Ever since I got my first Tennessee Walking Horse in 1974, I wondered why it walked and other horses trotted. When I got more Walkers, I wondered why some walked and some did a variation of the proper gait and paced or trotted. I have researched this phenomenon for years using my own experiences with my horses and reading a lot of articles, most of them by Deb Bennett PhD, which appeared in Equus. These were not about Walking Horses, but they educated me on the differences in hind leg and shoulder conformations and what these differences caused in gait.
Early in my career with Tennessee
Walkers, I contacted Dr. Dave Whitaker, director of the horse program at middle
Years later after much research and owing an awesomely naturally gaited stallion, I wrote an in depth Walking Horse conformation article that first appeared in Voice magazine in august 1993 “What Makes My Walker Different?”
Stating that, “Walking Horses have longer rear legs,” may be waving a red flag for some. However, think about it. If it were not true, Quarter horses would have a running walk. A longer hind limb in these animals is a fault (pointed out by Deb Bennett in her Equus articles).
This is why, in model classes in
a show, a
The following is from the NWHA National News magazine “From the Judge’s Mouth” article I wrote, and I would like to share it again:
Because our Walking Horses are bred to perform a certain gait, they must have certain conformation. What the judge looks for in this class might be the same things you would look for in a prospective new horse. In buying a new horse, your goal might be a little different depending on what use you have for your Walking Horse. If it is ranch work, endurance or trail riding, jumping and other versatility events, you might look for a horse with less looseness and length of stride. This might also include horses to be shown in Country Pleasure, and perhaps Trail Pleasure and Western Pleasure show classes. However, if you are looking for a show horse or one to ride on flat terrain where you can gait with speed, you might choose one with longer stride. Lite Shod and Plantation Pleasure horses would be included in this category, but the basic conformation remains the same. In a halter or model class, as a judge, you wouldn’t know where the horse is showing, but the fact remains, it is in most part, the conformation that separates these divisions.
Scenario for judging a model, halter or conformation class:
The horses enter into the ring one at a time to allow the judge to look for limb faults such as front leg winging--either outward or inward, unstable hock movement [hock wringing], or crossing under midline with hind legs.,
1. Check basic conformation for balance. The horse should divide into thirds. Hind, middle torso and front shoulders should look in balance. Hind or front should not be dominant. If the horse has less than the 1/3 in the pelvic area, the horse will not be able to push the hind limbs under as well or as easily. Length of back should not be overly long, it should balance into the 1/3 division. If the rear third of the animal is very dominate, the weak front third will limit forward movement.
2. Check for smoothness in how the body parts join. Everything should flow together.
3. Check for extreme sickle hocks. Slight sickle hock is acceptable. Check for cow hocks – hocks that turn out too far from under the horse. (Some degree of cow hocks is acceptable). Check for crooked front legs such as over at the knees, back at the knees, club footedness, too straight pasterns or too loose pasterns, toeing out or in.
I feel hind leg conformation in the Walking Horse is very important and might warrant more explanation.
4. Check hind leg conformation. Walking horses have longer hind legs than trotting horses. This is a necessity in order for them to "get it under." There can be problems, however.
A. Too straight. If the thigh/femur or "carry down" is not of sufficient length so that it ties in low, closer to the hock, the leg is too straight. This makes the horse gait with very short choppy steps with little or no overstride. Many of these will trot and cannot "go on." They will not have a running walk, but will canter, trot, foxtrot or some other gait when pushed for a faster gait.
B. Hind leg is too long and not in correct proportion. The femur/thigh is usually normal to short, but the gaskin and/or cannon bones are long in proportion. These horses cannot drive under because the leg is too long to handle properly. They tend to foxtrot, maybe rack. Cantering can be a problem also. These horses when parked out have a lot of leg behind them.
C. Slight sickle hock acceptable; too much predisposes the horse to lameness. The longer crooked z type rear end horses can more easily bring the rear legs underneath them and usually have very nice running walks. A problem can occur with too much total length of rear leg or too much set of the hock. These horses usually don't have great overstrides when measured, but don't need to because the leg is already part way under the horse. Some may have problems cantering. All things being equal, a horse without sickle hocks should place over one that has them.
. Croup or iliac pelvis. Walking Horses should not have straight croups such as the Arabian horses. A too straight croup makes the hind legs travel behind the horse, again, not allowing hind leg drive. The croup should be moderately long for strong muscle attachment and thrusting power and have a moderate slope for driving the rear legs forward.
E. Cannon bone length. These bones should be short in proportion to the gaskin, setting the hocks closer to the ground. If too long, horse will have a problem pushing the hind leg underneath himself and may pace as it is easier for him. All breeds prefer short cannon bones.
5. Check front portion of the horse.
A. Shoulder angulations. Shoulder angle should be from 45 degrees to 50 plus degrees.
B. humerus or arm is very important. This is the part of the shoulder that goes from the elbow to the point of the shoulder. If it is at a low angle, the horse will have problems picking up his front feet and may stumble. He won't have knee lift or front motion. Will not "roll out of his shoulders."
C, a short humerus or arm will make the front stride short and also hinder picking up the front feet, making the gait choppy.
Note: front shoulder and arm conformation is not as important as the rear end of the Walking Horse as long as the arm is not exceedingly short and the angle of the shoulder exceedingly upright. In this case too much of the chest is seen from the side and the horse is "pigeon breasted." He will stumble more. In the moderate range of shoulder proportion, the differences will be whether the horse has high front end action as so desired in a show horse, or just moderate which is acceptable for trail and using work. The longer and more upright arm with a 90 degree open angle between the scapula and shoulder blade is the better choice because it gives more "scope" in anything the horse does.
D. Check front leg conformation for over or under or knock knees, club foot or feet, too straight or too sloping pasterns. Too long pasterns will predispose to lameness, but usually gives a smooth ride. Too straight predisposes also to lameness and give a very choppy or hard ride. Rule of thumb is pastern angle usually follows angle of shoulder blade angle.
6. Check head. A pretty head with no bumps between the eyes, a large kind eye, moderate ear length and well defined jaw is ideal. Check teeth for parrot mouth.
7. Check testicles on stallions to be sure there are 2.
Judging model classes too often comes down to choosing the “prettiest” horse, not the horse with the conformation that walks.
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