humerus than our jumper. As a result, he will have a different range of motion than the jumper. He will still be able to raise his knees above elbow level, but not as quickly. He will also have more extension in his stride. These factors aided him in a 4* career. Our sample dressage horse shows slightly
Hunter Non-competitive
less rise and slightly more length to the humerus than the eventer. He has more extension than either the jumper or the eventer and slightly less knee action than either previous horse without moving flat. He would not be as quick with his knees if asked to jump, but jumping wasn’t part of his grand prix dressage career. Our sample show hunter exhibits an even longer humerus with less rise from elbow to point of shoulder. He would move with little knee action; have a long, sweeping stride on the forehand and not be able to lift his knees much above elbow height over a fence. In fact, at maximum rotation of the scapula, his forearm would actually touch his humerus, providing him with natural hunter form. Our sample non-competitive horse has the longest humerus with the least rise from elbow to point of shoulder. He would move with very little knee action and not be reliable over anything but the lowest of fences. While there are several contributing factors
to lightness of the forehand, note that when comparing our sample horses, the horses with a greater rise of humerus from elbow to point of shoulder are lighter on the forehand. There is simply less horse in front of the foreleg in part due to that rise in humerus. The next time you examine the
forequarters of a horse, don’t forget to consider the humerus.
About Judy: Judy has researched equine conformation for 30 years and has written three books on the subject (the most recent, an e-book). She travels worldwide giving conformation clinics for all disciplines. Judy also analyzes individual horses based on photos and gives breeding consultations. Learn more at
www.jwequine.com.
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