how common is dishing?

[Shooting Star]

Probably a bit over half of the horses that i've been to view lately have dished (although a lot less than half of the owners admit it when phoning to enquire but suddenly remember when you tun up to view and point it out )- in fact i've started to feel surprised when i see one that doesn't!

I hadn't previously thought it was that common so now I'm wondering whether I just have a special knack for picking adverts of ones that dish or if it occurs a lot more frequently than I thought.

What's your experiences, on your yard how many of them dish?

 

[Janah]

My boy will dish, but doesn't when balanced and going correctly.

 

[pastel]

very rare to find something that trots up totally straight, dishing wouldn't worry me but I suppose it depends on what you want to do with your horse, ?

 

[Meandtheboys]

My mare dishes is you look from a front view only, but my farrier does a fab job of correcting.

Depends whether the horses are rotating from the knee of foot to whether it would cause any stress on limbs. Just to add poor riding and badley trimmed / shod horses can also give the illusion of 'dishing'.

TBH does not bother me and she was a winner inhand and is undersaddle.

 

[be positive]

I have 10 on the yard, a mix of mine and liveries, they all move straight.
I like horses that move well and think that often dishing is contributed to by poor shoeing or trimming and can be improved with good hoof care and correct work, it would not put me off buying, as long as the conformation was correct and I was not buying a show horse.

 

[Cuppatea]

its a lot more common now than 20/30 years ago, it was considered a serious conformation flaw and thought that horses couldnt work at all if they dished so most were destroyed. These days its much more widely realised that most times it doesnt affect the horses well-being and ability to work so they are kept.
I have an old heinz 57 that dishes REALLY badly, she has never been lame and is the best swimmer ever! Only breast stroke though........

 

[overtherainbow]

my horse dishes but only when unfit as the muscles arent there to support her movement, could this be part of your problem?

 

[JenHunt]

IMO unless it's serious or you really really needed perfect movement then I don't think it's an issue.

Ron dishes, more so with his front left, and more when he's tired or unbalanced. He's 17 going on 4 and it's never yet caused him any problems. But he's hunted, evented (a little) and done all sort of other things!

 

[Shooting Star]

its a lot more common now than 20/30 years ago, it was considered a serious conformation flaw and thought that horses couldnt work at all if they dished so most were destroyed. These days its much more widely realised that most times it doesnt affect the horses well-being and ability to work so they are kept.
I have an old heinz 57 that dishes REALLY badly, she has never been lame and is the best swimmer ever! Only breast stroke though........

That's true and probably what i'm seeing, it's getting on towards 20 years since I last brought one eek!

... breast strokes not too bad, I've seen a couple of fairly skilled butterfliers in my travels recently - I never knew you could get double jointed knees

 

[Spring Feather]

I would not have a broodmare who dished and I won't breed to a stallion who dishes either and funnily enough none of my youngstock have ever dished. Perhaps I'm old school as it seems it's accepted these days but I can't bear dishing and I would never buy a horse who dished.

 

[be positive]

I would not have a broodmare who dished and I won't breed to a stallion who dishes either and funnily enough none of my youngstock have ever dished. Perhaps I'm old school as it seems it's accepted these days but I can't bear dishing and I would never buy a horse who dished.

I think you are right, people used not to breed from anything that was incorrect and certainly not stand a stallion that did. Now other things seem to take priority and there are people breeding without so much thought to conformation and I am sure that is not helping with future soundness.