Conformation

[Plowboy]

Often people overlook a horses short comings because of color, breed etc. When looking for a horse to work we look for a short legged, deep bodied broad horse with a short back. One old timer told me once , “Those short bodied short legged horses are tough, rugged and easy keepers”. Another old timer told me while looking at a real tall team of Belgians, “See all the daylight under that team? It takes alot of money to keep that there”. I believe that they were both right.
Our horses are mostly between 16 and 17 hands, deep bodied, broad in the chest with a nice square walk. I am also a stickler for good pasterns which is the first thing I look at when looking at horses. Horses with bad pasterns are prone to arthritis and ring bone.
What does everyone else look for?

[Carl Russell]

Sounds about right, 16.2 1700 lbs, deep chest, although the Belgians that I have are a little longer bodied. I like to see the front feet solidly on the ground, with good snap with each step. Pasterns parallel. A good crested neck with prominent shoulder. I also like to see a soft eye in a well proportioned head. I’m not offended by a Roman nose, but I like to see a high spin-curl, to top it off. Carl

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