BeesKnees
Well-Known Member
if you were to draw lines on the hind and front legs of the horses in these photos it is in fact Parcival who has the parallel lines and Fuego who shows the 'unnatural' (not my claim but part of Dr H's claims) front leg action and loss of hind leg engagement.
.
But you have to look at where the angles are coming from. If you look carefully you can see that Fuego is showing typical Iberian freedom in the shoulder area. Though high, his front leg is gently bent at the knee showing all the lift is from the shoulder. The lower leg stays straight and neutral.
There is certainly no loss of hind leg engagement And his back has stayed lifted and engaged. He doesn't have the open frame of Parcival, but that is a conformational difference as the Iberians are much more short coupled.
Parcival in comparison is very strained through the shoulder, no doubt as a consequence of being over bent, making it hard to lift the shoulder. He is getting lift by flicking his leg out, especially from the fetlock. He looks less engaged and much more tense across the back and possibly a little hollow just behind the saddle.
So to me, it's about much more than a couple of leg angles! It's about the whole picture.