Good Conformation for a Dressage Horse - Short Notes

1. Long humerus (arm bone) dictates how tightly the elbow and lower joints can bend and reach for extension. The humerus is long when it is 50-60% of the length of the scapula. The elbow is beneath the middle of the withers if the humerus is long. A long humerus increases movement of elbow away from torso, both forward and to the side, allowing more tucking over fences and increased stride in speed events. It provides a scaffold for lengthy muscle attachments of flexor and extensor muscles, which contract with greater force to increase power and speed.
   
   
2. Long sloping scapula (shoulder) are better able to absorb concussion during locomotion and horse is able to stay more sound. This is a conformational aspect that have a beneficial effect on soundness.
   
   
3. Shallow angle of pelvis is a good indicator needed for collected movements such as passage and piaffe. If this angle is too big to start with, the horse would be unable to increase it much further to perform these movements. Read more here http://www.usyd.edu.au/su/rirdc/articles/musculo/dressage.htm
   
   
4. Long and forward sloping femur bone (thigh) with an angle ahead of the vertical. Femur, "thigh" or the largest bone of the hind limbs gives a horse a ground covering stride and overstride.
   Read more here http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/warmbloodhorses/articles/db-pelvic.shtml
   



5. Long pastern with good angle. Often when a horse was trimmed correctly the pastern angle will be the same as the shoulder angle. Long pastern will give the needed suspension and cadence of the dressage horse gaits. Short and straight pasterns predisposing horse to injuries of the fetlock joint, ringbone of the pastern joint and navicular bursitis.
   


6. Short loins
7. Long croup bone
8. Angulated hock
9. High set neck, 90 degree angle neck
10. Relatively open angles in the hind quarter - a fairly `straight' leg
11. Uphill built, uphill' topline
12. Rectangular back
13. Deep, back set withers
14. Diagonal Advanced Placement or DAP
15. Fist wide throatlatch
16. Flexibility
17. Close in the hindlegs
18. A will to work
19. Horse that wants to contact you
20. Large horse = large feet

http://www.horseweb-uk.com/features/images/parts.jpg - horse anatomy http://members.aol.com/wallcad/Gallery/pages/horsebones.jpg - horse anatomy

Conformation in Dressage horse by Tracy Towns B Ed, Equine Studies Student

Most dressage movements are performed from the hind quarters, so it is very important that these are sound and powerful. Other important conformation points are slope of shoulder and pastern, and ‘uphill’ build, and a long slightly sloping croup. A horse possessing these conformation traits are likely to find it easier to perform high level dressage movements (with correct training), whilst maintaining soundness over the number of years it takes to achieve this.

‘built uphill’
It is preferable for a dressage horse to be ‘built uphill’, meaning the withers sit higher than the croup. This assists the horse in collection or working ‘off the forehand’ and enables it to transfer and carry weight on the hind limbs (see Fig. 2). An indication of this is the line between the widest point at the base of the horses neck and the actual position of the lumbosacral joint (located about 4” lower than the ‘hollow spot’ in the loins). The line between these two points should run slightly uphill. A downhill line infers that the horse will find it difficult to lighten the forehand. However, a horse that is too ‘uphill’ can suffer strains to rear joints.(Bennett, 1996)
Figure 3. Linda O’Leary and Gaisborough Donner Bella, displaying movement ‘off the forehand’
Raising the forehand is a biomechanical skill which greatly enhances the ability of the dressage horse. It is this action which allows the horse to shift its centre of gravity and weight from the forehand to its hind. This allows the foreleg to move forward with greater freedom. This occurs as the horse raises its head and neck, contracts serratus ventralis and raises the thorax. Flexion of the hock then occurs and the subsequent drop in hindquarters moves the centre of gravity back enough to release weight off the forehand. (Pilliner et al, 2002).

High set neck
There are varying opinions regarding the length of neck required for the elite dressage horse. Assuming that an average length is appropriate, the neck should be well set from the line of shoulder, that is, placed higher than halfway up the shoulder line. The lower part of the S curve should be short, with a long upper curve. This structure makes it easy for the horse to work on the bit, and to achieve a neck telescoping gesture (Bennett, 1988). Head and neck position influence back movements, especially at the walk. The neck in a high position compromises stride length and stride characteristics (Rhodin et al, 2005). This indicates that a well set neck can assist in the quality of stride of the horse.

