would you buy a horse that is pidgeon toed?

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Delta99

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went to view a few horses at the weekend and was astonished at how many of them were pidgeon toed! They were all Hanoverians and had nice straight paces.
I am looking for a medium dressage horse and really liked one of them, not a stunning mover and a bit older than I was hoping for but I really liked the temperament and it was a bit cheaper than the others...
One foot was only very slightly turned in but the other one was worse (not as bad as some of the other horses I saw, though...)
Should I even consider buying this horse or are the feet going to put too much strain on the legs once the horse starts working properly - it hasn't done much so far so no signs of any wear and tear on the legs, not even windgalls.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated...
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One arab i use to know was slightly pideon toed but she did lots of endurance rides and it didn't seem to affect her.The only thing she couldn't do was to be showed.
 
no help to you at all i know but our pony( now 17) is fairly pigeon toed,( just bad conformation) and hes never had a problem with it, no strains or galls etc. regarding dressage i've no idea- hopeless reply really for you!!
 
If you are looking at Hannovarians, you will find lots with crooked legs and feet. We go to to Verden for the elite auction and I am amazed at how many dish and plait etc. The germans don't seem to think it is a problem, they are looking at the side view of the horse all the time. If it moves nicely from the side, they are happy. We saw a top competition horse, winning the junior german title, I have never seen a horse have such a crooked front leg - it looked unreal, but from the side it was a superstar and obviously did the business.
 
I personally wouldnt for any high level work. However, I would prefer pigeon toed to something that has feet pointing out! If it puts the foot to the ground flat and straight, I would be less concerned.
 
Shouldn't be too much of a problem, i've worked in 2 riding schools in the last 10 years and have seen lots of pidgeon toes horses and ponies and they have never had any problems.
i remember 1 pony had a narrow chest and pidgeon toes quite badly and the farrier did something to help (can't remember what exactly) but it helped.
 
Only if slight. Turned in better than turned out. Excessive twist can lead to tendon strains and pressure on the joint (friend's horse has retired due to lameness caused by his 'pigeon toeness' altho his toes are VERY turned in).

Have him trotted out and check that he lands equally, ie weight bears equally on each stride. Check the wear on his shoes (if shod) to see if it wears evenly.

Also, remedial treatment is only of use whilst the horse's bones are still developing ie as a foal. Once they are set it can be made worse if the horse is shod to try and straighten the joint, although good farrier can reduce the appearance somewhat.

I looked at a beautiful warmblood at the end of last year, but his toes were very turned in. Vet advised not to go near unless very slight, farrier the same. But if you really like him, get your vet/farrier to have a look and give you a professional opinion.

Good luck!
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No I wouldnt, no horse is perfect I know and like others have said it may never have been an issue but if there are others out there that tick all your boxes without this confirmation fault then surely it would make sense to keep looking, however I do agree many of the WB varieties tend to toe in.
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depends on how much I had to spend. if I only had upto £3 or 4K and it wasn't too bad then yes I would buy. If more then no way
Beacon had pigeon toes and developed sidebone because of it luckily it wasn't too bad but could easily have been much worse
 
I have a mixed opinion on this subject!
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There was a mare at our yard which had pigeon toes, one leg was worse then the other. When her owner bother to get the farrier regularly, you could see a MASSIVE differebce in her feet. If she was done every 6 weeks, she didn't look too bad. But then, every now and again, the owner lost interest and would let her feet go weeks over, and sure enough, they were bad again. That I know of, the mare has never had problems from having pigeon feet... BUT.... she was never truely worked/competed, and her owner would go months without riding her.
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Another girl at our yard has a mare with pigeon toed, she was in regular work at home, but hasn't got transport, so she was never worked hard/compete alot. This mare has extensive ligament damage behind the pastern. This may be due to her poor conformation of pigeon toes - but the vet didn't commit themselves to this explanation entirely!
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I went trying out horses with another friend, found a welsh she really liked and he had pigeon toed. I wasn't keen due to this, and advised her not to buy. Got home, quizzed my farrier and he said that pigeon toed can mean alot of problems in later life, such as ring bone and side bone. He said often it's not a problem if it isn't too severe. So a case of 'pot luck' with them.
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Me personally, would stir clear to avoid potential problems in later life, but I am a very sceptical person xx
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depends on how much I had to spend. if I only had upto £3 or 4K and it wasn't too bad then yes I would buy. If more then no way
Beacon had pigeon toes and developed sidebone because of it luckily it wasn't too bad but could easily have been much worse

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My thinking exactly! Up to 4.5k I would probably snatch it up but the asking price is 6k!

will keep looking, I think, just hope I don't regret it because i really like this one's temperament. T
Thanks guys
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depends on how much I had to spend. if I only had upto £3 or 4K and it wasn't too bad then yes I would buy. If more then no way
Beacon had pigeon toes and developed sidebone because of it luckily it wasn't too bad but could easily have been much worse

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My thinking exactly! Up to 4.5k I would probably snatch it up but the asking price is 6k!

will keep looking, I think, just hope I don't regret it because i really like this one's temper

ament. T
Thanks guys
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But why? what difference does it make on how much you pay for the horse, the risk factor/problem remains the same no matter how much money is involved, its like having for example 6k horse vetted but not bothereing with a 2k horse, everything still costs the same to mend
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My mare is pidgeon toed (another Warmblood!) and has had various lameness problems.....not sure they are related, but they might well be. She was arthritic in her near fetlock (the more turned in one) by the age of 12. I wouldn't buy another one quite so dramatically pigeon toed again I must say. I was only 15 and didn't know any better when I bought her!

Our youngster has one leg that is ever so slightly not straight, goes outward slightly from the knee and the foot is marginally boxy, but foot fall is straight and true, and he passed vetting. I had long long discussions with local vet, our vet and farrier before we bought. They both know us well and said for what we want him for, and considering he has been like that since birth, it shouldn't be too much of a risk - and the more he grows and fills out into his adult self the more convinced I am that we would not have been able to afford him had he had perfect front legs and come from a home that were more aware of his worth! But we only want him for RC/low level BD/BE (literally is we made it to PN I'd be thrilled and OH wants to SJ but only local stuff). Its not massively noticable - been placed every time out showing in youngstock classes so guess judges don't think too bad either.

If I were looking to go up as far as medium I might have thought twice again...
 
happily...my sons new horse well had him 6mths now is the best we have ever had and it does'nt always cause a problem he has a marked turn on his left foot but is a ex 4* eventer and would never had reached that level if it was an issue...but i would always get one vetted
 
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depends on how much I had to spend. if I only had upto £3 or 4K and it wasn't too bad then yes I would buy. If more then no way
Beacon had pigeon toes and developed sidebone because of it luckily it wasn't too bad but could easily have been much worse

[/ QUOTE ]

My thinking exactly! Up to 4.5k I would probably snatch it up but the asking price is 6k!

will keep looking, I think, just hope I don't regret it because i really like this one's temper

ament. T
Thanks guys
smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

But why? what difference does it make on how much you pay for the horse, the risk factor/problem remains the same no matter how much money is involved, its like having for example 6k horse vetted but not bothereing with a 2k horse, everything still costs the same to mend
grin.gif


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Simply because the lower the price the more common it is to have faults like this, otherwise a nice more perfect horse would be much more expensive. However I do agree to a point I only had 3.5k to spend but still manage to deliberately avoid such things.
 
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