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[RC] Shoulder Conformation - k s swigartAngie Fura said: So far, I've learned that the steeper the angle, the rougher the trot and the more likely the horse is to hollow his back. What I don't know is why. Can anyone help me understand the connection? Well...if you ask me, the first part of the statement is wrong, at least with the "more likely to hollow his back" part of it. And here is why. In order to properly round its back, a horse must lower its hindquarters, push them further underneath the body and raise the shoulder while rotating the shoulder backwards by lifting the head from the neck. If the shoulder is angled too far (i.e. it is already rotated backwards when the horse is just standing there), then it is impossible for the horse to rotate the shoulder backwards and raise the forehand in this way, so it becomes extremely difficult for the horse to get the forehand out of the way of the hind end. If the horse has an "over" laid-back shoulder and a neck that is set on too high, it is, in essence "born" with a hollowed out back, and it is extremely difficult to work the horse in such a way as to counter-act this. Horses with more upright shoulders have more backward range of motion in their shoulder (i.e. they can rotate it backwards further and more easily), so it is easier to get them to round their backs. However, if it is too upright, then they have limited range of motion to be able to rotate their shoulder forward (this is what makes for the rough trot). One of the reasons that jumpers have a tendency to have shoulders that are a little on the upright side is that it makes it easier for the horse to lift its front end, and rotate the shoulder back so the horse can get the front legs out of the way as it goes over the jump. Slows the horse down a little bit though since, because the horse cannot rotate its shoulder forward quite as much, it makes it so the horse gets a little bit less propulsion from its front legs during breakover. A good shoulder angle is one that is kinda in the middle, although if I had to choose a deviation from the ideal, I would choose a little on the upright side over too laid back. It is much easier to shift the weight to the HQ if the shoulder is a little more upright. None of this, however, addresses any of the other front end leg angles, which also contribut a great deal to the functioning of the front legs. There is also the angle of the humerus (that short bone between the point of the shoulder and the elbow) and the pastern angle (an upright pastern contributes more to a rough trot than an upright shoulder but there is also such a thing as too sloping of a pastern), and to a small extent the knee angle (one hopes that the horse is neither over nor back at the knee but it doesn't always work out that way). kat Orange County, Calif. :) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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