Rectangular back
The horses’ length of back should be in proportion to its body. If the back is too short then saddle placement can become difficult and movement restrictive. If the back is too long, it is more difficult for the horse to shift its centre of gravity to carry weight on its hindquarters, and the rider’s weight sits in an unsupported section of the back. (Schumacher, 1998) This is likely to cause pain and weakness in the back for this type of horse.

Deep set withers
The withers of a dressage horse should be high and well set into the back. The withers act as a fulcrum, which assists in raising the back to carry a rider using the ‘elastic ring’. This also assists in correct saddle placement, so that the rider sits closer to the horses’ centre of gravity (CG). This makes it easier for the horse to shift the CG to the hind quarters as required. (Schumacher, 1998)

Straight Forelimb
The front limbs of a dressage horse should ideally be straight to enable straight and unrestricted movement. Any conformation that shows paddling, or toeing out is undesirable. The dressage horse does however, work extensively from its hocks, it is more likely to be able to cope with minor structural imperfections of the foreleg than some other disciplines (Bennett, 1989).

Long sloping shoulder
A long sloping shoulder, with large angle at elbow, is desirable in the dressage horse. An upright shoulder predisposes the horse to high knee action, which is not conducive to lengthening and extending the stride as is required in a dressage test. A long, correctly angled scapula will allow for a longer stride length (Pilliner et al, 2002).

Long humerus
A long humerus is also desirable in the dressage prospect. This increases the horses ability to move the elbow away from the torso either toward the front or to the side (Bennett, 1988)
Adduction and abduction movements are required for the horse to move laterally. These movements are allowed only through the shoulder joint (Denoix and Pailloux, 2001). To achieve these movements the shoulder joint must be unrestricted by a saddle. Figure 4. Diagram showing movements of adduction (left) and abduction (right) (Denoix and Pailloux, 2004) http://www.eques.com.au/dressage/jan06/figure3.gif

Long pastern with good angle
A dressage prospect must have reasonable length and slope to their pasterns, otherwise the suspension and cadence they require in their gait is not possible (Marks, 2000)
The angle of pastern should be similar to the angle of shoulder to reduce stress on the pastern, fetlock and knee joints (Bennett, 1988) See picture: http://www.eques.com.au/dressage/jan06/pastern-conformation.gif A- normal angulation of hoof and pastern B – short upright pastern predisposing to injuries of the fetlock joint, ringbone of the pastern joint and navicular bursitis C- long up right pastern predisposes to injuries of the fetlock joint and navicular bursa. This type of conformation does not seem to predispose to ringbone as often as does B. Figure 5 – Examples of pastern conformation (Adams, 1974)

Short loins, long croup bone
Most dressage horses work extensively from their hind quarters, and most high level movements require the horse to carry most of its weight behind. Therefore, the hind limb of the dressage athlete must demonstrate strength, soundness, the ability to ‘collect’ or carry weight on its hind limbs. The ability of the hind quarter to compress and to release energy is critical in correct passage and piaffe. An ideal dressage athlete should have short loins, be close coupled, with a croup that is long and slightly sloping. Ideally the lumbosacral joint lies as far forward as possible, which then makes the croup bone long. This enables more leverage is available to the horse during collection. (Bennett, 1989)

Long forward sloping femur
A long forward sloping femur in a horse will help to extend its gaits by the ability to advance hind limbs under its body. (Marlin and Nankervis, 2002)

Angulated hock
A strong, well angulated hock is able to flex easily and achieve more collection. (Pilliner, Elmhurst and Davies, 2002) It must be noted however, that too much angulation will cause undue pressure on the joints in this region. (Bennett, 1989).

Diagonal Advanced Placement or DAP
A relatively new concept of Diagonal Advanced Placement or DAP (Holmstrom, 1980?), refers to a specific movement quality whereby the horses’ hind hoof contacts the ground milliseconds before the front hoof in the trot. Dr Clayton (2005), suggest that these horses have their withers and shoulders elevated relative to the haunches. This would suggest that these are the more ‘uphill’ horses. Some suggest that this is an ideal measure of a naturally well gaited dressage horse.

Conclusion
The elite dressage horse is indeed a great athlete demonstrating strength, balance and power. The most important skill for the horse to obtain is that of engagement and collection which is required to be able to perform the difficult high level dressage movements.
Most horses are capable of performing to preliminary or novice levels of competition; few have the conformation, strength and temperament to compete within the highest levels.
Specific conformation traits make it easier for the dressage horse to perform its task, and take it to high levels whilst maintaining soundness. The most important of these conformation traits are in the horses’ hind quarters, as for the majority of movement the horse needs to carry its weight on its hind.

