Lesson 1

TRAIN A REINER

Todd and Taumi Martin

Lesson 1

Conformation for a Reining Horse

In today’s world of specialization, we don’t just look at the conformation of a horse for “efficiency of movement” or how well it meets the “breed standard.” Today we primarily look at the conformation to determine how well the horse will be able to perform the particular event which interests us most.

For example, the breed standard for the American Quarter Horse would have you looking at the painting by Oren Mixer. The horse is well balanced and a very pretty horse, but he wouldn’t be able to compete in an AQHA halter horse class, or a hunter under saddle class, or even a western pleasure class.

Would this horse make a great reining horse? Let’s find out.

Specific conformation traits will make it more likely or easier for a horse to complete the complex maneuvers required of the reiner in the show pen.

So not only are we looking for a horse that is correct in body with special conformation traits, but we should also consider the horse’s attitude and aptitude.

First let’s examine the horse’s body. Keep in mind that everything we talk about in conformation will eventually culminate in the over-all balance of the horse. So we can make allowances in some areas, if over-all the horse is basically balanced.

With that in mind, we start with the legs first; to paraphrase an old saying: “without legs, there is no horse”!

Much like the halter horse, we are looking for a correct leg and foot. When standing still the horse’s legs should be straight up and down and should not turn out or in at the knees.

Click here for a picture of a reining horse viewed from the front.

The legs should be a decent distance apart. I do not want them too close together; when they are too close together the horse has a tendency to step on himself while doing lateral work. I do not want a big wide a chest. A big wide chest puts the front legs too far apart and makes lateral work more difficult. The chest should be proportional...not too wide, not too narrow, but in balance with the overall horse.

Ideally you should be able to draw an imaginary line straight from the shoulder down through the middle of the knee into the pastern and into the middle of the hoof.

Often times when looking at a young prospect a foot may be slightly turned in or out, or slant in or out. In this case you should look at the leg above the hoof to see if the leg is actually straight. Often a shoer can improve the balance of the foot, but if the leg is crooked, a correction cannot be made. Once a horse is over the age of about four months, never try to change his conformation to putting a foot out of balance. The key here is to make sure the leg is straight.

Click here for a picture of a reining horse viewed from the side.

The same applies to the back legs. I do not want the horse to be cow hocked. It is harder for cow-hocked horses to hold the ground as they legs tend to spread as they slide. It is natural for a horse’s hind foot to turn out very slightly, but the hocks should not be turned in toward each other—cow hocked.

“Straight” hind legs are important in determining the way the horse travels. The hind foot flight should be straight ahead, not arcing out or in. If the horse’s hind foot does not travel in a straight line, it is a pretty good indication the hind leg is not correct.

I also like to see a good reach when a horse walks. The hind foot should land in the hoof print just vacated by the front foot, or just forward of that hoof print. When a horse over-strides the front hoof print, it means the hind leg travels well up underneath him which will help later in training.

I also want to see a horse with short cannon bones and low hocks. So how do you determine whether or not a horse has low hocks and/or short cannon bones? Your best understanding comes from looking at a lot of horses, so you can gain a point of reference. In order to gain your point of reference, you should keep the breed of the horses in mind. If you are looking at a warm blood, a short cannon bone is going to be longer than a short cannon bone on a two year old quarter horse. The horse is simply taller. So your point of reference should come from the breed you are assessing. With that understanding, look for a short cannon bone or a low hock in relationship to the horse’s body.

You are looking at the specific conformation for each horse with the overall goal of having a balanced horse with traits that favor reining horse work.

A good way to determine low hocks is to look at the horse from the side, squared up as you would be show a halter horse. I want to see how the hocks are set in relationship to the knees. The hocks are not set low if they are on a plane that is higher than the knee. I want to see a horse whose hocks are at least at the same level as the knee; it is better if the hocks are lower than the knee.

