Quando Quando

[christine48]

I was just watching the dressage from the Olympics and was amazed at how crooked Quando Quano's front legs are. They seem to turn out from the knee, the off fore in particular.
We can all get a litte obsessed with our foal's limbs yet I suppose this goes to show that horses can go on to perform at top levels with less than perfect conformation.
Having said that though I certainly wouldn't buy a horse with limb conformation like that and doubt that I'd use him as a stallion either.

 

[cruiseline]

You absolutely read my mind, I was, to be honest, quite shocked at how crooked both his fore legs are. Talk about 10 to 2 he is 1/4 to 3 !!!!!

I would love to know who graded him!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But it does go to show that horses with not quite perfect confirmation are able, with correct management, to perform at the highest level.

I would think twice about using him as a stallion also, even though I absolutely love his dad.

 

[joy]

I have seen several dressage stallions with pronounced twists in their front legs. I too would like to know who graded them.
I'm not impressed.

 

[cruiseline]

Slightly off topic, but also on the Olympic dressage trail.

Why are the judges STILL giving decent marks to horses that obviously are not even tracking up in their extended trots, its all front leg and no push from behind. Flick. flick. flick and trail, trail, trail.

Although I do think on the whole the marks in general were quite realistic.

Jumps off soap box and goes back to corner!!!!!!!!

 

[Ciss]

[ QUOTE ]
You absolutely read my mind, I was, to be honest, quite shocked at how crooked both his fore legs are. Talk about 10 to 2 he is 1/4 to 3 !!!!!

I would love to know who graded him!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Born Oldenburg, graded Mecklenburg (one of the smaller, formerly East German studbooks) and then overstamped approval by Oldenburg, presumably as a result of his competition success.

 

[volatis]

Don Frederico is another top stallion with less than straight front legs. I would asusme he scored highly enough for movement etc to override the front limbs.

 

[christine48]

I suppose these defects may not be hereditory, a lot can be corrected as foals.

 

[toffeesmarty]

True, but it can't be good for a horse to have that level of stress put onto limbs which are out? In the longterm his competition life could potentially shorten his life expectancy/long term soundness.

 

[Hollycat]

Yes, I noticed his legs too. I didn't notice them in the stallion video I had of him - obviously very carefully disguised! Just shows its buyer beware when using stallions as although you would think they are pretty correct having been graded and approved, its not necessarily the case. I seem to remember Habicht turned a foot too, though he was one of the most successful trakehner male lines producing offspring such as Sixus, Windfall and of course grandsons like Axis - who is always popular on this forum (and rightly so!)

 

[koeffee]

there are a lot of dressage stallion at the olympics that are not straight, but they are very well shod!!!!makes you wonder how some were graded??

 

[Anastasia]

OMG

!!!! Seen this stallion just now in the individuals. That is one of the worst toed out I have ever seen!! Talk about crab steering......no wonder he gets good marks for his half pass....his feet are already in each of the directions!

 

[Faithkat]

I'm glad it wasn't just me, then! I was horrified by his front legs. Surely the strain that dressage puts on legs will cripple him eventually? I certainly wouldn't consider him as a stallion. Shame as he's a lovely horse. . . . . not as gorgeous as that grey Andalusian (X-bred?) though . . . . .

 

[Ciss]

[ QUOTE ]
OMG

!!!! Seen this stallion just now in the individuals. That is one of the worst toed out I have ever seen!! Talk about crab steering......no wonder he gets good marks for his half pass....his feet are already in each of the directions!

[/ QUOTE ]

But not just toed out :-(. He is so offset LF that he rotates out from the knee and then has to try to correct it through the pastern joint but can't. No matter how good any trimming he has had is, this is s joint misalignment problem not hoof imbalance so cannot be corrected.

And talking about feet, did anyone notice how long the Americans had let Ravel's feet become. It was amazing that he could lift them off the ground let alone do as well as he did with the flat soup plates they have given him (without any heel to speak of that I could see either )<sigh>

 

[Hollycat]

I am now noticing more and more stallions at the Olympics with dodgy legs. Emma Hindle's Lancet dishes pretty significantly wth one leg and slightly with the other. Out of interest, is he unshod? I know Wie Weltmyer was, for a while at least.

So this poses the question, what would you choose for a performance horse? A horse with not quite perfect limbs but with fantastic movement and trainability, or one that is very correct but lacks athleticism and that certain something? Would you use stallions such as these on your mares if the mare was very correct (and known to throw them correct) and it looked to be a fantastic match?

 

[htobago]

Golly this is depressing! If a stallion is fully graded, approved and competing at the Olympics and yet has severely dodgy legs, what criteria are mare owners supposed to use in their selection???!!!