CONFORMATION
#1. The name and pedigree of this 11-year-old gelding are unknown; I took the photo on a trip to Australia. A former harness trotter, he now works as a field hunter with some dressage on the side. This is an excellent all-around individual who stands 16:1 hands and weighs in at about 1200 pounds. I especially admire the long and beautifully sloped pelvis, good coupling, clean well-formed joints and good bone substance.
#2. Naked Willow, also known as Dragon, owned by Aarene Storms: This is a lighterbodied individual than horse #1, but still has the prominent withers, clean and welldefined shoulder bed, good coupling and well-formed joints. See the “Dressage” sidebar for images of this mare in performance and look at the spectacular picture of her free-trotting presented in our last installment (“Successful Second Acts,” EQUUS 509).
#3. Gunner, owned by Liz Grastorf:
A more compact horse than horses
#1 and #2, Gunner has a shorter back and broad, stout rib cage and coupling. He has perfect hind angles. See the “Jumping (Stadium)” sidebar to see this powerful and athletic horse in performance.
#4. She’s A Kitten, owned by Casey Bohon: A little longer in the hind legs than horses #1, #2 and #3, but with large, well-formed hocks. The coupling and pelvis are also good. The horse is not “over at the knee” or “sprung,” but presents a “full” profile over the front of the knee because the distal radius, carpus and cannon articulate correctly (most European-bred Warmbloods demonstrate this conformation; unfortunately, by contrast, Americans are used to seeing horses that are “over straight” or incipiently calf-kneed. For a full explanation, see “Structural Excellence in the Forelimb,” EQUUS 419). This mare demonstrates a capped elbow (a blemish), and the hind cannons show scars from pin-firing (another blemish; pin-firing is often done at the track to prevent “splints”).
#5. Mortal
Zin, owned by Cynthia Lovejoy, who reports that this wellbred 2009 colt raced until he was almost 9, earning $406,000 in 161 starts. This is the all-around best-conformed horse in this baker’s dozen Standardbreds, a beautifully balanced song to the eye in every way. Cynthia reports that she rides him Western in a bosal, and that the horse is essentially “spook proof” so that they can go out and have fun anywhere it is safe to ride. She also says he has “a goofy personality and makes me laugh every day.” (Photo by CMG Photography)
#6. Barooga, owned by Cindy King. Of all the Standardbreds in this article, this one is the most like a Quarter Horse in conformation. Readers who have followed this series will remember that the Standardbreds, Saddlebreds and Quarter
Horses all come from the same base population (see “An American Original,”
EQUUS 503). Like most Quarter Horses, Barooga balances strongly downhill
(meaning that the horse is higher behind, with overall body balance (OBB) greater than -5 degrees). The withers are lower and meatier, and the shoulder noticeably steeper than in the other horses presented. The coupling is wide and strong, however, and there is plenty of chest depth. This animal shows low hoof angles, especially in front, and there’s a healed wire cut to the lateral heel on the right fore, as well as a low bow on the left fore. The right knee is marked. Barooga is currently being trailridden and learned to canter on trail rides by following other horses.
Cindy writes to report that “At first, Barooga would act up when faced with something difficult to maneuver such as a lumbered area with lots of downed trees… he would prance around, whirling and backing up. Gradually he got over this and became forward and bold. …I will close with a story…I hadn’t had [Barooga] long [before I] took him up to Iron Mountain, Virginia, to trail ride with two friends. A very bad…storm came up as we were riding on the rather steep road…lightning was striking all around us. My friends dismounted…I started racing down the mountain in a big trot. Well—then my bridle came apart and the bit came out of his mouth. The reins were still around his neck while the rain and lightning continued. Barooga actually halted, let me dismount and put the bridle back together and put it on him. Then he carried me safely down the mountain…what a good boy!”
#7. Dressy Gal, owned by Deanna Ramsay, who reports that this mare raced from two to six, with 12 wins in 76 starts. Conformationally stout and durable, she stands just a little high on her legs, especially behind. The coupling, shoulder and chest are good, and she has the shortest head in the group. “Dressy” was given to Deanna by the trainer, who had decided to retire her due to “brain issues,” which as Deanna says “basically translates to being sensitive. She was becoming undrivable on the track due to anxiety.”
“When I got her,” Deanna continues, “I had no specific plans for her, but thought she’d make a nice extra trail horse. …She has always been stellar. It took a little work to teach her to bend (it’s not something they have to do in the shafts)—so that I wouldn’t lose a knee at speed on a winding trail. But other than that, she took to Competitive Trail riding, Ride and Tie, and Set Speed (similar to long-distance endurance) very well. She is fast but steady, and extremely good on her feet. She will trot up and down hills without any change in speed, and never trips on rough ground. And she can read trail ribbons, even in the dark when I can’t see a thing!
“In the first two years she couldn’t canter. I rode her long and low for many miles and she developed a totally different, much smoother trot and eventually learned to canter. She galloped first (going up hills, surrounded by Arabians) and, although it wasn’t pretty, she got a ton of praise and tried hard. Once she learned to gallop, canter became easier for her. She’s also a very capable jumper, but I haven’t worked on it very much with her.
I had to retire her from competition due to anhidrosis. She has regained some ability to sweat, but not enough that I’d feel comfortable riding her in the summer heat for more than a halfhour or so. Hot weather was always her weakness (it prevented her from succeeding at 50-mile endurance races), and I wish I’d recognized how serious a problem that is much sooner than I did.
“She’s been such a star that I bred her to an Arab and got a small but lovely filly who looks a great deal like her mother except for the dainty Arab head. She’s grown into a beauty.”
#8. Lily, owned by Joyce Barber. Lily represents another common conformational “style” to be found among Standardbreds. She’s not as downhill in OBB as Barooga, but has the same compact and rather muscular build. Her coupling rates an “A+” for smoothness and strength, although the cannon bones are long, which sets the knee and hock rather high. It does not show in this photo, but she’s also pigeon-toed. Lily was a washout as a harness racer, but because she is steady-minded the trainer used her as a pace-setting horse for youngsters in training. Joyce bought her as a bombproof trail horse and enjoyed that for several years until discovering that the mare never learned to comprehend leg pressure; they are working on that with the help of a horsemanship clinician who understands the problem, and enjoying that process too.
#9. Ryan’s Dragon, also known as Buddy; owned by Katie Ogden. Katie reports that this very handsome gelding, over 16 hands in height, is not ridden due to lameness issues. The photo shows a thoroughpin on the right hock. Conformationally he is very Thoroughbred-like, and would have made a fine jumper or dressage horse.