Horse Question

[Barnyard]

Ok.....I just got another email from the owner and she said that when the filly is standing still and you are looking at her from the rear her hocks are actually touching......

 

[fowler_chick]

people are giving away horses tiday because they can't aford them, my friend has been given 3 horses, her father owns a large boarding stable, and i have been given 2 in the past 4 years...i think that's great for a horse if your going to just use it for trails, i have seen far worst trotting in to a show ring!!

 

[patandchickens]

If her hocks are touching, she will probably always be built funky back there as she matures, and would not be a good choice for breeding or for any serious riding (in terms of athleticism or soundness). Some horses can be built fairly oddly in the hind end and be perfectly okay as light-duty "just for fun" rides, though. Others not so much. Depends partly on luck and largely on *exactly* how the horse is built and what the rest of her is like.

(edited to elaborate: if her hocks are touching but her hind cannons are parallel to each other when seen from behind and thus *they* touch, or virtually touch, all the way down to the fetlock, then that is not quite as bad IME as a horse with hocks touching but the cannons angled outwards so the fetlocks are a normal distance apart. The former is just a very very narrow, possibly significantly toed-out, horse; horses like that tend not to be super athletic and can have some soundness issues if asked to do serious hind end loading maneuvers such as collection, rollbacks, etc. But the latter, with the cannons forming sort of a triangle when seen from behind, is reeeaaaallly not good for strength or *soundness*, in my experience, and if it is more than just a slight thing, I would avoid buying a horse like that.)

If you are not looking for an athlete or broodmare, it couldn't hurt to at least get emailed some pics. I would not get too excited about the horse, though, as there are lots of free or cheap horses out there, and it costs as much (or more) to keep a horse with physical problems as it does to keep a strong sound one.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Cara]

I wouldn't touch it unless you're ok with possibly having just a large pet if she's not able to be ridden. Getting rid of a horse with a serious problem is almost impossible as they're a very expensive pet.

 

[Barnyard]

Quote:
This was my thought also..... Thanks everybody for your opinions so far!!

 

[()relics]

IMO...I wouldn't TAKE any horse with an issue that could affect the soundness of the horse in the future.....there are plenty of horses available right now that are relatively problem free...slightly cow hocked isn't so bad but if they are touching and she is only 6 months old she may never be sound enough to ride safely.....again JMO

 

[19hhbelgian]

I would honestly stay away from that. I would not bet $ on her growing out of it. When they are foals, and just born with leg imperfections, they should clear up with in a reasonable amount of time, other wise they will stay that way unless taken care of through vet care (this is what I was told when I asked about my filly who was slightly over at the knees when she was born. She straightened out with in a week, and is perfectly fine now - a year later). I was told to keep her activity to a minimum to keep the stress on her knees down, and to promote the straightening. I'd think hard about this filly. Is she one you are willing to keep forever? If not, I wouldn't get her. It's hard enough to find a good horse a home, let a lone one with leg confirmation issues - sad for her though!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

In my experience, young horses are usually born with slightly crooked legs and a lot of them seem to grow out of it. My two year old filly has slightly cowhocked legs in the back, but in just the past few months, she's had a growth spurt and her legs are beginning to straighten nicely.

However, it is highly doubtful that a horse with severely crooked legs will ever grow out of it. Sounds like this horse may have somewhat of a severe issue...either that, or she just has a very ignorant owner. Your best bet would be to get some pictures of her or to take someone knowledgeable with you to see her in person. I have had some experiences where the owners of horses tell me all these terrible conformation and behavior issues the horse for sale has and they are just being overly dramatic. Sometimes people are overly honest to the point that they aren't being truthful. I've encountered that more and more these days, especially with free or very cheap horse because a lot of times the owners just don't want to part with the pets. I don't think they mean to do it, but subconsciously, they do.

Sorry, I've gone off track. From what you've posted here, I would probably pass on this filly. There are definitely a ton of horses out there and I'm sure you'll have another fall into your lap soon enough if you are in the market for a horse.

 

[michickenwrangler]

One of my old horses had cow hocks, though as bad as this sounds. She completed 100 miles of endurance rides (4 x 25 miles) with many other long trail rides over the years. I never had a soundness problem with her.

 

[Akane]

Most horses are not perfectly straight and actually a couple farriers have told me every horse they've seen that matches the ideal were the least sound horses they've dealt with. The horses they've had with the least leg and hoof problems were always slightly off from the perfectly straight supposedly ideal leg angles. However a horse with a narrow enough rear or bad enough angle to actually touch is going to have problems. Guranteed. She will be much more prone to injury and may even whack herself doing things. She will also be somewhat unstable and at risk of taking a spill when on uneven ground or doing quick movements. I would pass. There are too many good horses going cheap or even free to bother with one that has a serious problem. I've seen many horses going for half their value and if you just want a good trail riding horse you can get something of a good age completely broke and sound here for about $300-$500. I even saw 2 not bad looking mares, 8 and 10years old, advertised as kid broke and trail experienced with complete set of western tack on both for $500 each.