See original article here: http://www.eques.com.au/dressage/jan06/conformation_dressage_horse.htm

The Conformation of the Dressage Horse by Conrad Schumacher and Dr. Hillary Clayton

One session at the 1999 National Symposium was devoted to the qualities Mr. Schumacher and Dr. Clayton look for in a horse that can go to the highest levels of dressage.

Withers not forward
According to Mr. Schumacher, first he looks for the "middle" of the horse to be at the point where the rear potion of the raised spines of the thoracic vertebrae (which form the withers) blend into the flat of the horse's back. This allows the rider to sit over the horse's center of gravity. When horses are constructed with the withers very forward, with a long back and a high croup, it is impossible to sit with enough of the horse "in front of the rider" and very hard to produce collection.

Rectangular horse
Mr. Schumacher also wants a horse that is "rectangular" in appearance. From his chest to his hindquarters, he should be longer than his height from the withers to the ground. His length should come, not from the back itself being long, but from a big shoulder and from big quarters. The legs should be relatively short with the joints near the ground. This gives the horse a better natural balance. "Long legged horses look very elegant," he observed, "but try to ride a six meter volte with them!"

90 degree angle neck
Ideally, the horse's neck should be set on at a ninety-degree angle to the slope of the shoulder so that the horse can carry himself "up" in front. Mr. Schumacher also looks at the connection between the neck and head. The neck must not be too thick, which would impede lateral flexion at the poll. The top of the first vertebra and the occipital bone must be flat, that is, nearly at the same height. If the first vertebra is higher, the horse will overflex too easily and come behind the bridle. If the first vertebra is too low compared to the occipital bone, it is too difficult to get the horse to be round enough in his frame.

Fit your fist
You should also be able to fit your fist in the space under and between the horse's jawbones, and there must be enough space in the throatlatch area that the horse's ability to flex is unobstructed. Check, too, Mr. Schumacher reminded, that there's enough room in the horse's mouth to accommodate a double bridle.

Not all of these features may be perfect in any given horse. If they are not, the horse must have enough natural activity in his hindquarters to help the rider to overcome these front-end conformation problems when training begins.

Flexibility
Another quality of great importance is the horse's flexibility. "We can't breed the gaits any bigger," Mr. Schumacher said. "So in the past ten years more and more emphasis has been placed on flexibility and temperament." With Sue Blinks's horse, Flim Flam, he demonstrated that if he pushed lightly on the horse's back, the barrel would lower. Pushing up on the horse's under-belly caused him to lift his back. The tail, he showed, should also be moveable, and the neck should be pliable and bendable from side to side.

Greater slope of the shoulder
Dr. Clayton said that to her, the sum total of conformation is how the horse moves. However, there are conformational aspects that she looks for which have a beneficial effect on soundness. One is the slope of the horse's shoulder. Horses that have the top of the scapula (shoulder blade) further back - resulting in more slope to the shoulder - are better able to absorb concussion during locomotion and stay more sound. This greater slope also puts the withers and, therefore, the saddle further back, reinforcing Mr. Schumacher's first point.

Long, upright "upper arm"
A second aspect is the length and slope of the humerus (the horse's "upper arm"). This bone extends from the point of the shoulder downward and to the rear, terminating at a point below the big bulge of the horse's triceps muscle and about halfway across the width of the leg. According to Dr. Clayton, for better orthopedic health, this bone should be long and the angle relatively upright. In motion the horse should have good freedom to be able to move both the bottom part of his shoulder and his elbow forward and up.

Long, forward sloping "thigh bone"
In the hindleg, the feature that Dr. Clayton most associates both with good movement and with soundness is the length and angle of the femur (the horse's "thigh bone"). The femur should be long and should slope forward from the hip joint to the stifle joint, allowing the leg to come well under the horse in motion.

Close in the hindlegs
"In the lower limbs," she noted, "we tend to get carried away always looking for perfection." Recent research indicates that slight deviations from the ideal vertical alignment of the joints have not proven to cause significant soundness problems. "In warmbloods about eighty percent of the horses are toed-out…. I don't get too excited about minor amounts of toe-ing in, toe-ing out or 'bench knees,' where the cannon bone is offset to the outside of the radius," Dr. Clayton said.
"In dressage horses," she added, "being a little close in the hindlegs is often a good thing. When the horse is moving, the hock naturally turns inward and the stifle naturally turns outward. This allows the hindleg to clear the horse's barrel. If the hocks are a little more in, this gives the horse more clearance between his stifles and his barrel in the lateral movements."

