LARRY BAILEY HORSE WORLD

Welcome to the Form to Function page. This page talks about each part of the horse and how it's form determines how well it will function. There are photos and diagrams to help get a good visual picture . We are now on volume 7 Profile . See at the bottom of the page a list of all the parts we will cover!

 

Volume 7

PROFILE

The profile of the horse would be considered like looking at a human profile of the head. By observing profiles we can see the balance of some of the parts of the head to the whole. If the profile seems to be in proportion to the size of the horse as well as each piece of the head fits together in a harmonious blend or it doesn't could be a good indicator to look more closely to each part. You first must start by looking at as many profiles as you can. Start to get a "reference library in your head of good , proportionate profiles.

To be continued....

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What is Form to Function?

        What is Form to Function and how does it apply to you and your horse? Form to Function is a method that I have developed for riding instructors and trainers that allows them to maximize each horses' and students' potential to its fullest. It has been my observation over the years that there are very few riders built with the perfect form to ride. This would also apply to the horse, it is the rare horse that comes with all perfect balanced set of levers to be a World class athlete, yet we all still desire to be a competent and functioning rider who can get the optimum performance from our horse. So... how do we go about doing this thing? The first step to being able to use this process is to develop our ability to observe, look and see what is really there in each rider and each horse not only from a physical standpoint but also a mental aptitude too.

        In order to be able to assess the conformation of a horse with skill and accuracy we have to become so familiar with this process that it becomes a habit. Too often trainers and instructors have a few particular things they may "look" for in a horse's conformation and because of this approach they miss a whole bunch. I'm going to challenge you to throw away your preconceived ideas of correct conformation and ask you to begin to observe, look and see it in a completely new manner. Step one is to familiarize yourself with all the basic parts of the horse. (See diagram below)

        Taking a look at the diagram we can see that no matter how many parts we break the horse into, the fact is that they are still all connected. Which means that how each piece may enhance or detract from each other is important. For example, a common conformational question that comes up frequently; is this a long backed horse or a short backed horse with a long coupling? All too often people make the mistake of confusing a horse which has a long coupling and actually a short back and calling it a long backed horse. There is a big difference in these two different types of conformation and they cause two different training challenges. The horse with the short back but long coupling will be a horse predisposed to have back problems and sore muscles because the topline of the horse is not supported. Engagement of the hindquarters will also be more difficult because of the lack of strength. Conversely the long backed horse with a short coupling will show greater strength and better engagement. This example shows that being able to observe, look and see what is really there is highly important to have a succesful outcome with any horse. In the photo below the horses coupling can be seen clearly on this horse...so what do you think? Is this a long backed horse or a short backed horse with a long coupling?

        On this horse above, the bright blue spinal cord runs along the topline of the horse or spine. The coupling area is where the last rib ends and the spinal skeleton continues to connect with the hip. As you can see clearly in this type of visual the coupling area is not supported by the skeleton. Therefore this can be a weak area in a horse the longer it is. If you look where the end of the withers are and then see the starting point of the coupling you can see this horse actually has a short back, in fact the coupling area is almost as long as the back. So this horse actually has the short back long coupling conformation. For trainer, instructor and owner, this will be an area to monitor to make sure the horse does not get too sore which he is prone to based on his conformation.

Here is a list of the parts of the horse covered in depth using the Form to Function evaluation of conformation:

Head . Eye, Ears,Forehead, Muzzle (jaw, mouth,teeth, bars, tongue) Nostrils, Jowl, Profile, Expresso, Size of Head,   Set on Neck, Curvature of Neck, Proportion of Neck,  Crest, Attachment,  Forequarters (withers, shoulders, chest) Forelegs (forearm, knees, cannons, pasterns, feet, bone, tendon) Middle ( girth, sternum, back, rib, loin, coupling) Hindquarters (croup, quarters,) Hindlegs (thigh, gaskin, hock,pasterns-hind, feet-hind) Tail and carriage.