Evaluation should take into consideration muscle volume (i.e., the overall amount of muscle, with definition or delineation referring to the separation of the different muscles, often referred to as "chiseling"). Evaluation should be done by
- viewing muscling from the front, the side or profile, and the rear
- focus on the chest or pectorals (the "V" that the front legs create) and the forearm when evaluating from the front
- focusing on the shoulder and forearm, loin, and hindquarter including the stifle
- evaluating from the rear, ensuring the horse is wider through the stifle than at the point of the hip and observing the inner and outer gaskin when evaluating from the profile view.
Process/Skill Questions:
- How should one evaluate horse muscling?
- What are the characteristics of well-defined but not bunchy muscling over the stifle and gaskin?
- What are the definitions of parrot mouth, bench knees, swayback, goose-rumped, fistulous withers?