Toe out

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Tamsin1

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Hope this is in the right place....sorry if not.

I am looking at possibly at buying a 4yo trakehner that toes out on both fores. He has had no corrective trimming or shoeing. The angle of the feet from neutral is about 15-20 degrees in external rotation and he is close in front, so there is a valgus strain going through the forelimbs.

He looks like he will soon fill out however my thoughts are that his joints have/will be fusing and this could be his permenant confirmation....

Anyone have any experiences in this area?

Thanks in advance.
 
so there is a valgus strain going through the forelimbs
Click to expand...

So if you look at his legs from directly in front (one at a time) they aren't straight?

Extreme version seen in figure A.
1-s2.0-S0749073908000618-gr14.jpg
 
Hi. Yes but not so extreme. There is internal rotation (v small amount) at the elbow and external rotation (more noticeable) at the knee. I am having another look soon so will get some pics and examine these.
 
OK.

Youngsters do tend to be toe out, but it straightens up when the chest develops. At four, he might still widen at the chest, so that could bring his toes in a bit, but I wouldn't expect the toe out to go away. Also at his age the fetlocks and knees will be fused (growth plates) so there's not much, if anything that can be done to alter the actual joints.
 
Thanks. You have confirmed what I am thinking. He does indeed need to fill up and is a little weedy at present. Thank you for your help.
 
Do get the horse vetted if you decide to go ahead. I would hope that he's cheap too as you would be taking a risk (at four, the horse should not be in hard work, so his soundness when working is untested). Also, don't let a Farrier try to talk you into trying to straighten his legs via remedial shoeing as this will only strain his joints.
 
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