Looking from the front, an imaginary line drawn down the center of the leg should divide the column of bones, the forearm, the knee, the cannon bone, the fetlock, the pastern and the hoof right through the center of each bone.

The Pastern

The Hind Quaters
The croup is the highest point of the hindquarters and the quarters should be well-developed especially in the gaskin and the thigh, with the point of the buttock directly above the hock (which should be large, deep and wide, with good length above and good bones below) to the ground.

Again, this is an overview on conformation. When buying a horse, good conformation makes for a sound horse for long-term use.

Drop a string from the horse's hindquarters; let it touch their rear and rest against the cannon bone from the hock to the fetlock. Your string should then drop to the ground slightly behind the heel.

The bones, joints and tendons must be able to absorb the stress that they will experience in their life. As in the front legs, the hind legs (hip, stifle, hock and pastern) expand and compress with each stride; but more importantly, the hind legs are the power.

The gaskin should tie smoothly into the hock, while the hock should be low to the ground in relation to the horse's body. The hock, the joint which supports the cannon bone, should be at an angle that will allow the hind leg to extend during motion, yet offer little stress to the column of bones during rest. A hock with too little angle is called post-hocked. A hock with too much angulation is called sickle-hocked. Either can lead to worn-out joints.

Ideal Hindquarters should have A broad pelvis, muscular thighs, stifle caps pointing out muscular gaskins, hocks broad and angular, from front and side rear surfaces equally broad and lying below the points of the hocks, clean and dry with no puffiness hind cannon bones attached in the center below the hocks; hind pastern angle 40-45°, open heels, substantial feet, regular hooves, evenly worn.

Ligaments and Tendons
A Ligament is a tough band of fibrous tissue that joins two bones together, while a Tendon is a tough fibrous cord that joins a muscle to a bone.

The major tendons in the leg are the flexors. These are behind the cannon bone, and carry the horse's weight when standing. They bend the limb joints when the leg is in the air.

The suspensory ligament acts as a large elastic support for the fetlock, reducing the load that the flexor muscle needs to carry.

The superior flexor (the tendon nearest to the skin) supports the fetlock and pastern joints, whilst the deep flexor supports the pedal bone. Without these tendons the distal would simply collapse, and the horse would walk on the bottom of its fetlocks.