Pigeon toes

[mustardsmum]

Found a lovely pony, but he is pigeon toed. Simple really - if he ticked every box, would you buy?

 

[Redders]

My mare has a slight pigeon toe on one side, had her since she was 4, is now 12 and never been lame or had an issue. She jumps, HT, dressage, hacks etc

 

[shortstuff99]

Yes as I have a badly pigeon toed horse which (touch would) is pretty tough and sound at 13. She's only been lame twice in her life and neither was from the pigeon toes (puncture wound and a slip in the field).

 

[Errin Paddywack]

My mare is horrendously pigeon toed, particularly on off fore. In her case watching her walking towards you I get the impression the twist is from higher up and the incorrect loading has caused her foot to twist. However she is 20 now, I have had her in retirement for 18 months and to my knowledge she has never been lame as a result of the pigeon toes. She has bred 4 foals, all with correct legs and had several years as a riding horse. I used to know SJ who was very badly pigeon toed and it didn't affect him.
If the pony is sound, passes the vet and ticks every box I would buy.

 

[cauda equina]

My pigeon-toed cob developed arthritis in both fronts at quite a young age, but whether that's due to his conformation or something else (bred/backed in Ireland, then a busy PC horse with awful overgrown feet when I bought him) - who knows

 

[Annagain]

Archie is quite severely pigeon toed, particularly on the right and has had foot problems all his life - the right is worse than the left. YO's old horse was also pigeon toed and had very similar problems.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

No. I turned down a beautiful youngster due to it. A few friends have pigeon toe horses and they all have problems now they are a bit older.

 

[Zuzan]

I would ask a good hoof care practioner to assess hoof balance.

I wouldn't be put of by slight pigeon toe as if this reflects the actual limb (refer to hoof balance) then it means the elbow is free .. slightly orientated out from the body.. which is good.

 

[TRECtastic]

I took a chance on a very pigeon toed 5 year old
He never had a days problem with his front legs, competed for miles and miles at TREC with no problems. Always passed the vetting
But he only cost me £450, 17 years ago
He was sadly pts in March due to liver failure

 

[Cowpony]

I almost bought a pigeon-toed horse but the vet warned me off. He said that it wasn't a question of if, but when, she would have problems caused by it. And he would have to note it on the vetting certificate so I wouldn't get insurance cover for anything to do with the condition. She was 7 and I had naively thought that any problems would have shown up by then. He said no, they can get away with it until 7- 9ish and then things start to go wrong. She was very pigeon toed though - if it's not so extreme you could be OK.

 

[meleeka]

I’d have a pigeon toed cob. He’s never been lame because of it. When I was showing my farrier made improvements to the way it looked (and he has full feather so its well hidden) but now he’s a lazy field ornament it doesn’t matter.

 

[Goldenstar]

No I have forgiven horses twice for being pigeon toed and they both went lame .I won’t do it again .

 

[Red-1]

Yes, depending on how the flight of foot looked. My first eventer was like it, and dished, and was sound until his 20s.

One that ticks every box, and is still available, in the current market is a gem!

 

[Kahlua]

It depends on the horse and what you want to do with them. So I’d say it’s 50/50!

My experience:
Horse no1. - severely pigeon toed on both front feet and competed completely sound until 18yo up to PSG level

Horse no2. - young horse slightly pigeon toed on one front leg, very extravagant mover and we are trying to get to the bottom of this horses’ lameness issues, vet dislikes the pigeon toe and believes this could be a big part of the problem

 

[Regandal]

My horse has made it to 15 with slight pigeon toes, without them causing any problems. He dishes slightly, but that’s all.

 

[crazyandme]

Reg had minor pigeon toes, and he successfully competed 80 and 120km FEI endurance with my sister! Got to 11 and could no longer do the distance due to arthritis in his fetlock, but we thought it was more related to an accident he had when he was a 2 yo due to where it was. Didn't twist his leg or anything else, very straight moving
His current owner is just bringing him back into work (broke a splint bone so spent 6 months on box rest) and he is still having no issues otherwise!

 

[mustardsmum]

Thanks everyone for your replies - interesting thoughts from all angles. I am still pondering, although veering more toward a no as I do already have a walking vets bill (hocks, asthma, lami....).I think I may just be feeling the pressure of the market and being desperate to find something makes us make decisions we normally wouldn't consider. If he wasn't pigeon toed, I would have snapped him up even with his hefty price tag. With the pigeon toes, I def would not pay anywhere near the asking price as I cant afford the risk - so would need some cash in the bank for injections/xrays etc should he go lame. So I suspect the owner would laugh at me and tell me to get lost if I offered her half the amount...! Back to the drawing board then.....................

 

[Zuzan]

It's important to understand where the pigeon toe is coming from .. sometimes it is a matter of hoof balance .. you could ask a professional to take a look and see if there is something off with with the shoing / trimming etc .. Someone with a good eye should be able to see if there are limb / joint issues that the pigeon toe is supporting. Also, the forelimbs aren't connected by a joint to the torso so sometimes muscular develpment can correct limb alignment.

 

[irishdraft]

I would be wary from past experiences