I Spy an Athlete

For this entry, I decided to describe the differences between horses built for two of the most opposite disciplines. This is to emphasize how important profiling is, especially when choosing a new horse or training a horse with promise in a certain area. One of these horses is from the dressage world, and the other from the pleasure realm. See if you can spot some major differences!

Didn’t notice? Here are a few:

(We will refer to the lighter colored horse as Horse #1 and the darker colored horse as #2.)

1. Horse #1’s neck is set lower than Horse #2’s.
2. Horse #2’s hind quarter (butt) is less sloped than Horse #1’s.
3. Horse #2 has a slimmer, more stream-lined build than Horse #1, who has a stockier, more muscular build.
4. Horse #1’s knees are set lower on the leg than Horse #2’s.
5. Horse #2’s hocks (the major back leg joint) are straighter than Horse #1’s.

But why are these differences significant? Is there a reason that these two horses are built so differently? Which one is for dressage, and which one is for pleasure? To find the answers, come to my final presentation!

~Kristina