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Thread III: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1311311/posts |
Posted on 04/26/2004 12:06:41 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
Free Republic has a lot of horse people that have found each other on other threads…. And since we all like to talk horses, how about a thread where it is not off-topic, but is THE topic?
A few of us thought it would be interesting and informative to have a chat thread where we can share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. We may not ~always~ have a lot of activity, but when we do, it will be fun. I will put a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!
I will also develop a ping list for horse threads that are of interest. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.
I am hoping this thread will be a fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.
They should just be close to the same length and close to the same angle, and his are. I'm not exact probably in my guessing of where the bones are anyhow.
I was noticing last night we had to look close at our 5 but you can really spot a big difference right away, can't you? Besides looks how does it affect a horse to be lite in the butt?
Her angles are all out of whack. You know, for a pleasure horse on weekend trails or lessons in an arena she'd probably hold up fine. She doesn't maybe have the power in the rear end for competitive gaming or the impulsion for collected work in dressage, but she's 13, and has probably been doing ~something~ well enough. I think she needs more weight so she doesn't look ~bony~, and she'd be a fine backyard horse. She just isn't a show horse ;~D
Yeah. We are gonna pass going to look at her though. She's in LA and further than I thought from us.
I have to go now. Church time for me. I've been going only to evening services lately and starting back to morning, this morning. I have to get the babies dressed. If it's not too hot afterwards, Okie getting a bath but it will probably be this evening. He's got where he likes being scrubbed:')
A good temperament can negate a lot of physical 'faults' unless they are so severe that they prevent the horse from moving. Pity the ugly horse that is also a pain to be around. But in choosing between them, shoulder and leg construction will affect whether the horse has a jarring trot to ride or a nice jog where you could sit still and not even spill your champaigne.
I was reading her stats again and seems like she's raced too??
We're going later to a Freeper meeting and JimRob is visiting.
Really? Tell him hi. I was going to try to catch him on his southern tour but it didn't work out. Later (gets pics)
Is that an original ideal or still a current ideal? It seems the current fad in QH's is for a much more sloping shoulder and hindquarter and a nearly level set neck.
The humerous, the hardest bone in a horse to see and evaluate is probably the one that most affects the way a horse moves. Once you can visualize the structure underneath, the humerous is a line that will connect the point of the shoulder with the elbow.
Interesting side note: the ball joint in the front of their chest, between the shoulder and the humerous (and the femur, the corresponding bone in the hind end) is the ~only~ joint in the leg that allows for both front to back movement, and lateral sideways rotation. It is that joint that allows the horse to sidepass or do any lateral work where they cross their front feet or reach laterally.
Two things to evaluate about the humerous (and the femur, the corresponding bone in the hind end) The length and the resting angle.
Length: The longer the humerus, the more "scopey" the horse's gait. swinging a long humerus results in a greater arc of movement at the elbow. Scope is defined by the range of movement at the elbow, either full forward as in a jumper clearing a fence or enabling a cutting horse to crouch in front, spreading or crossing his forelegs as necessary to head the calf. Scope is a desirable characteristic. The shorter the humerus, the shorter the range of motion in the front end and the choppier the horse's gaits will be. To be considered long, the humerus would be more than half as long as the shoulder blade.
Angle: The steeper the resting angle of the humerus, the higher the horse can raise his knees. The most spectacular natural action is found in horses with a moderately upright shoulder, a long steep humerus and moderately long cannon bones with high knees. (Think park horse style Arabian or Saddlebred). The more horizontal the resting angle of the humerous, the less ability the horse will have to raise his knees. Horses with a very horizontal humerous will have a "daisy cutter" trot and not be able to raise his knees to fold nicely to jump.
The intersecting angle of the shoulder and humerus should be ideally 90 degrees or more, ideally not much less.
Cannon bones are the ulna/radius and the tib/fib? I'll have to check Okie. Can you feel the humerus thru all that muscle?
Oh, I see. You brought the triangle down.
The horse that I was looking at has a good front angle then, right?
The bony structure is hard to see under the muscle. Especially in the rear end. You really have to extrapolate where the bones are from how they move.
Interesting to watch is how the three bones act like an accordian when the horse moves, compressing and expanding. The motor, springs and shock absorption of the horse all in one.....
Climbing hills is great. I wish that there were more trails around me. I'd trail ride all the time if that was the case.
That chestnut QH that you all are talking about does seem to be lanky and not at all typey. It also looks like she had some sort of rub on her shoulder at one point beacuse of that white patch of hair.
There's also a really neat line trick for checking symmetry of the face.
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