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Corner L


By Judy Wardrope Current Dressage World Champion Valegro


et’s take a close look at Olympic and World Equestrian Games gold medalist Valegro, a KWPN gelding.


For this column, we will depart from our normal format, yet still observe the points of his conformation as they relate to function.


Photo #1 Unfortunately this was the best photo angle I was able to get of the halt. Later photos better illustrate the lumbosacral placement and the ilium/femur relationship. However, we can still see that the pillar of support emerges well in front of the withers (lightness), into the rear quarter of the hoof (soundness) and bisects the humerus near the mid-point. We can also see the steep rise to the humerus from elbow to point of shoulder (more lightness) and a high base of neck (even more lightness). No wonder you can barely hear his footfalls.


Photo #2 Here we can see that the ilium side is shorter than the femur side, which is pretty much the standard in upper-level dressage horses. The importance of the pillar emerging into the rear quarter of the hoof is also evident. (The degree of flexion highlighted by the circles is normal.) Imagine what you would see if his pillar emerged behind the heel. He would either strike the ground with his fetlock or compensate by not going through the full range of motion.


Photo #3 Notice the range of motion of the stifle and of the foreleg apparatus (top of scapula to knee functions in unison). We can see that his stifle faces outward to allow clearance of the ribcage and more


64 November/December 2014 1 2


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Conformation


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