Customer Reviews

Conformation and Performance: A Guide to the Performance Consequences of Common Conformation Points

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I odered this book with high hopes. The premise is wonderful. The left page lists a conformational aspect and information about it. The right page is supposed to have photos illustrating that fault. This is where the book falls apart, most of the photos are so small that they don't illustrate anything. Some of them are just pretty pictures that make no attempt to do anything but decorate the page. A single GOOD photo of each fault is expected, but not delivered. To make matters worse, the author doesn't seem to distinguish between highly prized breed characteristics, like jibbahs, and faults! Someone should take this idea and do it right.

used a bit more information. The photos that she uses really shows you what she is talking about. I didn't agree with everything that she said but I did like the book overall. The main thing I thought that it needed was more information on what each thing causes a horse to be able to do and not be able to do.

If you are expecting the full range for each conformational defect, then you need to go elsewhere. The one photograph provided for each flaw was of excellent quality, but the performance photographs were repetitive. Pictures of the ideal conformation, or a range from good to bad, would have been more informative. The sections on performance consequences were good, as well as the descriptions.

I was disappointed with the level of detail included in this book. For the various conformation flaws, there was generally only one picuture of the flaw, followed by pictures of the activity(ies) that the horse could or could not perform if he had the flaw.

I would have hoped for a more detailed discussion and photos showing various degrees of deviation from ideal.

The author, a veterinarian, goes against common teachings of conformation defects. She says a horse with a thick throatlatch can take in more air than a horse with a nice clean throatlatch...huh? She also says that horses with short necks are usually heavy on their forehand, then she says that horses with long necks are heavy on their forehands. The neck by itself does not make them heavy on their forehands, it is much more involved than that, but she fails to point out this fact. She recommends horses with upright, straight shoulders, and short, upright pasterns be used for roping and sprint racing events. What really was interesting was her thought on a straight, low set neck, being ideal for a dressage horse! She also says the dish face of an arabian prevents the intake of large amounts of air, "leading to exercise intolerance or poor staying power." That will certainly bring a chuckle from the competitive/endurance riders. Photos taken from a three quarter frontal position are used to show a horse with a proportionally short neck. A giraffe would appear to have a short neck taken from the same angle. Then using a picture of a dressage horse doing a pirouette, she says the rider's leg has slipped back because the horse is slab sided. The rider's leg is back because he has put it back to give the correct driving aid for a pirouette. On page 17, she uses a picture of a dressage horse doing an extended trot, saying that, "Contrary to popular opinion...the horse is extending its foot way beyond its nose." She fails to catch the important fact that the hoof, when it reaches the ground will NOT be in front of the horse's nose. This book does a poor job and is very misleading. Experienced horsemen will get a chuckle out of all the misinformation.

There are good conformation books available (such as Heather Smith Thomas). This is not one of them. The author fails to distinguish between fashion and function, and between her ideal (the thoroughbred/sport horse?) and acceptable deviations from an average, many of which are desirable in certain breeds. Think of the up-headed breeds, such as saddlebred, morgan, and so on, which would seem to be breeding in faults, at least to go by this book. The clearest example of a failure to distinguish between fashion and function is page 196 "Too Short (in context with rider)." The dislike of seeing the rider's feet below the horse's belly is purely one of aesthetics, associated mainly with English-riding disciplines. Instead of questioning this, she rationalizes it - (1) the rider makes the horse top-heavy, (2) and (3) the rider is too heavy for the horse, and (4) the rider cannot give correct leg aids. For (1) simple physics tells us that the rider's weight is the same place on the horse, regardless of whether the horse is tall or short. For (4) she should remember that leg aids are correctly given with the calf, and many highly trained horses would be judged by her to be too small. The Spanish Riding School comes to mind. Only (2) and (3) are correct - the weight of the rider as compared to the weight of the horse. This has nothing to do with where the legs hang. The 20% rule is the usual one here, but the military trials in the 1900s found that a 1000+/-100 lbs horse was capable of carrying 225-275 lbs for 600 miles over hills and staying sound. There are few riders so heavy that they would require a larger horse than this. Furthermore, as a vet, Dr. Loving should know that large horses often experience soundness problems due to their own weight. The push for taller and taller horses has absolutely nothing to do with them being better able to do the work--it is simply fashion. For disciplines where the judges mark on looks and this concept of "fit", you will need a tall horse. Otherwise, suit yourself.

As an equine appraiser and horse trainer I keep this guide in my truck. It is easy to reference.

I love the concept and format of the book, but it could be so much better.

As another reviewer noted, the photos do very little to help a reader evaluate the various conformational aspects/faults in actual horses. Each page usually has just one small photo of a "naked" horse with the conformation described, and a bunch of small action shots of horses at work under saddle or in harness. I would have much preferred four or five good shots of different types of horses clearly demonstrating the conformation in question.

The writing is informative, but a bit sparse and clinical.

I'm giving it two stars rather than three because of the hefty price tag of $39.95. It's a beautiful book, but all in all disappointing.

I agree it needed more detail. BUT, I think it makes a great quick reference. If fact, it would of been better to shrink down the size of the book to make it easier to pack around. It makes a nice gift for the beginner and average horseperson. If you are into breeding and buying, it is helpful - but you might want more detail. I like the suggested exercise to help improve horse performance - but it could of been expanded on. I do NOT regret buying it. Everyone that has borrowed the book - ask where did I get it and they enjoyed it.