Conformation

Conformation and Feeding

Conformation
Conformation
Conformation

How you feed affects your horse

How you feed can affect your horses conformation.  When the horse eats with its head in an upright position it hollows the back.  Which transfers the body weight to the hind quarters. This will result in the hind legs being placed further back than normal. So stress is constantly being applied to the back and hocks. This can also cause neck issues from the constant twisting to get the forage. Also, dust, hay and debris can fall into the eyes.

In the 3 pics above notice the relaxed natural body position when grazing from the Porta-Grazer

Conformation
Writtle University shows how the back is changed by feeding with the head down.

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