[Cyn]

I have never been able to perfectly critique conformation except for the basics. I do know general good conformation. My friend was looking for some good brood mares to add to her breeding program and I went with her to look at a few and the lady tried telling us that there is no way to tell good conformation on a brood mare because they are pregnant or their bodies are all stretched. I was thinking to myself this lady is wacky. What is the differences you are looking for in a brood mare???
I need to check my spelling more often

<small>[ April 20, 2004, 05:17 PM: Message edited by: Cyn ]</small>

[harli36]

It sounds to me that this lady has a horse with poor conformation and is trying to hide that fact. The difference when you are evaluating a brood mare is that you should be forgiving if they have low muscle tone and their tummies will be large. You should also be forgiving to lamness problems from injury. If the problem is from injury you should then ask yourself did conformation lead to that injury? Other confo issues can still be determined.

[Cyn]

That's what we were thinking but this lady was so dead set. She should have been a dirt salesman because she was very convincing. We saw a few with ewe necks and stuff that was in no way due to being in foal.

[harli36]

Maybe she just isn't educated on conformation and this is why she is breeding poorly conformed horses.

[Cyn]

I think she was just out right lying. She told us that some horses will become ewe necked if they have more than two foals due to gravity pulling down and it grabs at the center of the neck and pulls. I know I know better, but this lady was real convincing. It maked me chuckle to think that for a minute she may have had me fooled.

[harli36]

Horse people can be scary sometimes, can't they? If I were you I would have been chuckling right to her face. LOL

[DefinitelyADreamer]

I judge the conformation of a broodmare the same as any other horse! You just have to look past the large bellies!!

[Blistering Winds]

Just don't look at the large bellies. Everything else will be the same. Hips, shoulder angles WON"T change, Legs might stand a little more apart so don't fault them TOO Much on that, but they will still have the same overall angle and if you are good, you can see it no matter where the horse is standing.

Never heard the ewe neck thing. I know there might be more fat on the neck and mane if they keep their broodmares fatter, but still. Maybe not a clean throatlatch either, but that is all from fatness, not structure, which you really want to look at the most in a broodmare.

The back length won't be changed either, look at that too.

And a young broodmare with a swayback, has 1 of 2 things. Either ridden too early with heavy riders, or weak back muscles, which is NOT a good quality to look for in a mare.

[Cyn]

This lady told us that TB are more likely to have ewe necks than others when used as brood mares. This was about two or three years ago when we meet her and she had a very nice facility, I don't know why but when you see someone who has an awsome place you some how think they know so much more that one that is run down. And I know a few people who's places aren't that beautiful to look at but they are SOOOO knowledgable.I know I'm probably not making much sense, I'm tired!!

[slc]

I learned a long time ago that brass trim and flower boxes don't mean a person knows much about horses. But I've also learned that people who are knowledgeable about horses and have good horses they care about, don't have rickety fences, piles of manure in stalls, and poorly maintained riding arenas with bad footing.

It is hard to tell with brood mares. They don't have muscle on them from riding, and their hind quarters and neck get hollowed out on top and their bellies stretched out.

But there are things that never change. The shoulder angle doesn't change, the basic proportions don't change, etc. It just takes a lot of experience and a lot of years of seeing a mare go from being in work to being a broodmare and seeing for oneself how they change.

<small>[ April 20, 2004, 05:55 PM: Message edited by: slc ]</small>