Judging Thoroughbred Conformation

While attending UMass Amherst, I took a class called "Horse Breeds, Types, and Selection" which was taught by Beth Donohue.  In it, we learned judging criteria. Below are two handouts from that class that I thought worth keeping all these years and now I know why, so I could share them with you.

I noticed a few things on the "Score Card" that seems to indicate it was geared toward the Morgan breed (which UMass raised on campus), and just a couple times where the comments were obviously biased to Morgans (size and weight, head profile), I've edited them a little to apply to TBs as well. In all areas, though, this is for evaluating a good saddle horse, and the description applies to a good TB as much as any other riding breed. 

What Should Be Seen in the Views

As viewed from the front: 

As viewed from the side: 

As viewed from the rear: 

As viewed close up: 

On the move: 

SCORE CARD FOR JUDGING HORSES *                           perfect score



General Appearance (20 points)

        breed type--good saddle conformation                                6

        quality--clean, dense bone with sufficient
          substance, well developed joints and tendons,
          and a fine coat                                                               5

        size and height-- within breed standard                              5

        temperment--tractable but with good spirit                          4

Head and neck (10 points)

        head--medium size, clean cut, tapering from jaw
          to muzzle. The profile is preferably straight.
          Wide, clean cut, lower jaw, medium fine muzzle
          with small firm lips and large nostrils.                              3

        ears--small, fine pointed, set wide apart and
          carried alertly                                                                1

        eyes--full, bright, and clear                                               1

        neck--medium length, well crested, clean cut at
          the throatlatch, smoothly joined to shoulder and
          deep at the point of shoulder                                          5

Forequarters (16 points)

        shoulders of good length and slope, blending in well           2

        arms--short, muscular                                                      1

        forearms--wide, flat, and muscular                                     3

        knees--wide and flat                                                         1

        cannons--short, wide, flat and free from meat                      1

        pasterns--clean and strong, of medium length,
          the slope to correlate with the slope of shoulder                1

        hooves--medium size, nearly round, open at the heel,
          smooth and dense but not brittle                                      2

        legs--thin and straight from front, wide and
          muscular from side                                                        5

Body (10 points)

        withers--smooth, well defined but not too high                    3

        chest--good depth and width                                            1

        ribs--well sprung and closely joined                                  1

        back--short, broad, well-muscled                                      2

        loin--wide, muscular, closely coupled                               2

        flank--deep, full                                                               1

Hindquarters (24 points)

        hips--well rounded with hip bones not showing                  1

        croup--rounded gently                                                     1

        tail--set fairly high, well carried                                        1

        quarters--deep, well muscled                                          3

        stifles--strong, muscular                                                 2

        thighs--deep, well muscled                                             2

        gaskins--medium length, wide, muscular                         3

        hocks--wide, deep and clean                                          2

        cannons--short, wide, flat with tendons standing
          well out from bone and well defined                               1

        Pasterns--strong, medium length, not too sloping             1

        feet--should resemble the fore feet, round, medium
          size                                                                           2

        legs--perpendicular with the hocks when viewed from
          the rear, neither closer together nor wider apart              5

Action (20 points)

        walk--flat footed, elastic, and rapid with a long,
          straight, free stride                                                      6

        trot--square, free-going, collected and balanced               7

        canter--smooth, easy, collected and straight on
          both leads                                                                  7

*This score card is to give you an idea where the major points of
emphasis of the conformation might be found.  It is by NO MEANS designed
for you to score each part of each horse in a class.

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