Please CC this horses front legs! *Pictures*

[FrecklesMum]

What do you think of this horses front legs? I can not work out if they are tied in or if the knee is just quite large at that back (hope that makes sense?!!). The off fore seems to be more pronounced in my opinion!

Thanks!

 

[Joss]

Yes, i am afraid so. Doesnt matter which angle. It has open knees & is tied in below the knee. You could actually check this by measuring round the tendon & cannon below the knee & take another measurement a little lower down. I think you will find the top one smaller.

Sadly it hasnt got great front leg conformation as its also very long in the cannon.

Dont suppose thats what you wanted to hear/read!

 

[FrecklesMum]

Hmmm, I suspected that it was tied in below the knee and have measured with my hand and they seem to be even but I think I must get the tape measure out!

Had not heard the term 'open at the knee' before. What does that mean?

I know its not a great front leg, but fortunatley my aspiration is Novice maximum. I have turned him away for the summer as he is only young and I want to give his limbs, esp the front ones, time to grow and gain strength. I think that if you push them too hard as babys they are more prone to break, esp if the confirmation is not great anyway!

 

[Joss]

Open knees are when there is a slight indentation at the front of the knee. This is only very slight in your lad.

I am sure he will be fine. I have looked at lots of TB knees in relation to racehorses which is of course much, much harder on them.

Good luck x

 

[only_me]

imo i think that he is over at the knee.

He does also have very long cannon bones, they appear almost as long as the forearms.

But what i want to know is what are the strange lines on his hooves?

 

[FrecklesMum]

Oh dear - poor pony - so far he is;

1. Tied in at the knee
2. Open at the knee
3. Long in the cannon bones
4. Over at the knee
5. Has random circles on his feet!

I think he might be buggered......!

On a more serious note, the random ridges on his feet come from changes in his food regime, according to the vet. Apparently, if their food is changed it can produce theses ridegs. Thet are in identical places on both feet. I have only had him since feb and he came from Ireland, so god knows what they fed the more mite (prob not a lot considering his crap legs!).

 

[only_me]

I didnt know that about changing feeds! Must be something due to protein intake i presume

Whereabouts did he come from?

Oh, i wouldnt worry, I know a horse that has everything wrong and is still eventing

 

[Sundae]

Could be due to pain in the foot making him stand back at the knee. May be worth taking the shoes off? Does he put toes down first when moving at all?

 

[Llanali]

[ QUOTE ]


Oh, i wouldnt worry, I know a horse that has everything wrong and is still eventing

[/ QUOTE ]

Quite- a very good local rider pulled his Dvanced horse offf the lorry at PC camp years ago- he was there for schooling on the XC- and said 'This is what you DON'T buy conformation wise....' but clearly it did the job.

I'd say tied in, yes, but I don't actually think overly over at the knee. Think it appears a bit that way because of being tied in.

 

[FrecklesMum]

'This is what you DON'T buy conformation wise....'

Bless, I don't think he is that bad!

His shoes are coming off this week as he is being roughed off for the summer and the farrier is working at cutting his feet back slowly as they were v long when he came.

 

[charliebo]

He is slightly over at the knee. The forearm and cannon bone are set at different angles.
Ian Stark's "Sir Wattie" was over at the knee and he won Badminton!
Better than back at the knee.

 

[unicorndreams]

My TB mare is also tied in below the knee like your chap. She raced for 4yrs and although not a great success she retired sound and clean limbed. She's now hacking out 3-4 times a week and I've had no hint of leg trouble from her in the 7mths I've owned her.

 

[kerilli]

Erm, over at the knee is about the only good conformational 'fault' there is, i think - it takes pressure off the sdft and ddft, doesn't it? Makes horse less likely to break down.
he is slightly tied in behind the knee, and is long in the cannons, but i've seen worse eventing at a high level. and i had a horse with pretty much perfect front leg conformation (lovely short straight cannons etc) and he didn't stand up to more than 2*, unfortunately...
i wouldn't despair if this lad was mine.

 

[Stoxx]

Does the horse have any slight puffiness around the coronet band? I just sometimes think that when they stand over at the knee it can be because of slight discomfort within the foot. Puffiness around the coronet band can also be an indicator of this?