Also, there is a good slope in the pastern, which mimics the slope of the hoof wall, or rather the coffin bone, which is the bone within the hoof.
The back is in 3 different parts, the back (obvious) the loins, and the sloping croup. The tail should begin low on the croup of the horse, you ahve it coming directly out of the horse's loin in this pic.
Also, the cloven feet really bother me.
Cows, Goats, etc...cloven feet. Horse, mule, donkey,..not so much. The shape of a horses foot is somewhat like a shallow bowl, with a shock absorber at the back, whereas a cloven footed animal has two distint toes, and no hard hoof wall. Basically a horse with feet like this would be crippled.
The back leg is entirely different form the front, with the horses 'hock' joint (alike our elbow) is generally in line from the point of buttock to the point of hock. They as well have a large, rounded hip that takes up a good bit of their hind end. The hip should be large, round and muscular, as it is basically the powerhouse of a horse.
The shoulder should have a roughly 90 degree slope, and between the shoulder blades is a large bony protrusion called a wither.
This wire-frame is very good for showing the different angles and slopes (it is actually a pottery frame)
Keep in mind, this is a reference for angle, not skeletal structure. The underlying skeletal structure is a tad more complex.
ta da
When drawing horses, It is a good general idea to start with a square, then add the angles of the bulk bodymass and legs inside the square, then add the neck and head outside your box...although this horse obviously has no neck and head . A horse is a very angular creature, and quite easy to break down into geometric shapes.
Think of drawing the horse more in terms of how you would draw a man, less soft curves, more muscular angles...whether the horse is male or female is irrelevant, a female horse generally lacks the thick muscular neck that stallions have, but generally the build of the body is pretty similar.
