Poor horse conformation can cause a horse to have problems as he grows and develops.
Horses with good conformation usually have fewer health problems than those with poor conformation, but it is difficult to predict whether a horse will have health problems just by looking at his body.
The horse's legs are especially important because they bear all of the horse's weight. Problems in horse leg conformation can include bowed tendons, bone spavin, splints, ringbone and weak pasterns.
Poor horse conformation also affects horse riding. However, tying conformation quality with horse riding quality is hard to do. An experienced horse handler might be able to tell if a horse is uncomfortable in his saddle, but this is often difficult for inexperienced horse handlers to see.
Horse conformation can also harbour problems that are not visible on the surface. These "hidden" problems include bone and joint disorders such as arthritis and horse colic.
A horse with poor conformation is also less likely to be able to perform well on a racetrack or at horse shows.