The best way for me to judge the hip, now that I know he has low set hocks, is based on where the hind legs are when he is standing still. What I am looking for is a horse that stands underneath himself; as if he is standing in a stopping position. If this is the case, the horse is built to go into the stop position. A horse that stands under himself will be able to drive from behind better, and find the position for the stop naturally. That conformation makes it easier for the horse to perform the stop I want, and therefore it makes it easier for me to teach the horse a winning stop. (I don’t want a horse everyone would look at and say, “He’s sickle-hocked.”)

When a horse stands underneath himself, he tends to have a nice round hip.

There are several facets of the body that actually create that nice round hip. To start, I like to see the (femoral biceps muscles—semimembranous muscle) the hamstrings have a nice curve as they go down and toward the stifle and gaskin. I do not want the croup to be flat; there should be a nice round shape to the hindquarters. If the hamstrings go well toward the stifle, it is a good indicator the horse will be able to pull underneath himself and have the ability to hold himself in the stop.

When a horse is flat in the croup, he’ll have a tendency to drop his back, which in turn makes it harder to teach him to roll up underneath himself and collect himself in the stop. A flat croup indicates the horse will be a little weaker in the top part of his back. His muscles simply aren’t big enough to help him with his stopping.

I also like to see a full muscled gaskin.

I do not like to see a horse have a round hip, but have no place for his tail to drop. In other words his tail should fall or be set in between his buttocks. When the tail sets higher or protrudes out the top it indicates the horse is narrow behind. The stronger the hindquarters conformation, the more likely the horse will be able to hold himself in the stop. He can actually pull himself and hold his hind quarters in the dirt; a very important attribute when the arena dirt is heavy.

I like to see a short a back and a short underline. (I know there are many reining horses that are not short backed and still stop very well. The key is that the horse is balanced.) I do not have to have a short back, but it does make training easier.

If the horse is short backed, but his underline (by underline I mean from his flank to his heart girth) is longer than the top line (by top line I mean from his loin to his withers) then it is harder for him to lift his back. Yes, the back is short, but the long underline means he has that much more belly to lift up into the rib cage in order to round up his back. It makes it much more difficult for the horse. Typically when you see a horse with a short top line and a long underline the horse will not stand well under himself, a conformation trait I said I wanted.

So the short back is good, but you have to look at in relationship to the whole body or the way the horse is built. Not just one part of a horse’s conformation will make a reining horse.

The most important factor is balance in the whole body.

Let’s say we give a little and take a horse with a longer back. His underline, at the very least, should match his top line, so it is easier for him to round up back up. He should have the other desired traits in the hip and legs. However, he cannot have a short neck. A short neck will cause his balance to be off. Along with the longer back, you need to have a little bit longer neck. Remember, it all goes back to the total conformation, not just one aspect. So the longer back has to be balanced with a longer neck so he can balance his weight and still stay soft in the face.

When assessing the top line, we are looking for a horse that is set up hill. In other words, where is the highest point of the withers (where you would measure the horse to determine its height) in relationship to its croup? If the croup is higher than the withers, he is built “down-hill”. For reining, a horse that is built “down-hill” works against what you want to do…which is raise the shoulders and drive from behind so we gain true collection. If the withers and croup are even or on the same plain, his hocks are set at the same level as his knees, then he should be able to do reining maneuvers.

I really prefer a horse with the withers higher than the croup, and his knees higher than his hocks. This means they are more along the lines of running up hill which helps you with shoulder elevation and drive from behind. His body is naturally in the position to attain those things.

The horse’s shoulders should not be narrow in width. I like the shoulders and chest area to be a broad and wide. This gives me a horse with better balance when he is running. In other words he can lope square and keep his body in a straighter line as we begin to teach the guide and loping. Being narrow in the shoulders can indicate that the guide later on will be more difficult because they tend to be quicker. Not that I do not like quicker; it’s just that with broader shoulders, it easier for him to hold his shoulders up when we are driving from behind to attain collection. He uses himself better and does not drop his shoulders as easily.

