Breeding For Conformation To breeding excellent miniature horses you need to start with the best, avoid inbreeding, and know what the best confirmation in a miniature horse should look like, and weed out poor foals. Below is a detailed view of the ideal miniature horse with descriptions and images that will help you learn how to spot the best qualities needed in your mares and stallions. A miniature horse should have the same correct, well-balanced conformation seen in larger breeds. Mares should be refined and feminine; stallions should be bold and masculine. They can be the draft, moderate or Arabian types. Draft Type Moderate Type Arabian Type Balance: Miniature horses should be well-proportioned, with the head in proportion to the neck and body. Head: The forehead should be broad with large, prominent, widely-spaced eyes. The ears should be medium sized and pointed. Neck: The throat latch should be well defined and the neck flexible and lengthy. Body: The body should be smooth and well-muscled, the back should be short and the barrel should be trim. Miniatures should have long, well-muscled hips, and the highest point of the croup should be even with the withers. The tail should smoothly round off the rump. Legs: Legs should be straight and parallel, the hooves should be round and compact, and the gaits should be fluid. The ideal front leg is aligned from the shoulder through the knee to the pastern and hoof. See illustrations at right: Ideal Front Leg Typical Faults of the front leg include: • Calf-Kneed ………….. back at the knee • Buck –Kneed ………… over at the knee • Knock-Kneed…………..knees bend in • Bow-kneed or bandy legged ………..knees bend out • Bench-kneed……………………..offset knee, cannon bone not centered Feet and Pasterns: The conformation of a horse’s pastern and feet is essential as horses have relatively little foot in comparison to the size of their body. In ideal conformation, the pastern and hoof have the same slope, and the hoof lines up correctly with the other joints in the leg. Conformation faults of the foot include: A. Ideal B. Splay footed (toed-out)……………….toes point outward C. Pigeon toed (toed-in)……………………toes point inward Rear legs The conformation of the hind legs determines the horse’s ability to propel themselves forward and do athletic maneuvers like jumping. The ideal conformation shows a straight line from the point of the buttock to the hock to the rear pastern, with the hock having an adequate angle. The horses feet are set directly under his hind-end, not camped out behind or set inside. When viewed from behind there is a straight line through the thighs, the hocks, the cannons, the pasterns, and the hooves. Common faults in the rear legs include: Bandy-legged :when viewed from behind the hocks are set wider than ideal, may cause pigeon toes Bow-legged…………………………………… when viewed from behind the hocks are set narrow, causing the horse to toe out. Sickle-hocked…………………….. when viewed from the side the hocks and cannon have excessive curve and the feet are set under. Camped-out………………………………… when viewed from the side the hocks have limited flexion and the feet are set -out behind the horse Camped-out………………………………… when viewed from the side the hocks have limited flexion and the feet are set -out behind the horse |
