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Re: [RC] [RC] Heavy on the forehand - Deanna GermanTo Heidi's reply, I would have to add that with dogs, there's no concern about them needing to carry weight on their backs. Thus, dogs (like retrievers) can have more of a rectangle shape (long back) than a horse ideally would. Travelling wide in an animal built with such a proportionately long back does indicate a less than efficient gait and thus a conformation fault. In addition to the reasons you cited, my retriever travels straight but wide with no overstep at the trot because his hinds are not angulated enough (he's a little post-legged). He's not heavy on the forehand because he's managed to compensate by moving wide, but he would be and would shuffle with his hinds, if he travelled straight. Better to let him travel wide. I suspect the same is true of many horses. I tend to look more at fronts than I do hinds in both working dogs and horses, since the front bears most of the weight. (And I look for a good slope to the shoulder so the front leg goes forward instead of up for what I do.) I look at what's between the ears most of all, since I've noticed that an awful lot of working animals overcome conformation faults if they have the right set of brain cells. >ggg< And the right trainer who can work with the animal. Take care! Deanna Bonnie wrote: At the trot, dogs move with the legs converging toward the center almost to the point single tracking. The dogs that move wide behind are dogs that are not balanced front and rear. That is, they may be straight in the shoulder but have a lot of angulation in the rear. So to avoid hitting their front paws, they either crab (shift the rear sideways) to avoid hitting the front paws, or move wide, to avoid hitting the front paws. If the front angulation and rear angulation match, then the dog can move efficiently and track properly. Is this an issue in horses... can there be too much rear angulation and not enough correct front angulation, therefore wide rear movement? Heidi replied: And while there are some basics of movement that cross over between dogs and horses, the dynamics of the back are entirely different, so one can't entirely compare the details of the gaits.... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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