You've probably seen dressage horses go. You've probably seen hunters jump. But those are made horses, how do you judge whether the babies you have bred to be show horses might be able to compete in that different world? As with points of conformation, there are certain points you will be looking for as your young horses move freely in the field or turn out.

First let's look at what will be expected of a finished dressage horse, the discipline most people think of when they think "sport horse." What will that horse be required to do? He will be asked to transfer his weight from his forehand to his hindquarters. To receive that weight, he will learn to curl his loin and bend the joints of his hindquarters. He will be asked to maintain this balance in extension and lateral movement. He will be expected to have freedom in his shoulders to give expression to his movement.

 A made dressage horse will be asked to arch his neck in a "telescoping" manner out of his withers. The poll will be the highest point of his neck, with his throat soft. As he rises in front, he will transfer his weight to his hindquarters. His legs should move in a parallelogram; in other words, if he is correct, his hind leg will swing as a mirror image of the front leg. The bridge between front and back will be the strength of his loin. If the horse is correctly collected, his loin will have a round appearance. His croup will be lowered as he "folds" the joints of the hind legs. The pelvis will rotate downward, the stifle will be moved forward, as will be the hocks in order to receive the added load. In this balance, the horse's forehand will be free for the dancing movements asked of him, the powers in his quarters will give him the impulsion which will make the expression of those movements brilliant.

There seems to be a common misconception among saddleseat breeders and trainers that if a horse displays knee action he is not suitable as a dressage horse. In truth, this really depends on the rest of the action in the swing of the trot. If the horse moves his legs entirely up and down like a piston with little forward swing, of course this is not what a sport horse person would want. The same with a horse who throws his leg out after lifting his knee but fails to swing the shoulder forward (so he is only throwing the leg from the elbow). However, a horse who lifts his knee in the process of swinging the entire shoulder forward will probably display some lovely expression and freedom in his dressage gaits.

But the question remains, how to you see potential for these things in a baby? What qualities should be considered important? Well, it's all there in the made horse. You won't see the polish, but a young sport horse prospect will show you flashes of the same qualities I have just described in the finished horse. You should see three nice open, rhythmic gaits. The young horse should show a natural tendency to swing the hind legs forward under the body. The walk should go somewhere in four even beats. It should not be short, rushed or pacey. The trot should be reaching and steady. The canter should be open and balanced. All three gaits should show a tendency toward the qualities described for the finished horse. Now, as an example, let's go back to our pinto weanling seen at the opening of this article.

I first saw this horse at the age of eight months. He was bred as a show horse prospect and was shown to me free in an indoor. Of course, he ran, stopped, turned and his legs went all over the place like most horses his age. But he showed that his inclinations were to put his butt underneath himself. He also showed a forward way of going with a symmetrical swing in his stride. He showed no inclination to push his neck back with his lower throat. As with other prospects I looked at, I videoed this baby and studied the tape at home using stop motion to better analyze his gaits.

In the photo below, he is coming to a sudden stop. At first glance, one sees the slightly awkward movements of a baby who is preparing to exit stage right. But let's look closer. Even as he stops, he maintains the parallel swing in his legs. If he was not using his hind end, the angle of his hind canon would not match that of his forearm. His stifle is forward, evidence that he is folding the joints of his loin and pelvis. His hocks are also forward of the point of his buttocks, placing the hind leg in a supportive position. He is rising forward out of his neck, not using it to push his weight backward. Certainly not polished, but the elements are there.

Here he is again, now at just over one year old. In this photo, he is captured in a lovely balanced canter. In dissecting the canter of a young horse, one should look for a general sense of balance and roundness. A good sport horse prospect will offer the flying change in both directions naturally. Of course, before training, many of the changes won't be exact, but the instinct to remained correctly balanced by changing leads should be there. A large open step behind is essential. If a horse seems to run with his hind legs "tied together" he will be harder to teach to step under and support himself in the canter. If the horse seems to canter "like a wheelbarrow" with all the weight on his front end, there will be problems balancing him later on. Here this horse is well forward with his hind leg and nicely round in his loin.

In this photo, the colt is now about a year and a half. Again he shows us the parallel swing in his stride as he reaches under his body with his hind leg. Unfortunately, this photo was taken as he was going downhill, so he is using his throat muscles to hold his balance back. However, he is still nicely round in the loin. While he displays a nice stride, I would like to see the point of the shoulder (the joint connecting the humorous and the scapula) allow the humorous swing more freely forward. This may be a result of the stiffness in his throat at the moment the photo was taken. However, this is a common way of going in the Saddlebred breed, the point of the shoulder being pushed forward and up by the swing of the limb instead coming forward and then dropping and allowing the humorous to swing further. This young horse did not show this tendency as a weanling, so it remains to be seen whether he will grow out of being "stuck on the point of his shoulder."

This brings up an important point of looking at growing horses. They do go through awkward stages. As this horse turned two, he was trotting entirely over his forehand. During this time, his back was threatening to rival a stretch limo. If a buyer had looked at him at that age, he would not have take a second look. Three months later, his back is once again in proportion to his body and his trot is showing more promise. When you see a horse at a year or two old, you may have to decide if what you are seeing is the result of growth or if it is a glimpse of the finished product. Looking at the parents may be a help at hedging your bets, but not always.

But let us return to our young horse for one more image, now at about 21 months old. Here he is in the middle of a flying lead change. Notice how far under his body he has brought his hocks to support his balance as he rocks it back to execute the swap. Notice too the lifting in the loin. Encouraged by the snow, he is displaying a "jumping" into the canter stride by the hind legs which is so sought after in a dressage performance.

 So watch your babies in the field. When they trot, is there a springy suspension in their stride? Do they hesitate in the air when they're excited? Can you describe them as buoyant? Does that baby sit back to stop or turn? Does he swap leads with ease? Does their conformation indicate that they might be suitable for an "alternative" profession? There's no guarantees that any young horse will fulfill the promises he makes in the field, but by examining your babies in a different light, you may see that there are more doors open for them than you first thought. And the next time one of those sport horse people rings you up, you may be able to say, "Yes! I have just the horse for you!"