Overall structure
Body structure covers many contents, including body size, figure, limbs and the relationship between limbs and body. These are influenced by heredity and external environment. Genetic factors include good genetic factors (healthy parents may give birth to good foals), and environmental factors include good nutrition and disease control.
The stallion will play an important role in whether their children can have a good body. For example, it will have an important influence on them during the process of fetal culture in the womb and before the foal is weaned. Another trainer who plays an important role in the growth of horses is a stallion, because he determines the nutritional configuration of horses and the control of parasites and diseases.
Poor body structure can lead to abnormal fatigue in some parts of the body or legs. According to the degree of physical defects, local tissues will be pulled, torn or even broken until they are disabled. If this situation lasts for a long time and the horse can't play its best, it is an unstable and unhealthy horse.
Even if the horse is in good health, it will become a lame horse because of some external factors such as trauma, fatigue, malnutrition, overtraining, improper horseshoe, poor horse path and so on. Therefore, at least you choose a sub-healthy horse, which can also reduce the risk of lameness and prevent it from becoming an unhealthy horse.
When giving a horse a physical examination, you should stay away from the horse for a certain distance and check its overall balance. Then come closer and make a detailed inspection of the body, limbs and between limbs. Let the horse move to monitor its coordination.
An important factor that determines whether all parts of the horse's body can be harmonious during the exercise is the body structure.
The relationship between body structure and limb structure is far more important than simply talking about body structure. A horse's body should be in harmony with its limbs and stable at all times. Different breeds have different sizes, which should be taken into account when evaluating horses. However, although you have mastered this knowledge, don't lower your standard of choosing a good horse.
Horseheads cannot be too big or too small; It should look very sensitive and fit on your back. The forehead should be wide, the eyes should be evenly distributed and the nostrils should be large. The headgear should not be too high or too low, otherwise it will affect the horse's sight and balance.
Riding is a very attractive feature. It should have enough bow length (the head and body should have a good proportion), curved upper curve and straight lower curve.
Shoulder muscles should be well developed. The deep, long and inclined shoulders will make the cooperation of all parts more flexible, the stride will be longer and the riding will be more stable. Too straight and vertical shoulders will increase the impulse to the horse and make it uncomfortable to ride.
The chest should be full, round and deep (standard bust). The chest width between the two front legs should be enough to eliminate the friction between the two front legs. A is located at the root of the horse neck, which is a relatively high point on the horse's back. From this point, the height of the horse is measured. The width, height and length of the armor should be enough to provide a place for the saddle to rely on. Too thin and bloated armor will damage the saddle.
The horse's back should be strong enough because it bears the weight of the rider. Long-backed horses are not as strong as short-backed horses, and horses tend to enter the fatigue period ahead of time. In other words, the short back will affect the coordination of the front and rear legs of the horse in advance. The curve of the back should not be too concave (concave back) or too convex (humpback).
Leg muscles need to be strong (muscular), but they should be evenly combined with other parts of the body. Because it is this part that gives the horse the motivation to move forward and use it to run and jump. The hind legs and upper hips should be round, not too thin.
Limb structure
If we want to evaluate this part, we should first let the horse stand on a stable plane and let the horse's whole body weight be evenly distributed on its limbs.
The weight borne by the forelimbs may vary with the structure of the whole body. The forelimbs not only bear 60%-65% of the whole body weight, but also help the hind limbs to generate forward thrust. Forelimbs are more fragile than hind limbs, because they are more vulnerable to trauma, gravity is also on them, and because of their structure. The ideal limb structure will not bring excessive fatigue and tension to one leg.
Looking at a horse from the front, its chest should look well developed, its muscles should be strong and its limbs should be straight. Suppose there is a straight line from a certain point on the shoulder to the horseshoe, which should just split the horse's leg in two. Horseshoe toes should point straight ahead, and four hooves should be distributed on the ground in a measured way, just like the seamless connection between legs and chest. Four knees should be flat and not too far apart from each other. The metacarpal bone should be directly below the knee.
From the side, if there is a straight line from the horse's shoulder, then this straight line will divide the horse's leg into two parts equally, from toe cluster to toe.
The muscles of the front legs should be well developed to make the limbs look balanced. Don't bend your knees forward or backward. The metacarpal bone should not look like a knot under the knee, and its length should be moderate (that is, proportional to the length of the leg). The angle between the surface of the hoof and the plane where the hoof contacts the ground should be 45-50 degrees.
Looking at the horse from the back, if a straight line is drawn from a certain point in the pelvis, the straight line should bisect the distance between the two hind legs. The hock joint (the joint between the hind legs) should be big, strong, clean and well defined.
Looking at the horse from the side, if you draw a straight line from the pelvis, you should be able to touch the hock joint and then touch the ground down along the back of the metacarpal bone. The ground contact point is about 7- 10 cm from the hoof root. The angle between the thigh root and the hock joint should not be too straight or too precise.
The toe of the front hoof should be round and the heel should be wide. Toes should be the thickest and heels should be relatively thick. The hoof bottom should be a little concave, and the ideal angle between the hoof surface and the toe of the hoof bottom is 45-50 degrees.
A fork should divide the sole into two parts. It should be well developed and the joints should be elastic. When the horse puts all the load on its four hooves, the fork should be able to land.
The toe of the hind leg should protrude, and the bottom of the hoof should be more concave than the front hoof. The angle between the shoe surface and the toe of the sole is 50-55 degrees.