A will to work
Looking at Flim Flam, Dr. Clayton smilingly observed that he wouldn't win a conformation competition. "He's quite narrow through the chest and he toes out a little, BUT he's one of the best horses in the world. Remember to look at the way a horse moves, not just how he stands."
On the subject of temperament, Mr. Schumacher said that a good dressage horse must be able to move well, but that in the upper levels, up to two-thirds of a horse's success springs from "a will to work, his natural sensitivity, and his inner tranquility."
"Normally those with a lot of inner tranquility are lazy, and those with a lot of sensitivity are crazy and hard to work with." Finding just the right combination is very difficult. Mr. Schumacher cited Ideaal (ridden internationally by Jo Hinnemann, Sven Rothenberger, and Gonnelien Rothenberger): "Ideaal was a horse with pretty bad conformation but a heart - unbelievable - he won his last international medal at the age of twenty. He really had these three qualities."

Horse that wants to contact you
With a young horse, Mr. Schumacher says, "Look at their eye." Pointing to Flim Flam, he said, "If I had seen him as a young horse, the first thing I'd notice is his natural charm and his big eyes. This is the feel that there is character there.… Watching a three year old loose in the arena, what I want to see is a horse that wants to contact me, not just one running around, crazy, with a stiff neck…. Almost like a human being, they must look at you; they must talk to you. In the long run this is what makes a better horse."

Large horse = large feet
Mr. Schumacher commented that for International horses, it is important to choose one that's big enough - one that makes a good visual impression to the judges even from eighty meters away when he's at the far end of the arena. Dr. Clayton warned, though, that horses that are very big are more difficult to keep sound. With very tall horses, the mass of the horse increases more than does the strength of the supporting tissues. Look for good-sized feet, she counseled, and ones which exactly match each other. If one front foot is considerably smaller or narrower than the other, it may signify a pre-existing problem.
For "normal" riders, Mr. Schumacher recommended that they find a horse that's the right size and proportion for their bodies. Ones that fill out your legs but are not so big that the rider's weight goes unnoticed are ideal. The actual size isn't the most important thing. Often a smaller horse with a nice neck who "carries himself big," will make a better impression and still be easier to ride.

In conclusion, both Dr. Clayton and Mr. Schumacher agreed that it is easy to pick apart any horse's conformation. But the overall picture derived from structure, flexibility, and temperament, together with his balance and how fluidly he moves, all play important roles in determining whether the horse you're looking at can do the job you want him to.

See the original article here: http://www.woodsdressage.com/conformation.asp

Dressage conformation and dressage movement study by Dr. Mikael Holmström

Highlights of the clinic with Dr. Mikael Holmström
by Emily Robertson of True North Farm

Thirty-three Canadian riders and breeders gathered Sept. 23 & 24 to study dressage conformation and movement with Dr. Holmström, a Swedish vet who has made a career of studying the biomechanics of elite dressage horses. Dr. Holmström is also a rider, having competed successfully up to Intermediare I, and collaborates with Kyra Kyrklund to keep the emphasis of his work on factors that are important to riders and trainers.

The first day's work involved identifying all the key bones and joint angles in a standing horse, and discussion of which measurements are most important for dressage. It made me realize how much my education in conformation has been based on general sport horses or hunters. Let me list for you the features that are not important in a dressage horse (for performance or soundness).

Not Important:
Length of canon or forearm (radius) (the `well-let-down' leg)
Length of neck, or thickness of neck (the `sculpted throatlatch')
Shape of the croup
Length of the gaskin
`Correct legs' - lack of toeing in or out, etc., in moderation
Length of back, except extremes.

Not very important:
Size ("Should suit the rider")
Well-laid-back shoulder ("Keeps the saddle in a good position")
Length of legs ("Longer legs exaggerate movement, good or bad")

On the other hand, his list of what is important included several items I've never seen much discussion of before:

Important:
Long humerus (the bone from shoulder to elbow)
Long pelvis
Shallow angle of pelvis to the horizontal
Femur angle (from hip to stifle joint) ahead of the vertical
Relatively open angles in the hind quarter - a fairly `straight' leg.
High set neck, `uphill' topline

Most of these features deal with the hind quarter, which provides the spring and power of a dressage horse's advanced gaits. Because many of the joints are deep in the muscle (like the hip), or not really located where the eye `sees' them (like the stifle), the proper placement of paper dots on the horses in the clinic helped us to understand how to evaluate these features. The shape of the croup, for instance, which the eye easily sees, is not always aligned with the length or angle of the pelvis, which is what is actually important in predicting movement.
Holmström emphasized that the horse is not the sum of his bones and angles, and that you must look at the whole picture, not focus on one feature. Most top GP horses (on which his general `picture' of important traits is based) are weak in one area and compensate successfully.

