Faults of limb conformation

Galop 7Knowledge

Contents

Limb conformation describes how the legs stand in relation to the ground and the body. Straight legs share the load; crooked ones tire tendons, joints and hooves sooner.

In the exam programme

Identify and name the main faults of limb conformation.Common module B

A horse has good limb conformation when each leg, seen from the front, the side and behind, follows a reference vertical. A conformation fault is a departure from that vertical, affecting the whole leg or just one part of it — knee, hock, pastern, foot. It may be congenital, present from birth, or acquired with age, wear or poor trimming.

Looking properly

Stand the horse upOn flat, hard ground, standing square on all four legs, head in line with the body, against a plain background.
Look from the sideFrom about 5 or 6 m, square on to the horse, first one side and then the other.
Look from the front and from behindFrom 3 or 4 m, in line with the horse. For the hind legs, have someone hold the horse and stay out of kicking range.
Look on the moveHave the horse walked and then trotted up in hand, in a straight line, away and back: the path of the feet confirms what you saw at the halt.

Forelegs, from the front

Correct

The vertical from the point of shoulder halves the leg.

Toes out

Pigeon-toed

Base narrow

Base wide

Knock knees

Foreleg, in profile

Correct

The vertical halves forearm, knee, cannon and fetlock, and falls just behind the heels.

Camped out in front

Camped under in front

Over at the knee

Back at the knee

Hind leg, in profile

Correct

The vertical from the point of buttock touches the point of hock and runs down the back of the cannon.

Camped out behind

Camped under behind

Sickle hocks

Straight hocks

Hind legs, from behind

Correct

The vertical from the point of buttock halves hock, cannon, fetlock and foot.

Cow hocks

Bowed hocks

Fig. 7.1The reference verticals and the main faults

The reference verticals

Foreleg from the front: a vertical dropped from the point of the shoulder divides the forearm, knee, cannon, fetlock and foot into two equal halves.
Foreleg from the side: the vertical divides the forearm, knee, cannon and fetlock into two equal parts, and falls just behind the heels.
Hind leg from the side: a vertical dropped from the point of the buttock touches the point of the hock, runs down the back of the cannon and falls just behind the heels.
Hind legs from behind: a vertical dropped from the point of the buttock divides the hock, cannon, fetlock and foot into two equal halves.

The main faults

View	Fault	What you see
Foreleg, front	Toe-out	The toe turns outwards.
Foreleg, front	Toe-in	The toe turns inwards.
Foreleg, front	Base-narrow	The legs converge towards the ground: the feet are too close together.
Foreleg, front	Base-wide	The feet are too far apart.
Foreleg, front	Knock knees	The knees deviate inwards, towards each other.
Foreleg, side	Camped out in front	The leg stands in front of the vertical.
Foreleg, side	Standing under in front	The leg stands behind the vertical, under the body.
Foreleg, side	Over at the knee, bucked knees	The knee sits in front of the vertical: from birth when over at the knee, through wear when bucked.
Foreleg, side	Back at the knee, or calf knees	The knee sits behind the vertical.
Hind leg, side	Camped out behind	The leg stands behind the vertical.
Hind leg, side	Standing under behind	The leg stands in front of the vertical, well under the belly.
Hind leg, side	Sickle hocks	The angle of the hock is too closed.
Hind leg, side	Straight hocks	The angle of the hock is too open.
Hind legs, behind	Cow hocks	The points of the hocks turn in towards each other.
Hind legs, behind	Bowed hocks	The points of the hocks turn out, away from each other.

The pastern has its own vocabulary: long or short for its length, sloping (too slanted) or upright (too steep) for its angle. Long and sloping, it strains the tendons; short and upright, it absorbs concussion badly.

Remember

Toe-out or toe-in: look at the toe. Camped out or standing under: look at where the foot lands against the vertical. Cow hocks or bowed hocks: look at the points of the hocks.

A conformation fault does not stop a horse working, but it concentrates the load on one part of the leg: tendons under more strain, a hoof that wears unevenly, a risk of knocking itself. The toe-out horse tends to brush, the toe-in horse to paddle — to throw its feet outwards. Hence the importance of regular trimming, every 6 to 8 weeks or so, started early in the foal: a fault of the foot is a job for the farrier, a fault of the knee or hock for the vet.

A word from the instructor

The horse with perfect conformation does exist — in the textbooks, where it has never had a day’s lameness. The real ones all have some little flaw, and it stops none of them jumping or dancing, as long as the farrier and the rider allow for it.

Ekidemy

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