Too straight in the shoulders, too upright, usually means that a horse will be stiffer when he lopes. A short, choppy way of going is not as pretty as a fluid mover. And remember, in reining we spend the majority of our time loping. The straightness in the shoulder could also be a problem later on with stopping. The upright shoulder makes it more difficult for the horse stay free on the front end and face so he can actually move out on the front end and walk in his stops on his front feet.

I like a horse’s neck and head to hang out level from his withers naturally.

If you have a horse and the crest of his neck, as it comes from the withers, arches up or provides a higher head set, it doesn’t mean he will not perform. If the neck comes in a straight line heading up from his withers, then he will also have a tendency to carry his head higher. This is not a huge deal as long as he guides, but the higher his head is carried, the more difficult it is for him to round his back up.

You want the horse to be able to get soft in the bridle and break at the pole and withers. This is a big problem when his neck is set high and his withers are set low because he’ll want to drop his shoulders and hollow out his back and keep his head up. That means his conformation is not helping you get what you want, but is making it more difficult for the horse to perform the maneuvers you want.

I want to see his neck tie in high on the chest. The reason for this is it gives him more freedom of movement in the shoulders. I don’t want to see the neck so thick and deep that it actually ties into the middle of his chest. When the neck ties in lower in the middle of his chest, it inhibits his shoulder motion. When his neck is set low, it makes it hard for the horse to be free in the forehand for spinning and roll backs.

When the neck ties in high, the conformation of the neck is thinner, making it easier to use when it comes to spinning and rolling back.

A clean throat latch is important. The cleaner the throat latch, the easier for the horse get into the bridle and soften at the pole. The thicker the throat latch--meaning he has more bulk in that area—the more difficult for him to tuck his chin to the vertical position. A horse with a thick throatlatch is difficult to train to keep his head in the vertical position since it becomes very uncomfortable for him.

When you judge the conformation of the entire horse, no one flaw makes it impossible to train him. The key is the conformation balance of the complete picture.

If his neck ties in a little bit low, yet his withers are set high in relationship to the croup, his knees are set higher than his hocks and he stands underneath himself it is much easier for him to collect while carrying a rider. And that one conformation flaw will stop the horse from working well. It will, however, be something for you to think about as you create your training plan.

Now that we have a well conformed horse for reining, I want to be sure he has a pretty head. I like a pretty headed horse, and so do the judges…judges are fans of the sport and know horses, so they like to see a pretty horse too. I think it gives you a small advantage, and we’ll accept all advantages.

I like the eye to be a pretty “doe” looking eye, with short ears and a pretty little dish to the face. I like more of a feminine looking head.

Attitude and aptitude are as important as conformation

When looking at a young horse, you may need to look past a few things because they are still maturing.

But insist on a willing partner!

I do not like to see a horse with great conformation, but totally unaware you are there. I do not like to see a horse that does not pay attention to you or listen to you.

I want to see a horse that is quiet and pays attention to his handler, but is also curious and interested in things.

I do not like it if the horse is so concerned with you that he is constantly pestering you, or wanting to fuss about doing what you are asking.

I want to be able to get his attention quickly and be able to hold his attention. The horse should be relaxed, but concentrating on you.

A horse that wants to please you, will please you.

I’ve expressed the conformation traits I want to see in a potential reiner. No one thing will be a deal breaker, as long as the total picture shows a balanced horse.

The horse should move (especially when loping) and look pretty as well as stand and look pretty.

If the conformation is good for reining, you’ve got a good start on creating a star.

Assignment:

Please send a picture of the horse you want to train as a reining horse. In a text document, explain all the conformation traits that will help the horse in his work, and all the traits you think may be weaknesses for a reining horse. Are you sure this is the horse you want to train as a reiner?

Please include your full name and email address on all submitted documents.

Send your assignment and picture to todd@toddmartin.net