|
|
 ™Conformation of the Dressage Horse Notes from the Schumacher YR Clinic by Trenna Atkins |
|
"A very little result is a good result"
"Contact and confidence are the same thing" |
On the lunch break
on Friday, March 27th, Conrad Schumacher gave us the benefit of his experience. He showed
us, with the help of a demonstration horse, what he is looking for in conformation based
on his dressage training experience. Although Conrad is a member of approval committees
for German Horse Breeders, these approvals include three day eventing, dressage and
jumping. This demonstration was in looking for a dressage horse only. Conrad pointed out that if you check the bloodlines of many world champion and Olympic champion dressage horses, you will find many different sires, so the breeding of horses for the dressage discipline is not confirmed. In selecting a dressage prospect, you would want the end of the withers to go back almost to the middle of the horse. When the end of the withers are far back, the deepest part of the saddle will sit over the horse's center of gravity and the horse and rider center of gravity can more easily come together. Withers which end too early can make it more difficult for the horse to shift the gravity to the hindquarters which is desirable in dressage, if not so much for other disciplines. The horse should be a rectangle horse, but not because of an overlong back which can become weak, but the rectangle should come because of a big shoulder and big, long lines in the hindquarters. If the back is short, bending is more difficult. Also, rectangle horses have legs that are not too long which makes them easier to bend and turn, more like driving a sports car around a corner. A longer legged horse does not give such a good feeling in the corners. The neck should be of average length. Necks can be long and thin. It can't be too long but it can easily be too thin for dressage purposes. The neck should come out of the shoulder at about a 90 degree angle. We really need a good connection from the haunches to the hindleg, and from the mouth, jaw, neck and base of the neck where the natural activity of the haunches must come together. A neck can be a little strong in the poll but with a good jaw and very active haunches and will still be okay because the movement from the haunches can flow to the hand and guarantee that you will have enough movement in your hand that can influence the horse. If the head bone of the horse is higher than the neck bone, the horse doesn't want to bend so it is better if they are on the same level. You should be able to get a fist between the jawbones which gives freedom in the jaw which is very important. The mouth should be big enough for a double bridle. In the mouth of the horse, there should be some meat between the skin and the bone because if the skin is on the bone, the horse will be maybe too sensitive. If you have good natural activity from the haunches, you can deal with more problems in the front, but if not, you will have more trouble dealing with conformation problems in the front. We also need a good temperament. The will to work, a sensitive horse and a horse with tranquility. The quality of the gaits of the horse is easy to judge. The walk should not be too big because it can be more difficult to bring back to collection. A big canter is not as desirable as a normal canter which will make learning the flying changes easier. When running loose and playing, the horse's neck should move around which shows a flexible neck. When trotted in hand and stopped, the horse should stop more under from behind and not on the forehand. The muscles of the hindquarters should move when tapped, and the back should drop from pressure and lift from pressure under the belly. It is also good to have a moveable and flexible tail. But, even if you have a lot of knowledge of dressage horses, you still have to buy three to get one good one because you can't know everything about the back of the horse and his soundness. Some horses don't look so strong but they are. In Germany they are now looking for more information about the back of the horse. We know a lot about the legs and soundness, but need to know more about the back so they are studying it. Trenna |
Dressage un Ltd. | Join / Renew Dressage un Ltd. Copyright © Dressage un Ltd. All rights reserved.
Material from this website may be used only with written permission of Dressage un Ltd. and for non-commercial use only. |