By Judy Wardrope Uphill Battles (Part 2) I
n the last issue, I explained that objective terminology can be applied to the sample horses to determine why they were all built to do their jobs
well, which, in my opinion, is much more accurate than to merely subjectively determine if they are uphill or not.
Sample Horses All of the sample horses are light on the forehand, particularly as lightness relates to their jobs. All have LS placement well within the athletic limits— excellent, in fact—and all of them are either medalists or champions. So let’s take a look at them and use more objective terms to see why they were built to do their jobs.
Horse #1 is a gold-medal driving horse, specializing in the dressage phase. Lumbosacral gap (LS) – Excellent placement for
athleticism. A line drawn from the point of one hip to the point of the other hip bisects the LS gap. Rear triangle – Shortest on the ilium side (point of
hip to point of buttock), which is a dressage trait. Stifle placement – Just below sheath level, which
is just at the lower end of the scale for dressage, but lends itself to more range of motion of the hind leg. This aids in extension, but adds more difficulty for movements such as piaffe and passage, neither of which are required for driving. Pillar of support – It emerges well in front of the
withers for lightness of the forehand and into the rear quarter of the hoof for soundness. Humerus – Short and showing a steep rise from
elbow to point of shoulder, which would result in high knees action. This configuration also adds to lightness of the forehand. Base of neck – It is well above a high point of
shoulder, which adds even more lightness of the forehand.
Horse #2 is a champion pulling horse in draft horse competitions, where the successful horses load their hocks, elevate their forehands and then lean their weight and momentum into the collar. Lumbosacral gap (LS) – Excellent. Rear triangle – Slightly shorter on the ilium side,
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which helps aids in sustained compression of the hindquarters and is thus an aid in his job. Stifle placement – Just at the bottom of the sheath,
which results in a short, powerful stride. The short stride behind coupled with a longer stride in the front results in a compensation that causes the dip of the back rearward of the withers. Pillar of support – It emerges well in front of the
withers for lightness of the forehand and into the rear quarter of the hoof for soundness. Humerus – Of moderate length and well angled
from elbow to point of shoulder, which aids in lightness of the forehand. Base of neck – Well above the point of shoulder for more lightness of the forehand.
Warmbloods Today 65
Conformation
1
Corner
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