Hmmm, not sure I agree with that I have several here that have very
long backs,
and they seem very common.
Our Maja has a long back...for an Icelandic. When I was thinking about
breeding her for
the first time, I asked some local horsemen if they thought her back was too
long. My
farrier was the most blunt. He told me that I had become so used to seeing
short backs
that I didn't recognize a normal-length back any more. It's always good to
hear what
people from outside our breed have to say. :)
Whatever, I don't think I've seen ANY breed horse with a back as proportionally
long as
Vinnie's. It amazes me that he's so athletic, despite his conformation issues.
Short backs are normally considered stronger, but my farrier's perspective is
that, in
extreme, they also can be a factor in forging or other interference issues. I
haven't
seen any forging in my herd, thank goodness - well, except for Holly, my TWH
used to at
times until she matured and we got our current farrier. I guess, like
anything, too much
of a good thing may not be a good thing, especially if the good thing is
accompanied by
non-complimentary conformation!
BTW, when Carol Brett (from the UK) did a saddle fitting for my Sina, she
commented about
them often having saddle fit issues because of their broadness and short backs.
Liz
Graves said the same, so I don't think it's just a quirk of my herd.
I should dot up Vinnie, so we can see his angles and joints...but I'll probably
wait until
he loses a little weight, and until he's grown some more. SOME of his
conformation may
improve as he matures (maybe he'll end up slightly less butt-high, for
instance)...but
two-year-olds often appear leggy. I don't think I've ever seen another two
year old
whose legs look so short. The reason I say that, is that it's interesting to
see the
variation in saddle back lengths of horses of similar overall back lengths.
Icelandic's
often have short saddle backs because their loins are long... Longer loins
contribute
to the lateralness of the horse, so again, too much can be a bad thing.
Karen Thomas, NC
