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Leg conformation question

1637 Views 14 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  beau159
Hi there!

there’s a horse at my barn I’ve totally fallen for. I’m an adult ammy who would like to occasionally show in local shows, ideally jumper or hunter. Now I probably top out at 2’3 and I think I’d never go higher than 3 ft.
That said, would the horse I love (who id love to buy) scare you away with his legs?
Horse Photograph White Vertebrate Leg
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I’m not quite seeing what you are. Is the knee swollen? Is it arthritis? All I can see is he needs his feet done a lot better.
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Is there any chance you can get pictures of the horse standing on solid (ideally concrete) surface and take the pictures 100% straight on from the front and each side? It’s hard to see what you are referring to in this photo.
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I’m not quite seeing what you are. Is the knee swollen? Is it arthritis? All I can see is he needs his feet done a lot better.
Friends of mine who are better than me at recognizing confirmation have said his legs are bad. Particularly that his Pasterns are too straight. But I didn’t know if it’s noticeable/a big deal or not. Your reaction gives me hope, though! 🙂
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Is there any chance you can get pictures of the horse standing on solid (ideally concrete) surface and take the pictures 100% straight on from the front and each side? It’s hard to see what you are referring to in this photo.
Absolutely! I’ll snag those pics Wednesday if I can 🙂
The only thing I noticed about him (other than his feet are long but that is easy to fix) is that he might have a scar under his left knee. Which is probably just a blemish. But really, I don't see anything unusual or bad about his conformation. I don't even think his pasterns look overly straight. His pasterns might be a bit long but look like a nice angle from the one photo I've seen. Just remember everyone has an opinion. It doesn't mean they are right. They might just be trying to impress you with their "knowledge."
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need better photos showing the entire horse .Also hose the mud off his legs. He does have a blemish/scare under one knee.
It's hard to judge from the angle of the picture, but it looks like the pastures are looooonggggg - which is not ideal with any riding horse, but the excess strain that is put on a horse over fences could become too much for his legs to handle.

I'd be interested in pictures from the side, straight on. There could be more going on that could be identified from better pictures.
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Its not just legs but a entire body that needs to be put together in a manner that is working fit and able, not a nightmare and dangerous or predisposed to injury and getting hurt horse or human.

His feet are long, or appear to be.
His oasterns are unknown from that angle...and the rest of him is a blank slate.
So homework ....
Flat level surface to stand on hopefully with a quiet dark background of solid wall, fence to show the horse to their advantage.
Pictures taken of the horse naked from each side standing square and alert with ears up if possible.
Picture taken straight on to show from head to toe his front end, and another of the hindend and tail if full moved to show those legs to their advantage.
Once you can get some pictures to share, then time for honest comment to commence...
What no picture though can show is heart, the try of the animal that can have a train-wreck of a animal be incredibly gifted and successful in something they love to do...heart...that is a total unknown to us and means so much when considering a horse.
🐴....
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Its not just legs but a entire body that needs to be put together in a manner that is working fit and able, not a nightmare and dangerous or predisposed to injury and getting hurt horse or human.

His feet are long, or appear to be.
His oasterns are unknown from that angle...and the rest of him is a blank slate.
So homework ....
Flat level surface to stand on hopefully with a quiet dark background of solid wall, fence to show the horse to their advantage.
Pictures taken of the horse naked from each side standing square and alert with ears up if possible.
Picture taken straight on to show from head to toe his front end, and another of the hindend and tail if full moved to show those legs to their advantage.
Once you can get some pictures to share, then time for honest comment to commence...
What no picture though can show is heart, the try of the animal that can have a train-wreck of a animal be incredibly gifted and successful in something they love to do...heart...that is a total unknown to us and means so much when considering a horse.
🐴....
I’ll try to get those! But I do agree 100%. His heart alone makes we want him to join my family, I just have friends trying to talk me out of it. ♥
How old is he? What is he used for currently? How long has he been doing it? When you say you want to do an occasional local show, how often is that? How often do you ride and train? How old are you? How long have you been riding? Jumping?

Not going to comment on his legs, those pics are pretty bad, can't judge conformation at all. Agree his toes are long and his pasterns do look a bit long, but ...........unless you're really going to ride him to death, probably not an issue. Can't judge knees at all in the pics.
there is some crookedness on his right leg, in the pastern, but, yeah more views necessary. does he jump now? He has big knees and lots of bone.
Id like to see his angles AFTER a propet trim. Also details on the left knee scar and his knees appear slightly valgus but its hard to be sure
Need side pics.
It looks to me like he’s doesn’t have straight legs and there’s some twist/toe out.
Although this is a fault and many will pass it up …. The truth it there’s a LOT of sound jumpers with really quite awfully un-straight legs.
The only time I’ve seen it affect soundness is if the knee is very offset , and in more extreme cases of being toed-in. All of my toed out horses have been long term sound.
Poor photo to access much of anything, except to say the horse has a pretty horrible farrier job. Heels too long, shoes aren't even set back to have good breakover at the toe. Lots wrong there.
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