How should a horses legs look?

When looking at a horse from the front with him standing quietly, the front legs should appear to be straight. If you draw a line down from the point of the shoulder, the leg should fall perfectly straight.

What is sickle hock in horses?

If a horse has a sickle hock, the point of the hock is in line with the hip, but the cannon bone is angled so that the hoof is too far forward. In other words, the hind leg is slightly curved, like a sickle.

What is splay footed in horses?

Horses that have toes that point outward (toed-out) are called splay-footed. These splay-footed horses travel with an inward hoof flight path referred to as winging or dishing in. Another structural deviation in the front legs is that in a horse that is base-narrow.

What should a horses back look like?

The back transfers the force and driving power from the hind legs. A horse should have well-formed withers where the shoulder can attach to the rest of the body. The back should be one-third of the horse’s length. Measure back length from the middle of the withers to the point of hip.

Why do horses stand camped out?

Camped-out horses have their hind legs set out behind the point of the buttock posterior to the imaginary line. This fault prevents the horse from getting its hind legs under itself to move collected. These horses tend to jab their legs into the ground and are unable to lift their bodies sufficiently to be good movers.

What is coon footed horse?

Being coon footed (old term) is when the fetlock joint almost touches the ground as the horse walks, because the hind pasterns are excessively long. This also puts excess strain on the hocks and stifles, especially if a horse is asked for hard turns and stops, as in the arena.

What is knock kneed in horses?

Angular Limb Deformities The most frequent presentation we see are knock-knees (called valgus deformity), originating from problems of the distal radius growth plate, or toe- in (varus) deformities of the fetlock, originating from the distal cannon growth plate. Figure 1 shows a young foal with valgus limb deformity.

Are horses backs supposed to be curved?

Why horses have curved backs. Curved backs in horses are typically the result of genetics or caused by regularly carrying heavy loads at a young age before it has time to develop sufficient back strength to bear the load.