Aspects Of Becoming A Horse Judge
Horse judging appears to be easy and fun to many in the agricultural world. However, it involves having a pretty extensive knowledge of horses, the ability to easily visualize, complete honesty, and being very detail oriented, confident, and decisive. With these qualities and a great deal of practice, almost anyone can become an accomplished horse judge.
Most individuals who judge horses start off their journey with small events in 4-H or FFA, usually continuing through college. Classes are judge both at a halter stance and in specific patterns. The halter classes are to be judged under the assumption that they are sound. The performance classes are to be judged the opposite, with any unsoundness counting as a penalty. Halter classes are Quarter horse, conformation hunter, appaloosa, Arabian, paint, American, Saddlebred, and Morgan. Performance classes are Western pleasure, western riding, reining, English pleasure, hunter under saddle, and hunter hack. This range gives the students a wide variety to build their expertise in horse judging.
As fore-mentioned, there are many qualities that make a horse judge a great judge. Any lack in these values, and the judge isn’t as credible or skilled. Owners and riders alike want their animals to be placed at the top, but when the talents and disciplines necessary are absent in the judge(s), the placings aren’t valid. Judges need to have a desire for knowledge about what they are judging. They must have an extensive knowledge of horses, the ins, the outs, and everything in between. They need to be in the loop as to what is desirable and what is not desirable in horses. Judges need to be extremely detail oriented in their observations, so much so that they can give all-inclusive reasons for placings. Judges are obligated to have the ability to easily visualize each horse next to one another to correctly place them. They ought to be decisive and have the confidence to stick with a decision, especially when the rankings are questioned. Judges need to be honest and non-biased in their opinions and placings. They must disregard any personal relationships with the owners or horses, as well as placing in past events. Lastly, they must compose themselves in a polite and professional manner when judging or attending events and refrain from any distractions.
When judging a horse, there are many different things that are taken into consideration. To fully judge every aspect, one must view the animal from at least 3 angles. These angles are the front, side, and rear. However, the minimum of 3 angles may not be adequate to obtain the proper placing for that animal. Each of the 3 angles have specific things that need to be looked at. Each of these have a specific standard that they are compared to and scored against. The main categories are balance, muscling, structure, breed and sex, quality and refinement, and locomotion.
When grading a horses balance, a judge must consider the proportions of the horse. Proportions do not depend on the horse’s discipline, and should be consistent across the board. To determine the proportions of a horse, a judge must look at the side view. The length of the shoulder, back, and hip should be the same. The neck should not be any longer than the shoulder. The bottom of the neck should be about half the length of the top of the neck. The face needs to be shorter than the length of the back. As far as the body of the horse, the underside or bell of the horse needs to have a length longer than its back, with the same length above the underline to the top of the back then below the underline to the ground. Any deformities or inconsistencies with these proportional measurements will give the judge a general idea of problems in their performance and locomotion.
Most judges will agree that the more muscle a horse has, the better looking it will be. Definition and volume are two components of muscling that will need to be considered. Definition is the toning or separation of the muscles while volume is the overall amount of mass of muscle present. Muscling should be evaluated from all three angles, the front, side, and rear. Pectorals are on the front of the horse, forming a v-shape on the chest and forearm. The shoulder, forearm, loin, and hind quarters should be judged from the side for overall muscle volume and definition. The loin needs to be short to carry power forward from the hind legs. Deep flanks give more balance to the horse conformation. The withers of a horse determines the length of the shoulder and spinal muscles. The width of the horse in the stifle should be wider than the hip, when evaluating from the rear. The gaskin, both inner and outer, should also be viewed at this angle. The muscling of a horse can determine the strength and quality of movement.
When evaluating structure, a judge must look at the bone structure or skeleton of the horse. Structure ties in with the horses movement. Similar to muscles, structure needs to be viewed from the three angles, front, side, and rear. Many judges tend to start at the angle of the shoulder. A 45 degree angle should be created by the shoulder. They need to be long and sloping, not short and flat. Any smaller angle than 45 degrees, and the horse ill end up with a short stride and a longer back. Next for evaluation is usually the neck, which is favorable to be long and lean. This desired trait tend to show in horses that are more athletic and flexible. The neck and head should be of the right proportions, not to big in comparison and not too small. There are many attributes that pertain to a well-structured head on a horse. When evaluating for breeding, the masculinity or femininity of a horse’s head is directly related to its worth. The jaw needs to meet evenly, without an appearance of money or parrot mouth. The throat latch needs to be clean, not coarse and thick. Ears need to be proportionate to the head as well, too big or too small, as well as improper positioning, will detract attention away from the face. Nostril size needs to be large to assist with better breathing. A judge will then move on to the legs of the horse. Short cannon bones and long forearms are desirable for longer strides in a horse. The knees of a horse must be thick and wide. Hocks also need to have the correct placement. The hoofs and pasterns must be at a 45 degree angle, similar to the shoulder. This ensures a long stride. The angle of a horse’s hoofs tell a story of their soundness. More times than not, a horse with a long toe and short heel will result in long strides, while a horse with the reverse, a short toe and a long heel, will have short strides. The hips are judged next by finding a box shape on them. Rounded hips will not have boxes or squares. Judged also look at the withers and legs and evidence of a strong top line while evaluating the rest of the horse.
Breeds have their own specific characteristics that are different from others. Warm bloods, like stock horses are judged on a different basis than cold bloods, like draft horses. Stock horses like quarter horses, appaloosas, and paints have a wider build and more muscle definition and volume than that of fine society breeds like Arabians, saddlebreds, and Morgans, whom have narrow frames and light bones and muscles. Fine society breeds are “royal” horses known for their superb movements and high tails. Draft horses are large work horses. They are bigger boned and much taller than the rest. They tend to have rounder muscles compared to other breeds as well. Their faces are usually thicker and “chubbier” than those of stock or fine society horses. A horse has certain guidelines pertaining to its sex as well. Male horses tend to be more muscular and toned with masculine faces, while female horse are slightly less muscular with feminine faces.
The overall appearance of bone and muscle is evaluated in quality and refinement. In this category of judging, one also looks at the tightness and texture of the skin, usually over the face, joints, and lower legs, and the thickness of the hair coat. This is where the judge will look at things based on aesthetics and the desirable traits of the outward appearance.
The locomotion of the horse, or its way-of-going as some may call it, is judged based on the horses movements like its stride. Locomotion is judged, similar to many other areas, on three angles, the front, side, and rear. All the gaits a horse uses should be judged on movement as well. When judging locomotion, one looks for soundness and quality of the movements. Movement, when evaluated from the front or rear, should be in a straight line, not straying occasionally on either side. Horse that are “pigeon-toed” tend to swing outward, instead of straight, when moving their hooves. When evaluated from the side, a judge should look at the length of stride, even leg use, and flexion (or lack of) in the knees. A long stride is desirable, along with equal use of all 4 legs, not the favoring of one specific leg. Flexion, or the lack of, is viewed based on the type of horse being evaluated. Saddlebreds are desired to have a lot of flexion in the knees while stock horses need flat knees and hocks.
In conclusion, horse judging is not as easy as it may seem. Becoming a horse judge is very possible; however, it requires a large amount of hard work, strict dedication, thorough practice, and discipline. A horse judge must be willing to learn and retain an astronomical amount of information about horses, in and out, in every breed. When knowledge, diligence, and tons of practice comes together, a great horse judge is born.