The second day's work, with movement analysis, is very hard to describe! Let me just say that everyone, from a vet and a Level 3 trainer to several amateur riders and breeders, were enthralled by 3 hours of slow-motion video of Grand Prix horses (mostly Edinburg and Amiral) and ordinary horses performing walk, trot, collected trot, passage and piaffe as Holmström called our attention to specific joints and angles.

Diagonal Advanced Placement' (DAP)
The most important lesson regarding movement was `Diagonal Advanced Placement' (DAP) at the trot. The two-beat of the trot, as diagonal pairs of feet strike the ground at the same time, is actually a four-beat gait in a good dressage horse, because the hind foot strikes ahead of the front foot by up to 40 milliseconds; this is `positive' DAP. In a horse that is forging, the front foot is striking first; this is `negative' DAP. DAP is hard to see in `real time', but easy to see when high-speed videos are replayed in slow motion. The good news is that even an ordinary videotape can catch DAP if you tape several strides on a level surface and have a VCR that allows you to examine frame by frame. And Holmström has found that a horse's DAP stays the same from babyhood (3 to 6 months old) through adulthood (with some lapses during awkward growth stages), and whether at liberty, in hand or under saddle. Factors that influence DAP are: unlevel surface, a lot of tension, and head carriage (too high or low).

So, get out that stallion video you've been drooling over, the tapes of those expensive youngsters you'd like to buy, film your broodmares, etc. and check them out. If the horse has a negative DAP, then it is built for speed or pulling, not dressage. If its diagonal feet are striking together, the horse will have limited ability for self-carriage and working off the hindend. And if it has a positive DAP, "It's a dressage horse."!

What about that extravagant action in front at the trot, that we all love to look at? Holmström says that a horse can be taught to do that if he has good action behind and a long humerus. But if he is moving that way in front without good DAP and power behind ("...with his hind end in Copenhagen..."), then it is not really a good trot. "Kyra calls it, `Expensive trot': you pay a lot for it, but it doesn't do you any good. If you have a horse like this, sell it!"

What about tracking up? It is too dependent on the relative length of the horse's back and legs. Instead, look for the amount of swing of the hind foot ahead of the point of the hip.
At the walk and canter, the most important trait to look for is rocking of the pelvis; and again, slow motion replay makes this easier to see. Holmström has found that pelvic flexibility and hind limb angles in youngsters (3 to 6 months) stay very consistent in adulthood and training, barring injury. The ability of the hind quarter to compress ("accept load") and to release energy is critical in correct passage and piaffe; horses that compensate for stiffness in the hind quarter by tucking their hind legs forward will do poor piaffe and have serious problems with passage/piaffe transitions. Holmström illustrated this point using slides of World Cup performances.

Holmström's advice for dressage breeders: choose mares with good DAP and good canters. Avoid low set necks and stiff or `camped-out' hindquarters. Choose stallions for gaits and DAP. Video your foals at 3 to 6 months of age as a permanent record.

The main message of the clinic: a good dressage horse does not look like a good hunter, and much of the talent for upper level dressage is `built in'.

After the clinic, out in the pasture with a herd of broodmares and foals, Holmström's love of horses and genuine interest in their abilities overcame his classroom reserve. How does Holmström do a `pasture assessment' of a foal or yearling? He bops them in the butt! "I see how much they flex the pelvis before running away" (The more `tuck', the better.) "And I see if they canter or trot -- canter is better. Never buy a young horse that doesn't want to canter." He then looks for the balance and roundness of the canter, and whether the flying changes are correct (`through') or not. When the youngster trots, he looks for suspension, not DAP: "On uneven ground and heads tossing, even my eye cannot see it." With this information and a quick assessment of personality, ("They should want to play, not run away or try to ignore you."), he's got much of the information he needs to pick future dressage stars.

If you would like to learn more about Holmström's work, his thesis and 5 papers published (in English) on the biomechanics of dressage horses are available for $45 US from True North Farm, 1525 - 200th Street, Langley, B.C. V2Z 1W5

Direct link to the article: http://www.wbstallions.com/wb/swana/articles/EMILY.HTM