HELP! My gelding crosses his hind left over his hind right at the trot!

Okay so I just got this new gelding, a 9 year old 16.2 hh Thoroughbred, never raced, been trained to level 2 dressage.

I rode him when I went to look at him and we lunged(warmed up) 30 minutes, the woman rode him for 45 minutes and then I rode him for 45 minutes. During this time, I noticed he just BARELY brought his left hind leg in and in front of his hind right leg. It ONLY happened at the trot and I asked her about it and she said she thought it was just conformation.

I was stupid, and fell in love right away and took him home without a vet check. It's been 6 days now and it is WAY over exaggerated now. His hind left comes sooooo far in and in front of his hind right and it looks like its bugging him a tiny bit now. And yesterday I was trying to get him to side pass to the gate so I could get my water and he reared a tiny bit twice like it was hurting him. I can't have a vet come until next week but at this point it worries me if I should even ride him. Ill post a video from him at his previous owners property being ridden and also a picture of his conformation!

PLEASE HELP! He's such a sweet boy and I really don't want to have to send him back because of something serious.

Now that I look at the video, he didnt seem to do it before, so maybe he strained his fetlock joint or his cannon bone?

Hmmm there are moments where he looks uncomfortable in the video also. I would say over all he is kind of stiff in the video, especially in canter. Have you been doing anything different with him in the six days you have had him? Ie: riding in deeper footing or doing strenuous work outs or hill work? Is there any heat or swelling in his hind legs? Is he limping or just stepping over? Is it causing his gait to be uneven? He may just be stiff behind, does it go away if you do a lengthy warm up with lots of lateral work and stretching?

Worst case scenario it could have been an existing stiffness behind that was masked by either a supplement or injection he was getting at his old barn, and now 6 days without it he is starting to feel the effects?

Best of luck!

I haven't worked him too hard since I bought him, I do very easy going warm ups on a longe line to get him to slowly stretch all his muscles comfortably and when I do ride him we really only ride for about 30 minutes then he gets a cool down lunge work as well. The footing where I'm at is about the same as the property he came from and we rarely do hill work except for at a walk when I am walking him out. I checked his legs and there is no heat OR swelling after every workout we've done no matter what it is. All he's doing is reaching over for what it seems. It does make his trot very short and uneven though (as well as uncomfortable) but no it doesn't go away after a lengthy warm up:/

Yeah I think it may have been a previous thing but she said she never had him on any kind of supplement.

Would it hurt to possibly put him on a joint supplement? Maybe they arent lubricating correctly as he is being warmed up and theyre just staying creaky and dry? They do make a lot of popping noises as well but it's not seeming to bug him at all.

Thanks!!

He is very close in the hind end and unfortunately interference is usually a result of that. Unless something is causing him to stand that way (a visit from a chiro could check this) then it is conformation, and depending on what your plans are for him it may limit how far he can go. Making sure he has bell boots and leg protection on the hinds might help him worry less about knocking himself, and lateral work might improve his flexibility, along with regular chiro/massage sessions and overall respect for his limitations.

Definitely need a vet to make sure there isn't something else at play.

Here's an update from Guapo's vet check today!

We did hock flexion, had his eyes, mouth, heart rate, and digestive check.

Had no significant finding in the hock flexions thank god! But in his front left flexor tendon there was something that showed up.

I will type up his vet report as well.

Here's what my vet said
"Left front superficial flexor tendon midbody think and painful to palpation. No significant findings with hock flexion"

He told me to put him on joint supplements and when the local vet comes out to do his teeth he told me to have them ultrasound it and see if it is an old or new injury and what kind of rest/care he will need. I already went out and bought leg wraps for him and will be taking a good 6 months off just to be safe. Then I will slowly wean him back into work. I do have a modest career for him and will be slowly working up the levels of dressage and will probably do like baby green hunter shows and some xc training but that's about it besides trail rides.

I will update again once I figure out if it's a huge problem or just a small tear in his tendon. We will see and wish us an easy healing!

Oops also!
He does definitely interfere and cross fire, and he told me to just invest in some interference boots/overreach boots as well as SMB boots for his legs.

Call a good farrier. It's unfortunate you let your heart rule your head as you could wind up spending more money than you have. The seller is really under no obligation to take the horse back and refund your money since you didn't have the horse vetted first.