First up is a grulla gelding we called "Tank." He was 15 when the photo was taken.
Tank is what most people call a "foundation type" Quarter Horse. Overall, he's an attractive horse with good bone and a nice long hip. He made a nice gelding, but he was a stallion until he was about 9 years old, which accounts for the slightly thicker neck and jowl.What I don't like about this horse, conformationally, is the degree to which he is built downhill (he is 15.1 at the hip and 14.3 at the withers) and his steeper than ideal shoulder. I'd also like to see a bit more length in his neck. His head is also a bit coarse, mostly because it appears too long from eye to nostril. The picture makes him appear sickle hocked because he was backed into position for the picture. He actually has good strong hocks of proper angulation, but if a person was only evaluating based on this picture, it would be considered a weakness.
What I like about him, besides his hip and bone is that his neck ties in a reasonable distance above his chest. He also has a nice, strong forearm and gaskin with defined muscle. Although he is terribly downhill, he does have some strength in his loins. Notice that there is a nice strong band of muscle over the loin, rather than a weak dip as is often seen in downhill horses that are a little too long in the back.
So, how does this all translate into performance, and why did we buy this horse?
First off, the downhill conformation makes it more difficult for a horse to elevate its shoulders and properly step under and drive from the hindquarters. However, having a neck that doesn't tie in too low, strong loins, a deep hip and nice strong gaskins helps to mitigate that problem. Basically, you get the drive train (rear end) strong enough to overcome the problems caused by gravity. Tank could drive his hind end up and slide and he could also collect well enough at the lope to be both attractive and handy. He did have trouble learning flying lead changes, which a lot of downhill, long horses have problems with.
What this horse is really built for, what we bought him for and what his current owner uses him for is trail riding. We bought Tank for my mom as a sturdy, reliable trail horse. Keeping the front end elevated is not really a concern riding out on the trails. His strength behind made it easy for him to power up hills and balance nicely to go slowly down steep grades. His sturdy bone made him sound and reliable to go all day, if needed. He's a good, sturdy sort of gelding that most folks want in their barn to really enjoy.
Here's Tank, doing what he was best at: Using his strong hind end to stay balanced over his hocks while picking his way down hill through some rocky terrain.As an aside, Tank sired several foals when he was a stallion. One of those foals is a point earner in AQHA barrel racing and pole bending. So, he was a producing sire. I still think he made a better gelding.
