​The Crooked Legged Gaited Horse

By Gaye DeRusso
 
So, you’re looking for a new gaited horse and you found a great one, but he has some crooked legs. Many gaited horses seem to have front legs that toe out, occasionally some with toe in. I have one that even has one foot that toes out and the other front foot that toes in. When they are standing still, some just stand crooked although their legs are straight, so you really have to have them standing well to check if they are straight or not. 
 
If you look down at their pasterns, some will come straight down with nice conformation and others will come down more toward the side of their foot. Then you get to the back legs, and you see sickle hocks or cow hocks, camped in, and camped out. What does all this mean?
 
Well of course everyone wants a horse with straight legs, because we were told over the years, this is the best for the horse's soundness in the long run. Let me tell you what I have seen with gaited horses over the years. Many do not have straight legs. They were bred for gait or color, but I do not see many bred well for conformation. I have seen horses with the wonkiest legs over the years. 
 
I have seen crooked leg horses that the vets said would have issues as they got older, never have an issue. I have seen horses with perfect conformation go lame. Some of it is just luck as they get older and how tough the horse is. Injuries can happen to any horse. They get caught in a fence or step in a hole or gets kicked by another horse and the perfect legged horse now has an injury that it does not fully recover from. Others horses, it is how much wear and tear they have had over the years and the terrain they were ridden on.
 
One of the horses we have had, toed out, interfered and was base narrow, another that could tight rope walk all day long with long pasterns. Both of these horses are in their late 20's now. And guess what, never took a lame step. It’s not always about the horse’s conformation that will make it stay sound. It’s about how tough it is and how you take care of it and that horse's pain threshold. Just like people some are sensitive and feel a lot of pain and some feel very little with the same issues. 
 
It’s also about heart. If you have a horse with a big heart, it will more than likely compensate for its poor conformation and out do the straight legged horse. 
 
I have even seen straight leg horses  trip where a crooked leg horse does not trip. Because one might have better proprioception and athletic ability or maybe it just pays more attention to where it is putting its feet. 
 
Just remember most of us do not have perfect confirmation, but we make it through the world just fine. Pick a horse for its ability, talent, and heart not from looking at all its joints and how crooked they are. I would take a crooked leg horse with a big heart any day. Oh, let me say that again, I did. Tilley my Tennessee Walking Horse has many of the things I listed above but she is athletic and has a big heart. She is amazing on the trails and hardly ever trips. But when I vet checked her, the vet kept telling me what was wrong and I just said ok great, thanks! Cause I knew she was a great horse. Crooked legs and all.