most importantly, they are both nearly level in overall body balance, meaning that thrust from
the hind legs will tend not only to push the horse forward but to cause him to rise in front. This lightens the load on the forelimbs and speeds the breakover of the fore hooves, protecting the horse from injuries to the tendons while also allowing him to reach forward with the forelimbs farther and more easily.
The horses are coupled similarly too, both being broad and smooth across the top of the back in the ribless area just in front of the points of hip (the loinspan). In neck length and the length of the freespan of the back the two are likewise essentially equal, and both have excellent high, shapely withers that carry the topline of the
neck well back so that the neck appears to spring from the center of the body. Both have shapely necks which allow them to easily raise the base of the neck (arch the neck) in movement. Dexter’s shoulder is a little longer than Ethan Allen’s; this is a reflection of Dexter’s greater heart girth, the first factor we have seen which undoubtedly put the Hambletonian at an advantage.
The two horses differ in many other ways. The first thing the student of conformation will learn by examining photographs of Standardbred Horses is that they almost universally stand “high on their legs”—or you can say that they “stand over
less ground,” presenting a boxier silhouette than Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses or Morgans. This is not due to their having a shorter back, but rather to the fact that they have a more upright shoulder coupled with a noticeably more sloping pelvis and croup, the combination of which significantly shortens the body length.
Another big difference is in the shape of the hindquarter. Whereas Ethan Allen presents a nearly level croup, Dexter’s is a whopping 14.1 degrees steeper than the Morgan’s while his pelvis slopes more strongly also by about 3 degrees. Steepness of the croup has less functional impact than most other aspects of conformation, the main effect being to lower the carriage of the tail. A steeper pelvis, however, has major biomechanical ramifications.
During his lifetime, about the only criticism expressed concerning
Ethan Allen’s conformation was the crookedness of his hind legs. By “crookedness” observers meant a noticeable angulation at the hock joint. By my measurement, Ethan Allen’s hocks are about 9 degrees more “angulated” than Dexter’s.
His stifle angles are almost 7 degrees more closed as well; overall, in other words, Dexter has straighter hind limbs. This conformation is universally advantageous in racehorses, whether they are flat-track gallopers or harness horses, because a straighter hind limb delivers thrust more efficiently from the powerful
haunch muscles to the ground. Straighter hind limbs are less prone to “wobble” at the hock joint and less liable to develop injuries such as curbs, spavins and tendon strains, which affect the caudal aspect of the hind limb.
Dexter’s hind limbs are not only straighter, they are also longer by about 2%. His pelvis is larger than Ethan Allen’s also by about the same amount—not huge increases, but with high functional significance. The bottom line is that Dexter has a more efficient and powerful “engine” than
Ethan Allen. I think that in comparing the two horses, we have to consider that Dexter’s superior hindquarter was at least as important in making him a harness champion as the many “speed lines” in his tailfemale ancestry.
Does this allow us to say that Dexter outclassed Ethan Allen? By no means. In their matchups, Ethan
Allen unquestionably made Dexter extend himself. If Hiram Woodruff’s observation is true—that “the running mate beat Dexter”—then it is also true that Ethan Allen kept pace with the runner throughout three grueling heats, beating Dexter in the last one by several lengths. From this we may note that there is more than one way for a horse to learn to go fast. Particularly for trotters, whose diagonal coordination puts them continually in danger of interference and injury, it is important that the animal be able to break the fore hooves over quickly and easily with each step. At this Ethan Allen absolutely excelled, and conformation analysis bears out the fact: Whereas Dexter’s hind limbs are longer than Ethan Allen’s, Ethan Allen’s forelimbs are longer than Dexter’s, allowing him a greater forward reach and accounting for the “free and high” action noted by J. Dunn Walton and other contemporary observers. Ethan Allen’s forearm-tocannon ratio is better than Dexter’s too, with a shorter cannon and longer forearm that sets the knee closer to the ground, a configuration that assists in speeding breakover and increases the efficiency of the fore stride. In comparing the conformation of these two great harness champions, what we thus discover is that the race was between two horses who used their bodies quite differently. A bit of deep insight about horses is that the sweetness of their temperament and their apparent degree of willingness is often directly linked to their level of physical comfort. Ethan Allen’s attitude remained pleasant and willing throughout a long life in which extreme athletic performance was continually demanded of him. He was beautiful to look at, moved with lightness and stylish grace and had an ideal mouth which was the joy of every driver who ever took the reins behind him. He was known as an extremely “clean” mover who almost never interfered, and my studies of his skeletal remains certainly bear this out (see “Bones Speak Volumes,” EQUUS
482). Despite having a less powerful hindquarter than his rival Dexter, Ethan
Allen used the whole of his physical mechanism harmoniously and thus with maximum efficiency.
Dexter had more difficulty being sweet. He was much less trusting than Ethan
Allen and was also more aggressive. When broken to harness he learned early to brace his neck and lean against the bit, which resulted in a reputation as a hard-mouthed puller.
Horses who thrust with great force are prone to adopting this “solution”; they push so hard that they tilt right over their own balance onto the forehand. Then, rather than taking the weight of the cart as they should by coming up to the breastplate and tugs, they instead try to drag the rig forward by using their neck and jaws—similar to bracing one’s arms to push a lawnmower through thick grass.
The more the horse tilts forward and braces his neck, the more weight he bears on the forelimbs and the later and more difficult the breakover of his fore hooves becomes. Budd Doble was able to improve Dexter’s habits by taking him out for steady early-morning jogs at no more than moderate speed, flexing the horse’s neck and jowls in order to teach him not to brace, and allowing the gelding to learn that to go forward does not have to mean to lean forward.
Doble taught Dexter to race efficiently rather than simply flee, changing him into an unbeatable champion by teaching him to make better use of his physical mechanism.