Horse Conformation
An illustrated guide to evaluating horse conformation
What Is Conformation?
A horse’s conformation is the way a horse is built.
Good conformation improves movement and performance, allows for smoother gaits, and makes horses and ponies less likely to go lame.
Good Conformation
- Large kind eyes
- Wide Jaw
- Large nostrils
- Medium-length neck that is slightly arched
- Long, sloping shoulder
- Well-muscled back
- Pasterns a medium length and slope
- Large, kind eyes
- Large nostrils
- Slightly arched, medium length neck
Conformation Faults
- Large course head
- Small “pig eyes”
- Narrow jaw
- Small nostrils
- Short neck
- Dips on the top & bulges on the bottom (ewe neck)
- Short, upright shoulders
- High withers
- Sway back
- Goose rump
- Tail set too low
- Short, upright pasterns
- Camped under hindlegs
- Pasterns with too much slope
Ideal Horse Conformation
Balanced
A balanced horse body can be divided into three equal sections with it’s shoulder, barrel, and hindquarters.
Symmetrical
A horse’s body should be nearly identical side to side and front to back. To determine symmetry, look at the horse from the front and rear, and both left and right.
Equidistant
The distance from the point of shoulder to the point of the buttocks should be equal to the distance from the top of the withers to the ground.
Square
Excluding the head and neck, the horse should be a square with equal lengths wide and tall.
Horse With Poor Conformation
Conformation Areas Covered
This guide covers some well documented tips for Ideal horse conformation. Click on the sections below to go to learn more about that horse part & play learning games.
Head
Front Legs
Neck
Hind Legs
Shoulder
Pasterns
Back
Hooves
The Horse’s Head Acts Like a Pendulum
The major purpose of the horse’s head, other than breathing, seeing, eating, and hearing, to serve as a pendulum to balance the horse as it moves. It is important for balance that the horse’s head is proportionally sized to the rest his body.
Head Shape & Size
Roman Nose
A horse with a Roman nose has a rounded outwards face profile as opposed to being a flat or dished profile. This usually does not affect the horse’s abilities other than it may be considered unattractive and can add weight to the horse’s head.
When a horse’s head is too large and heavy, it can add additional weight to its front end and therefore may lack athletic ability.
Dished Face
An overly dished head can interfere with the horse’s breathing and balance.
Eyes
It is preferable for horses to have large, dark eyes set far apart and to the outside of his head to allow for good vision.
A horse’s vision a different from humans. Human’s are predators that have evolved to have eyes on the front of their heads, while horse’s eyes are on the side of their heads so they can see nearly all around them as a way to keep a lookout for predators.
Horses use their left eye to see the left side of the their body, and their right eye to view the right side which is called monocular vision. They have more limited binocular vision (seeing the same picture directly in front of you using both eyes). Because of this, horses with small eyes or eyes that are too close together are faulted because their field of vision can be more limited.
Nostrils
A horse’s nostrils should be large and round to allow maximum intake of air when the horse is working hard and breathing heavily.
A Horse's Field Of Vision
Horses are prey animals that scare easily and their first instinct is to run from potential predators. A horse’s eyes are located on the sides of his head so he can see all around him, although he has blind spots right in front of his face, and directly behind him.
Horse Conformation & Drawing Activity
Download the activity.
Length
For balance and agility, the neck be approximately one-third of the length of the horse.
Arched
A horse’s neck that is considered ideal should be slightly arched and a medium length.
Defined
The head should attach to the neck in a clearly defined way at the throatlatch, which allows for greater freedom of movement of the head and neck.
Connected
The neck should connect to the horse’s chest just above the point of the shoulder and blend smoothly into the withers.
The Horse’s Shoulder
The ideal shoulder angle is approximately 45 degrees.
The slope of the shoulder directly influences the horse’s stride length and smoothness. Too straight of a shoulder causes the horse to not be able to easily extend its front legs and therefore have a very short, jarring stride. Horses with a nicely sloped shoulder have a free flowing, smooth, long stride since they are able to reach farther with their front legs.
Correct
Straight line from the point of the shoulder through the middle of the hoof.
Base Narrow
Conformation Fault
Bow Legged
Conformation Fault
Knock Kneed
Conformation Fault
Pigeon Toed
Conformation Fault
Splay Footed
Conformation Fault
Horse Front Leg Conformation Side View
When viewing a horse from the side, there should be a straight line down the forearm to the center of the hoof.
Correct
Calf Kneed
(Back at the knee)
Conformation Fault
Buck Kneed
(Over at the knee)
Conformation Fault
The Horse’s Back
A balanced horse’s topline should be shorter than the underline.
A longer topline indicates that the horse has a long, weak back which can lead to weak muscling. Longer back length can make it difficult for horses to bring their hind legs under their body when moving. The hind legs reaching under the body are the source of power for the horse to move forward, and also make the horse more adjustable to ride.
If a horse cannot bring his hind legs very far underneath his body, more weight is carried on the front legs. This can lead to a loss of maneuverability and a more jarring ride for the rider.
Topline
The horse’s topline should be shorter than the underline.
Correct
Narrow
Conformation Fault
Wide
Conformation Fault
Bow Legged
Conformation Fault
Cow Hocked
Conformation Fault
When viewing a horse from the side, there should be a straight line from the point of the buttocks down the back of the leg.
Correct
Camped Out
Sickle Hocked
Post-Legged
Correct
Broken Behind
Sloping
Too much angle.
Broken Forward
Stumpy
Not enough angle.
What is the difference between a Farrier and a Blacksmith?
A Farrier is a horse hoof care specialist.
A Blacksmith does different kinds of iron work, not just horseshoes.
How fast do horse hooves grow?
Horse hooves grow approximately 1/4" a month.
A horse will sometimes yawn when the farrier is finished. Horses don't yawn when they are tired. They do this when they are releasing tension in their body.
Fun Fact
Here's a fun fact, did you know that horseshoes are a symbol of good luck? Horseshoes have been used for centuries as a protective and good luck symbol. If you want to use the horseshoe for good luck, place the shoe above your front door on the outside. Â
Normal Hoof Wearing a shoe
<a name=”quiz”></a>
Leaderboard
| Rank | Quiz Name | User | Correct Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Horse Conformation Quiz | Katharina Dawkins | 100 |
| 2 | Horse Conformation Quiz | Katharina Dawkins | 88 |
| 3 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 66 | |
| 3 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 66 | |
| 3 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 66 | |
| 3 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 66 | |
| 3 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 66 | |
| 8 | Horse Conformation Quiz | Boop | 55 |
| 9 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 100 | |
| 10 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 77 | |
| 11 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 0 | |
| 12 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 88 | |
| 13 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 100 | |
| 14 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 88 | |
| 14 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 88 | |
| 14 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 88 | |
| 14 | Horse Conformation Quiz | 88 | |
| 18 | Horse Conformation Quiz | Jeffy | 66 |
| 18 | Horse Conformation Quiz | Jeffy | 66 |
| 18 | Horse Conformation Quiz | Jeffy | 66 |
Leaderboards
Want to see where you stand?
View leaderboard results from across the entire Allpony site and see where you rank in the results.
Quizzes
Want to try a different quiz?
Choose from horsemanship topics including riding skills, horse identification, barn & travel, and tack.